Monthly Archive for February, 2006

the Matrix is all around you…

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 28, 2006
in political
. 0 Comments

  • Masking New Orleans

    On the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras, the festivities just disguise the fact that New Orleans is a hollower, whiter, and richer place than it was a year ago.

  • The Unsolved Mystery of the Oklahoma City Bombing

    Thanks to the efforts of a handful of dogged investigators, the FBI’s own paperwork is beginning to seriously contradict the official version of the attack. And more is being revealed all the time.

  • 1,300 Iraqis killed since bombing of Shiite Muslim Shrine

    Grisly attacks and other sectarian violence unleashed by last week’s bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine have killed more than 1,300 Iraqis, making the past few days the deadliest of the war outside of major U.S. offensives, according to Baghdad’s main morgue. The toll was more than three times higher than the figure previously reported by the U.S. military and the news media.

  • Ohio State Senator says Republicans unfit to adopt

    If Ohio State Sen. Robert Hagan’s proposal becomes law, Republicans would be barred from adopting. Wednesday night, Hagan wrote a mock proposal to counter one introduced by State Rep. Ron Hood (R-Ashville) aimed at banning gay adoption.

  • Bush poll ratings hit new low of 34%

    The latest CBS News poll finds President Bush’s approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high.

  • Incomes Fall, Hunger Worsens as Bush Says ‘We’re Doing Fine’

    The average American family has taken a financial tumble and millions in the country go hungry despite President George W. Bush’s sunny assessment of the U.S. economy, say federal data and economists.

Thanks to Gryphen @ The Immoral Minority for 4 of these headlines.

What a joyous reason to not have mail delivered!

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 20, 2006
in political
. 0 Comments

Happy President’s Day!!!

bomb everyone!

A glimmer of hope, beginning of the end?

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 15, 2006
in political
. 0 Comments

A couple hours ago I was within a 5 mile radius of Bush and I hated every minute of it. He was in Dublin at the Wendy’s Int’l. HQ to talk about healthcare. For those unfamiliar with the Central Ohio area, let’s just say that Dublin is a very safe suburb for Bush to visit, as is always the case. Don’t even try to figure the logic in choosing Wendy’s as the venue to discuss their “Reforming Health Care for the 21st Century” plan. The logic is that Wendy’s donates 94% of their political contributions to GOP candidates. Just a few minutes ago I found some pictures on the local NBC site that showed his plane leaving Port Columbus Airport, so I feel a little better knowing he’s out of my city. Not far enough out of here though, he’s still on planet Earth. At least until his global-warming-inducing-Corporation buddies find a way to melt it into oblivion once and for all.

But I digress… Based on all the recent headlines I’m encountering, I’m going to throw out a gutsy prediction: either all of these embarrassing and illegal stories will magically fade from the headlines and memory as they always seem to do (which is not the gutsy part), or, they will aggregate and this country will finally say enough is enough and get the ball rolling to get the Bush Administration out of here. Although with our “democratic process” of endless committees, commissions, and proceedings, it could very well be 2008 before impeachment is reached anyway. But it’s almost the 3rd Anniversary of the War/Occupation of Iraq, what a motivating and honorable way to mark the occasion.

Baghdad Burning by RiverbendI am re-dedicated, re-fueled, and re-pissed off about the war thanks to a book I found at the Book Loft called Baghdad Burning. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s based on the popular blog of the same name. The book, printed by the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, captures a year’s worth of this young Iraqi woman’s blogging of life in Baghdad, before and during the occupation.

I have a few things in common with this woman, we’re the same age, same interest in technology with a job in the field, a lack of adherence to society’s “traditional” values (she wears pants and no hijab)… so it’s a constant dose of perspective to read it every night and think “wow, I could be sitting in a room in Baghdad with no electricity or clean drinking water, listening to bombs and guns going off in the distance, praying my house doesn’t get raided tonight, and hoping for the electricity to come on just long enough to post a new blog entry telling people what the hell is going on”… but no, I’m here in Ohio where I can come and go as I please without needing a group of male relatives to escort me in public. I can drive to work without fear of the streets exploding under me. I don’t have to cross through military checkpoints and worry that occupying troops, who think they’re playing a video game, will open fire on me for no reason. Neither my Dad nor my Brother-in-law have to police the city with insufficient training and no armor, they actually have employment that doesn’t endanger their lives.

So thank you to Riverbend for giving us another look at this war. If you’re interested in reading some other Iraqi blogs, check out Alive in Baghdad. Now back to my dark glimmer of hope of an end to the Bush Regime, a series of recent news stories that should wake people the hell up, if they are somehow still asleep:

…Of course you will probably not hear much about these stories because it’s much easier to talk about the Olympics right now. Lots happier and more colorful… go Team USA!

[tags]War in Iraq,Bush in Ohio,Baghdad Burning,Riverbend blog[/tags]

Top Ten Advantages of Having ADD in a High-Tech Career

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 10, 2006
in personal
. 1 Comment

Top Ten Advantages of Having ADD in a High-Tech Career from Adult ADD Strengths:

  • 1. The Ability to Hyperfocus
    Hours of full engagement and concentration in a task, IF you find it interesting. You can get into the zone and be totally immersed in what you’re doing while the outside world disappears. When I went on the net for the first time in 1993 at an Internet cafe I got on the machine at 8 pm and around 4 am decided it was time to go home.
  • 2. Rapid Fire Mind
    Your brain processes information at hyperspeed. You can do things in 30 minutes on a computer that might take other people hours. Downside if you’re stuck with an old machine and not enough RAM you’ll be frustrated cause it can’t keep up with the speed of your brain.
  • 3. Multitasking at Will
    Able to run 14 apps at a time and effortlessly switch between each without breaking a sweat. Able to do several projects at a time with ease.
  • 4. High Energy Level
    You’re able to keep going on a project (if it’s interesting, ADDers are more into creative and entrepreneurial activities than clerical and repetitive ones). 14-hour days? No problem.
  • 5. Highly Creative
    Able to think beyond the idea of a box. This comes naturally for ADDers, while others pay thousands of dollars to try and learn this. Since you take in more information than the average person, and you’re easily distractible, you’re more likely to view a problem from many different angles than vanilla people (non ADDers), and therefore come up with more possible solutions to a problem. Need an idea generator? Find an ADDer.
  • 6. Quick Learner
    IF it’s something you’re interested in. ADD is mainly a condition of boredom; you have no trouble paying attention to something if it’s interesting. Most people find it difficult to do boring or repetitive things but these can often totally shut an ADDer down. Your rapid fire brain + highly creative mind + the ability to hyperfocus equals fast absorption of new information quickly.
  • 7. Stimulus Seeking Brain
    A perfect match for the wired world, an under stimulated brain and an over stimulated virtual environment. Being an info junkie can be a good thing. Well, not always:)
  • 8. Constantly Scanning your Environment
    Allows you to notice more and find information and resources that others miss. Also allows you to see possible problems before they arise, and opportunities that others may not see because they have tunnel vision vs. multiplex vision. An ADDer invented the electronic ticket.
  • 9. Great in a Crisis
    High energy intense situation? Lots of chaos and change? Sign me up; I thrive on stimulation, change and chaos. We can create order from chaos effortlessly. We can also create such an environment as well if needed.
  • 10. Risk Taker
    Impulsivity means you’re more willing to take risks and have a bias for action, act now while the opportunity is hot instead of getting into analysis paralysis. Many entrepreneurs have ADD i.e. Paul Orfalea who founded Kinko’s, JetBlue Founder and CEO David Neeleman who attributes his creativity to ADD. Both are Billionaires. Imagine how successful a high tech CEO would be if they didn’t take many risks.

Accessibility and fascism on the rise?

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 9, 2006
in political
. 0 Comments

a.k.a. What I Read During Lunch

You are being watched

Lunchtime articles to ponder

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 8, 2006
in political
. 0 Comments

[tags]Rape of the Middle Class,George Bush,Bill Clinton,Progressive political blogs[/tags]

Overwhelmed with disgust

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on February 7, 2006
in political
. 2 Comments

I’ve been totally infuriated over the past couple days about many things. Yeah, me, mad about something, crazy huh? Our country finds a way to dig its hole a little deeper every day. And you can probably guess who it is that’s doing the sweat-inducing, labor-filled digging and who’s relaxing at the top of the ever-growing pile of displaced dirt that’s collecting on the sides.

At this point I think it’s safe to say that we are no longer represented by our “elected” leaders. Not that we ever really were to begin with. A little moment in time I like to call the 2004 Election brings back some memories. And how our Congressional representatives stood idly by and let George steal another 4 years. Congress is completely MIA at this point, has been for months now. They’re not even trying to search for their spines that have long since atrophied. Okay, perhaps I’m being too harsh. Maybe one or two might stand up and weakly voice their opposition, but only because it’s an election year and they’re trying to save their own skin. Then of course there are plenty of others who make sure we notice that they don’t give a crap, I won’t go to the trouble of naming all of them.

I really don’t think this is a stupid country, I truly believe that “dissent is the highest form of patriotism” and we could fix all this $hit with all our collective knowledge and technology. Read some editorials, blogs, independent news stories, download some podcasts, etc. Plenty of people know what’s going on, we can’t claim complete ignorance anymore. They’re usually the ones giving a crap in their spare time after working 40 hrs. a week to make the rent.

The ones who have the power to stop this avalanche of destruction are employed solely to do just that, and what are they doing to earn their paycheck?

We are going downhill…
…………………………….
a little faster every day……
………………………………….

So what do we citizens do about it?

Besides sit here and document the daily atrocities that the rules of the game force us to endure, which is all I’ve managed to do so far. We’ve got that down: we’ve got it syndicated, aggregated, subscribed, emailed, podcasted, text-messaged, tagged, 24/7, any-way-you-want-it it’s yours. There’s a classic bumper sticker that says “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” …okay, so technology has made sure we’re paying attention, now what and what next?

Coming soon: an article I’m writing about the Bush Administration’s FY07 Budget and its effect on National Service programs. I will be focusing on the complete shutdown of the AmeriCorps NCCC program as a result of this radical prioritization of our money.

To end on a good note:
Did you know you can save approx. 95 animals a year by going vegetarian? I found that interesting and redeeming. Now go eat some tofu.

[tags]Congress is MIA,AmeriCorps NCCC,2007 budget cuts,Bush defense spending, New Orleans gentrification[/tags]