baoh

On No! The Emo Music Will Kill Us All!

2009-11-17T02:26:26Z

http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-195029/girl-kills-herself-due-to-obsession-with-emo-music/

So Quiet

2009-06-29T17:30:26Z

Almost no updates on this thing from my friends anymore. I have to wonder if any one's really using this thing anymore.

Saturn to be sold to Penske

2009-06-05T19:03:37Z

So Penske, the US distributor of Smart cars, is buying Saturn from GM. GM will supply the Aura, Outlook, and Vue for now. They will not be supplying the Saturn Sky roadster. The interesting part of this is that Saturn was created to attract import buyers, but Penske is looking at using the Saturn brand to sell imported Renault-Samsung cars from Korea which are actually based on the Nissan Sentra and Altima and other Nissan platforms. Also, the Sky was sold in Korea under the GM-Daewoo badge.

Water World

2009-05-18T21:12:08Z

My wife and I scored a couple Water World season passes. We'll be there this Sunday, the 24th, and next Sunday the 31st. If anyone else wants to come, let us know and we can arrange to meet up.

Yay!!!

2009-05-16T05:57:08Z

Your results:
You are Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard		60%
Worf		60%
Deanna Troi		60%
Will Riker		55%
Spock		52%
Chekov		50%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		45%
Uhura		45%
Data		41%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		40%
Geordi LaForge		40%
Mr. Scott		35%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		35%
Beverly Crusher		30%
Mr. Sulu		25%

A lover of Shakespeare and other
fine literature. You have a decisive mind
and a firm hand in dealing with others.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

BTW, we all know Picard was the best captain.

Dance Dance Revolution!!!

2009-05-08T05:01:46Z

Now that flashback movie night is over for the summer, we are playing DDR every Wednesday at Nickle a Play in Aurora at Chambers and Mississippi. They close at 11pm and we usually show up between 7 and 9 and play till we puke. Feel free to join us. It's very cheap there and that's why we go. Wednesdays are free admission when you purchase $5 in nickles and it's only 25 cents to play 5 songs.

Warner Bros. Makes Good

2009-04-22T23:41:40Z

Warner Bros. is allowing people like me to upgrade their WB HD DVDs to Blu Ray discs for the cost of shipping. This is very exciting to me as I really want to get my HD DVDs that I have onto Blu Ray. I was looking at having to spend $75+ and now I only need to spend $15. Too other companies haven't jumped on board. Fortunately the only non-WB discs I own are King Kong and Monty Python's Meaning of Life. I don't care much about King Kong, and I can handle the cost of the BD for Monty Python if they ever release it on BD.

You're Invited to Star Trek

2009-04-20T03:50:38Z

Join us for Star Trek at IMAX at 7pm on Thursday May 7th. The cost is $15 plus a $2 Fandango service charge if you use Fandango. That is the first showing of the new movie at IMAX. I'll probably be there by 6pm at the latest. Hope to see you there.

First Race!

2009-04-07T03:15:51Z

I joined the BMW car club, Rocky Mountain chapter today and signed up for my first autocross ever! The event is April 18th at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. Since it will be my first time, I'm not expecting anything from myself other than to have fun and drive as fast as I can w/o hitting any cones. This is my first attempt ever at racing cars and hopefully won't be my last. We'll be out there from 7am to 5pm, so if anyone wants to come watch, feel free to stop by. Depending on how I like it and the result of observing some other race events around the state, this may be just the starting point for me as I have always wanted to do car racing, but it has been difficult for me to find the time, money and events to do what I want. Now we have several Rally Cross events, and I think we have spec Mazda Miata and Spec Formula Mazda racing around the state too. Wish me luck! I'll post pictures and results (no matter how bad) some time after wards.

Halo Wars

2009-03-07T18:19:54Z

Who out there bought Halo Wars?

Economic Stimulous and Bailouts

2009-02-17T05:07:36Z

I can understand the economists pointing out the downsides of the economic bailout bill, but it's funny how so many Republicans are. The Republicans were busy pushing to bail out the banks and financial institutions and many even were for the automaker bailouts. Now they are complaining that the free market will take care of the problem, government spending only means a future generation will have to pay the bill, and that it means more big government and financial socialism. Funny how the financial bailouts were really socialist except only for the rich in my opinion. The war in Iraq was a large expense with no immediate or direct benefit for America, but that didn't stop the Republicans writing checks that Americans will have to pay for in the future. The stimulus bill may not be the best answer, but at least it's aimed at making more jobs which will benefit more people on average than just bailing out the big banks in my opinion. I know that banks employ a lot of people, but their lending practices with mortgages and sub-prime lending in general were a major influence and the declining economy. One of the Republicans was saying the stimulous bill was rewarding companies that made mistakes. Not only is that not really true from what I've seen, the financial institutions and stimulus made huge mistakes and yet they were bailed out with the blessing of what I perceived to be the majority of the Republicans in Congress. Now the Republicans are saying the free market will fix everything since it punishes businesses who make mistakes. I agree that the free market can fix everything, but how long will that take? Why didn't they let the free market fix the banks and automakers? Would our economy really be better by letting the free market fix it? Really, I think that there are multiple ways to fix the problem, and the politicians just want to argue and slander those who aren't in their party. I just hope the stimulus actually helps the economy and things don't get worse.

Friday the 13th

2009-02-13T21:31:43Z

Some friends and I are going to see Friday the 13th tomorrow (Sat. the 14th) at the Continental Theater at Hampden and I-25 at 10:15 pm. Everyone is welcome to join us.

Home Again and XBox 360 Update

2009-02-07T18:54:32Z

I'm home again. As in back in the US after being in Korea for a month. I missed all of January at the office. It's really weird to be gone so long.

Also, with so many people having their XBox 360 DVD Drives fail and mine making weird noises, I decided it was time to trade in for a new XBox 360 Arcade complete with some games and an HDMI port (yay!). Upon returning to the US, I found Circuit City selling the Arcade for $160. Seems like a good deal, so I picked it up and soon I'll sell my old 360 to Gamestop. No more worrying about my DVD drive breaking.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T17:44:53Z

It really just can't come any sooner. This has probably been one of the rockiest years of my life, and I think 2008 has been awful for nearly everyone. This year has been over shadowed for me by the effects of family illnesses, financial burdens, and a severe trimming of the friend tree. The constantly declining home values also leave me paying mortgage insurance and with no end of it in sight, I can't sell my condo for enough to get out of it. These are all things that make me glad this year is nearly over even though the effects of all of them will continue into 2009, I am hopeful that it won't get worse, and I know I am better prepared to deal with all of it than I was before.

On the bright side, 2008 saw me pay off a great deal of debt even though the economy was so bad and we had so many new expenses. My wife and I were able to pay off our credit cards and our car. We are nearly able to pay off enough of my condo to remove the mortgage insurance payment. We found a good agency (I think) to manage renting out our condo for us so we can move. I also have made a point of getting out of my home more, meeting new people, and being more positive. This is already paying off as I have met several new people and gotten to know others better, so despite having to lose so many friends this year in the name of removing negativity and drama from my life, I have found more new friends to go into the new year with. My job has also turned around and is going great now. It looks like I may have some great opportunities ahead of me here, but in my efforts to be more positive and take control of things, it's become clear to me that I make my own luck and opportunities to a large extent. I'm taking an agile approach to next year with my only goal to make my life better in the smartest ways possible.

Honestly, I'm exhausted by this year and still have some work and challenges ahead of me, but I think next year is looking up overall for my wife and me.

Happy New Year and let's all make 2009 better in every way!

More Political Stupidity

2008-11-05T16:06:08Z

I am continually amazed that efforts to limit abortion have a harder time passing than bans on gay marriage. Apparently this country (which has many Christians) would rather kill unborn babies (avoiding responsibility for their actions of choosing to have sex in many cases). For people out there voting by their religions and consciences, this is an epic failure. I personally think that abortion should be limited in nearly all cases after life has start, but we need a scientifically based definition of life, not a religious definition. I already bitched about gay marriage in relation to freedom of religion, so see the previous post for my views. Pretty much though, this country supports freedom of religion when it comes to killing unborn babies but not when it comes to the gays getting married.

Religion and Politics

2008-11-02T18:40:12Z

Ok, there are bigger issues to worry about during this election, but something that is really bothering over the years that I've been able to vote is the connection between religion and politics.

In America Religion and Politics are to be separate.

In America we have freedom of religion.

So today I have an article from Reuters (here) that talks about people's views on the gay marriage ban votes that are happening in California, Florida, and Arizona. What gets me in this article is this quote from Kim Chan, "Same sex marriage is a sin." Why does this quote annoy me? Read on:

My religion, his religion, and your religion(s) may or may not be the same. Someone else's religion may not disallow gay marriage. Since we are supposedly have freedom of religion in America, unless you can find the gay marriage will bring harm to society, there's no reason to ban it.

You wanna know something interesting though. Gay marriage isn't a sin in most religions. What what what? ZOMG, it's not allowed in most religions. If a priest in the Catholic religion presided over a gay marriage, they still wouldn't be married in God's eyes according to the Catholic Church. You don't commit a sin by getting married as a gay couple because you can't get married as a gay couple in any religion that thinks gay marriage is wrong. If you can't do it, it's not a sin. If your religion allows it, it doesn't think it's a sin. This is really simple and, in my opinion, shows the ignorance of many about both their own religions and the separation of church and state.

So where's the sin? Well, if you are the religious sort, the sin is most likely in the premarital sex or sex with a member of the same sex. If your religion allows same sex marriage, the sin wouldn't be a sin if you get married according to your church's rules because it wouldn't be premarital sex anymore and any church that allows same sex marriage isn't going to be all, you know, we'll let you two get married, but you can't have sex or you'll go to hell. If you're not the religious sort, then there's no sin, just right and wrong.

See, this is logic and thinking things through. Something that is always lacking in this country around election time. We are told to vote one way or another (or heavily encouraged to do so) by religious institutions purely because the religion says something is right or wrong. Not because it will actually and directly hurt society or individuals to allow it.

Early Voting Excitement

2008-10-27T17:03:54Z

So my wife and I voted last Saturday. As many of you know, they are using a computerized system to verify voters this year. This is the same system that was used only in Denver last year and was kind of a disaster. So this system will be a non-issue if it works and no one will be amazed or think it's a great thing, but any problems, and people will pretty much blow up. This is what happened with a voter in line shortly ahead of me. She was quite loud so I couldn't miss the details. She had her voter's registration card and it said "Mail-in ballot: N." The computer system said she could vote at the machines because she had signed up for a mail-in ballot. There was a lot of complaining on her part and statements like, "So I don't get to vote this year?" I understand voting is very important, but she seemed more interested in being rude and complaining than trying to find a resolution. She's of course being very rude to a somewhat elderly person who is probably not used to spending may hours straight on a computer and probably was only trained to verify the voters and not solve problems. She is eventually put with a guy who clearly knows this system very well. Here's where the system becomes impressive. Guy who knows the system is able to pull up a scan of the form she filled out in her own hand writing and signed that shows her checking the box for a mail-in ballot for the November 2008 election only. That shut her up. After that she got some information and left. Good stuff. So far it looks like the system's working just fine this year.

Little Big Planet

2008-10-19T15:20:33Z

Please let me know if any of you know of a place that's breaking street date. Thanks.

FUCK

2008-10-08T03:06:33Z

After watching the VP debate and tonight's debate, I have really lost faith in the Republican and Democratic nominees for President and Vice President. I know longer have any clue who I'm voting for, but it probably will be a third party. Fucking hell we're so screwed for the next 10 years financially in this country...

Following Others

2008-10-02T16:11:52Z

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
No.

[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
No.

[03] Abortion: for or against it?
I think we need a scientific definition of when life begins. Not just blindly saying it begins are conception. Then abortions need to take place before that time. Since this would likely give a 3 - 6 month window after conception, it should give the openings required for rape ad incest related pregnancies. The other exception would be cases where the health of the mother is at risk where for some reason the baby isn't dead, but won't live and an abortion will save the mother. I don't know when this would happen, but I bet someone out there can think of such a situation. This opinion is based on laws are not to be based on religion and killing a human that is alive is murder, so you have to define when the fetus becomes a living human somehow, and I think scientific means and reasoning would be the only non-religious way.

[04] Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
Well, I don't think the world will fail due to any president, but a single country could be fucked up by a woman. Since women are supposed to be equal to men, and we've seen some pretty awful things happen to certain countries with certain men as president, I'm going to say that some women would clearly spell doom for their countries as leaders just as some men have. I think the right person for the job, man or woman, will be able to lead a country just fine. A woman in charge might even be a good change of pace. At least SNL would have a shot at some new material from it. That's worth something. A woman is probably also less likely to try to nuke our neighbors. Instead of glassing our enemies, she'd find a way to hurt them. Hurt them good. Hurt them again and again.

[05] Do you believe in the death penalty?
I can't say that I'm a fan. I don't think it's really the best option in most cases, but some crimes are extremely heinous and it may fit the bill in the most extreme cases. I don't think I'm really the person to determine what that would be.

[06] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
No. I've had a lot of bad experiences with pot heads. Most of which involve when they come down and stay down for hours on end. I think if it truly is a benefit to sick people, medicinal purposes should be considered, but I would prefer to avoid that even if other drugs are as effective. I'm not saying there are other/better drugs, but if there are, medicinal marijuana seems to just be an excuse for using marijuana rather than taking what's truly best for your illness. I've heard one of the biggest groups of users or would be users is patients undergoing chemotherapy. Given that my father-in-law just finished his 15th round of chemo and has supplements or drugs that take care of his appetite and nauseousness, I'm not sure that marijuana is needed medicinally, but I'm not a doctor.

[07] Are you for or against premarital sex?
Personally, against. That's a personal choice I made for myself. I stuck to it and still feel it was the right choice. I've also been married for over 5 years now and I feel that choice allowed us to make rational decisions about our relationship before marriage and help build a solid foundation of trust and commitment between us (we both waited for marriage). Other people need to make their own choices, and I respect that, but they should remember that with great sex comes great responsibilty. Pregnancy and STDs are risks, and if you aren't willing to accept those risks, you should rethink premarital sex (or sex all together if you just can't stand the risk of kids). I do understand people make poor choices in the heat of the moment, but that doesn't remove responsibilty or make mistakes just ok. The other thing is that if you are doing your thing and your thing involves premarital sex, I don't want to hear about how dedicated you are to God and how wonderful Jesus is and God this and Jesus that. Shove it. You aren't very Christian if you can't follow you own religion. I have yet to find a widely accepted Christian religion that truly is ok with premarital sex. It's a mortal sin in many. Follow the religion you claim to follow (or just don't talk about it), and we'll get along fine regardless of your personal choice in this. This is a personal choice and should be regarded as such.

[08] Do you believe in God?
Yes.

[09] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Yes. Seriously I can't think of anything but religious reasons to ban it and politics and religion are supposed to be separate in my country.

[10] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
Yes. (I like questions where I can truly give simple answers.)

[11] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
Um, keep it, wow, um, I'm going to say she should probably put it up for adoption. I don't know how many 12 years could get pregnant let alone carry to term. Not something I lie awake thinking about at night. I don't know that even the grandparents helping to raise the kid would allow for a very good family life. At 12 years of age, the girl is still just a child herself. Abortion might be an option here as most 12 year olds probably would be pregnant due to nefarious reasons, not that nice 13 year old boy that lives next door who she had as consensual of sex with as you could at 12 and 13 years of age.

[12] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
I think the drinking age ideally should be less than the driving age. I don't know how to accomplish that in the US. Drinking at 16 and driving at 18 probably won't go over well, but neither would 18 and 21, etc. Most drinking and driving accidents happen with 21 year-olds. Get the stupid drinking out of people's systems before they can drive, and maybe that would be a lot lower.

[13] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
No. We need to finish what we've started as we've messed up Iraq big time and it's not fair to the people there to leave it in such a horrible state. I would also be afraid that an unstable Iraq could destabilize that whole region. We never should have gone to war, but now we need to support our troups, get the the equipment and personal they need, and finish the job so as many of our soldiers can come out alive as possible.

[14] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
I'm hoping I never need to feel like I need this to be an option for me or one of my loved ones. I don't think I'm going to give you a very good opinion on this. I think the liability for it is huge though, but this is something that should not be out right shut down (even though many religions would say this is a mortal sin). I think this is a discussion that needs to be well represented by those who feel they need such an option as why verses the reasons not to allow it. This is one for lawmakers in my opinion as it's just not things I want to think about and couldn't without talking to those who have bee

[15] Do you believe in spanking your children?
In the sick and twist place our world has become, this question should specify as for punishment. Sorry if such a statement seems in bad taste, but I've seen dateline. There are some fucked up people in this world. Anyway, yes, I think spanking children to discipline them is ok and I would do it. I would try other methods first though as I don't really want to hit my kids for any reason, but I want them to be well behaved. It's always a matter of case by case and finding balance as opposed to breaking a kids spirit or doing real harm. I can just see some dick wad calling social services on my ass when I have a kid now even if they've never seen me spank them or have any reason to believe that I have. The hazards of blogs...

[16] Would you burn an ~~American~~ Canadian flag for a million dollars?
As I copied this, the American part was crossed out, but I think that's what was originally meant. I guess I'd have to soil or damage the flag first as then burning would be the proper way to dispose of it anyway. In the USA, flag burning is protected under the first amendment, so nothing bad could come of you for doing it anyway. For the record, I'd have to say I'd burn a Canadian flag for a million dollars. That's a lot of money and it's not my country and they aren't a vindictive country or people typically.

[17] Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
Both suck. A lot. I'm going to have to say McCain because I suspect we'll have a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate and I want the next president to be fighting all the way for everything he wants to do so we have real discussions of policies instead of the risk of people purely going with their party. I think more good will come of that and far less harm.

[18] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
I just kind of expect people to, but at least I can say what I really think. These are my opinions and if you don't like them, that's the way life is. At the end of the day, this survey really doesn't matter.

3OH!3 Shows Sold Out!

2008-09-10T16:17:17Z

For those of you waiting to grab tickets to see 3OH!3 on November 1st (David), you're too late. They're sold out. That makes for 2 sold out shows back to back for them as their October 31st show has been sold out for a long time which prompted the extra night.

Foo Fighters 9/8/2008 show review

2008-09-09T23:05:38Z

Honestly, I think as far as band performances go, last night was probably the best I've ever seen. Dave Grohl and crew put on the most balls to the wall performance I think I have ever seen for about two and a half hours. They really wanted to make it up to everyone for postponing the show. They apologized for the delay and played many new songs and old songs, many of which they rarely play live. I have posted the set list below (I think I got it right, but didn'er start note taking till song 6, so feel free to correct me), but it doesn't really do justice to describe the numerous jam sessions, breakdowns, audience involvement, short comedic comments, updated live versions, and more. I wish I had a recording of this show. For the record, they outperformed such bands as U2, Linkin Park, The Killers, Iggy and the Stooges, etc. The touring band now includes 8 mucisians on stage adding another guitar, keyboards, precussion, and cello (or violin) to many of their old and new songs.

Set list:
1. Let It Die
2. Pretender
3. Erase Replace
4. Cheer Up Boys Your Makeup is Running
5. Times Like These
6. Young Man Blue (by The Who)
7. Long Road to Ruin
8. Break Out
9. Stacked Actors
10. Skin and Bones (acoustic)
11. Marigold (acoustic, Nirvana B-side from Heart Shaped Box single)
12. My Hero (acoustic)
-- Introductions, Dave Grohl showing off Blackbird by the Beatles which he learned to play from Pat Smear, and a triangle solo --
13. Cold Day in the Sun (acoustic, sung by Taylor)
14. But Honestly (acoustic)
15. Everlong
16. Monkey Wrench
17. All My Life
18. Big Me w/Jesse Green on backing vocals
19. Aurora
20. Best of You

Nan Desu Kan

2008-09-09T22:27:11Z

This is a reminder for my friends who don't remember things or haven't come. The largest anime convention in Denver, Nan Desu Kan, is coming to town this weekend. It is at the DTC Marriot as usual and takes place Friday September 12th through Sunday September 14th. This is a short post since most of you already know the details. For those who need more, go to www.ndkdenver.org.

Tris iPhone Tetris Clone Going Away

2008-08-25T15:56:21Z

Due to the creator being told to cease and desist (as I understand), Tris will be removed from the iTunes App Store on Wednesday. Tris is a FREE Tetris clone so I suggest getting it now if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch or just a computer with a bit of free space.

Rifftrax iRiffs

2008-08-25T15:30:44Z

I think someone who reads this might care. Mike Nelson's Rifftrax group is now allowing people to make their own riff tracks and upload them to their website. The fact you can charge for your tracks sweetens the deal. The website is here: http://www.rifftrax.com/iriffs.