Local Bands

Saturday night I weant to a small concert. The concert cost five dollars and 100% of the proceeds went to World Vision, a group that feeds, educates and helps people in third world countries and disaster areas become self sufficent.

There were three bands playing, July, which wasn't that great, Summer Vacation(at least I think that's what their name was) which I had never heard of but was awesome, and Common Heroes which was as anyone who watches local bands around Seattle already knows pretty cool. Unfortunately Common Heroes base player wasn't there and so they ended up playing an acoustic set. It was kind of disappointing but they're playing at Graceland on Sunday so I guess it wasn't that big of a loss.

I was really impressed by Summer Vacation, both their guitarists were really good. The only bad thing about them is that they don't have any CD's out. I have their songs stuck in my head and I am unable to listen to them. It's very irritating.

Stolen!

Yesterday my locker was broken into at the school's gym and my back pack, boots and clothes were stolen. I left my stuff in the locker for less than an hour, came back and it was gone. I am going to try and get the school to pay for the stolen items but I suspect that that will be an uphill battle.

Here is a list of the stolen items along with there estimated replacement cost:

Text Books
Financial Accounting
$ 133.60
Japanese 101 Module
$ 3.30
Yookoso! An Invation to Contemporary Japanese
$ 92.35
BA 200 Module
$ 6.95
Understanding the Law
$ 94.70
Text Book Total
$ 330.90

Other Supplies
USB Pendrive 256 MB
$ 39.99
BDU Pants
$ 19.99
Leather Work Boots
$ 50.00
Assorted Pens, Pencils, Notebooks Etc.
$ 10.00
Back Pack
$ 30.00
Utility Tool
$ 20.00
T-shirt with slogan
$ 15.00
Library Book, "Post Captain"
$ 25.00
Graphing Calculator
$ 40.00
Total of Other Supplies
$ 249.98

Total Cost of Items
$ 580.88

I Guess I Don't Hate All Poetry

Contrary to common belief I don't hate all poetry. Actually I rather enjoy some of it. For example I think Kipling's stuff is pretty nifty and Silverstein(if you can consider his writing poetry) to very funny. Anyways, here's an example of a poem I like:

Ode to a Sten Gun
By Gunner. S.N. Teed

You wicked piece of vicious tin!
Call you a gun? Don't make me grin.
You're just a bloated piece of pipe.
You couldn't hit a hunk of tripe.
But when you're with me in the night,
I'll tell you pal, you're just alright!

Each day I wipe you free of dirt.
Your dratted corners tear my shirt.
I cuss at you and call you names,
You're much more trouble than my dames.
But boy, do I love to hear you yammer
When you 're spitting lead in a business manner.

You conceited pile of salvage junk.
I think this prowess talk is bunk.
Yet if I want a wall of lead
Thrown at some Jerry's head
It is to you I raise my hat;
You're a damn good pal...You silly gat!

A soldier's ode to his gun is always good reading.

Representatives?

I was studying my bible when this passage popped out at me:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplace and to have men call them ‘Rabbi’…

Matthew 23:2-7

When I read this I realized that there are a lot of similarities in the religious rulers of Jesus’ time and the political rulers currently in power. Just like the Pharisees, our “representatives” are disconnected from the people, while they maintain the pretense of being “normal people” most of them haven’t held a real job in years if at all. They are almost all very rich, often from inherited money. Yet they are completely unwilling to sacrifice even a tiny amount of their vast wealth for the causes they make the taxpayers pay for.

Everything a modern legislator does is about image and getting reelected. When they go to the schools to get their pictures taken with kids, it isn’t because they care but rather because it makes them seem more personable and caring. Even their votes on critical issues are decided by how things will appear in the papers, and what the polls say will be more politically advantageous. The image they present to the cameras is completely at odds with who they really are.

Living in America

TBQelite posted a link to a site that asked you questions and then recommended where you should live. I took the test and found the results to be relatively accurate. For the record, I want to live in Northern Idaho, where the government beauracracy is less oppressive, the towns are smaller and there is a more live and let live atmosphere. Anyways, here are my results:

Driggs, Idaho
Bigfork, Montana
Leadville, Colorado
Divide, Colorado
Whitefish, Montana
Heber, Utah
Livingston, Montana
Kalispell, Montana
Estes Park, Colorado
Salida, Colorado
Tooele-Grantsville, Utah
Jackson, Wyoming
Sandpoint, Idaho
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Bozeman, Montana
Helena, Montana
Springville, Utah
Telluride, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
Dillon, Montana
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Cedar City, Utah
Sheridan, Wyoming

Murphy Explained

http://www.news.com.au/common/printpage/0,6093,11009375,00.html

Scientists and mathematicians have created a mathmatical formula that accurately represents Murphy's law. After observing 1000 people and their misfortunes the researchers concluded that not only does everthing that can go wrong do so it does so at the worst possible time. This the equation is:

((U+C+I) x (10-S))/20 x A x 1/(1-sin(F/10))

Where U is urgency, C is complexity, I is importance, S is skill, F is frequency and A is aggrevation.

As you can clearly see this forumla explains exactly why you forget your locker combination when you are in a hurry, the water heater breaks down in cold weather(as happened in our house this week) and blogger.com crashes just as you hit Publish Post.

My Three Day Weekend Misadventures

My three day weekend was greatly disappointing.

My weekend began with the discovery that puking out my guts while simultaneously having a serious case of the squirts is the most revolting sensation I have ever experienced. At 3:15 Saturday morning, I woke up feeling very ill. The rest of the morning was spent in alternating spurts of inactivity as I attempted to lay perfectly still and frantic activity as I scurried to reach the proper receptacle before a torrent of semi digested food erupted.

Later that morning after a fitful hour or two of sleep, I found that my sisters and I were still expected to baby sit. None of us were very happy about this as all of us had just spent the night heaving our dinners and were still feeling awful. Predictably the day went lamentably. The only high point is that we watched God’s and Generals that evening.

Sunday, Mom and Dad got sick so we didn’t go to church. Instead we stayed home and didn’t do much.

*dripping sarcasm*St. Martin’s Day*/dripping sarcasm* the girls and I went with Mom and Dad to help paint a house. Luckily we were all feeling much better by then and we avoided adding any extra texturing to the walls.

All in all it was a lousy weekend and I really didn’t get anything accomplished (Incomplete, what are we fighting for…). But now it’s over and I’m back to the daily drudgery known as college life + job (Gone, like Saturday is gone, Like Summer break is gone…). Oh well, maybe a future weekend will be better (Sooner or Later…)


Can you guess which band I was listening to while I painted?

The Not So Saintly Martin

This is getting posted late due to a host of problems over the weekend. But here it is, the Black Monday Post:

Contrary to common belief and the propaganda of the so called "Black Community" Martin King Jr. was not an upstanding figure of integrity who wrote amazing speechs and sermons. Martin King Jr. was a plagiarist, an adulter, a womanizer and a communist symapthizer. Yet because he said what the media wanted to hear he became a "Hero of Civil Rights".

So now every year our tax dollars give government workers a paid holiday to celebrate the life of this unscrupulous person.

Non-Lethal Weapons

The U.S. Military has revealed that it spent millions of taxpayer dollars attempting to create a new generation of non-lethal weapons. One of these weapons is a chemical that was intented to make soldiers "sexually irresistible" to each other.

While I'm sure this could have some use in the field (I'm sure it's much easier to neutralize enemy troops while they are occupied with....each other.), I find the whole notion reprensible. It really ticks me off that my money is going to fund such moral degrading research.

As far as the whole non-lethal weapons thing goes, I think most of it is a massive waste of time and money. In most cases I would prefer that they just kill the enemies instead of wasting time, lives and money trying to make war humane.

BOBbing for Survival

As most of my readers have already deduced I am a rather eccentric person. One of my eccentricities is that I am big on disaster preparedness. As a product of this interest one of the projects I am currently working on is the construction of a Bug-Out-Bag.

A Bug-Out-Bag(BOB) also known as a 72 hr. kit or Survival Kit etc., is a backpack, rucksack, suit case or other carrying device that contains equipment and supplies to help you survive if an emergency forces you to leave your home without notice. The idea behind a BOB is that you will have everything you need packed, accessible and ready to go in the event of a disaster, terrorist attack or whatever.

So far I have assembled what http://bob-oracle.com/ (probably the best BOB website) would consider a minimalist BOB. I hope to move to a higher level of preparedness sometime in the near future.

A few websites to help you in your quest for the perfect BOB:

http://bob-oracle.com/

http://www.thementalmilitia.org/clairefiles/index.php?s=303e92521bfb464b74cfa28955809ea4&act=ST&f=10&t=2608&st=0

Here are a bunch of links for ideas.... http://journals.aol.com/wsm311/WendyUsuall...rs/entries/1997

Snow?

We didn't get any snow last week but it looks like we've got another chance. Hopefully we'll get enough to avoid school.

Gym Blues

Well I've started gym for the winter quarter. After almost a month of doing nothing, I found that I can only bench a measly 135 about 6ish times! Last quarter I was doing 165 at 7-10 reps (122% body weight). Not only that but I lost 2 lbs. This makes me unhappy because I know I didn't have any fat to lose. Oh well, I'll probably get back in shape in a few weeks.

Well, the Weather Outside is Frightful...

It looks like Seattle may get some snow this year.

The last few days have been pretty cold. We've had cold clear weather but with warmer wet air coming in from the south it looks like we may get some precipitation.

So far today all we've had was some drizzle which promptly froze on the ground causing all of the sidewalks to become ice rinks. Traffic reports are saying that there are two many accidents happening for them to list them all.

weatherunderground.com is predicting snow, snow showers and chance of snow for as far out as they show with temperutures in the low 30's and 20's.

I'm hoping we get some good accumulations so that I can get out of school, build snow forts, have snowball fights and do all the other awesome stuff that is associated with my favorite kind of precipitation.

Three Things

Here are some more random quesions that I decided to answer.


Three Names You Go By: Matt, Mike, Microft

Screennames You Have: a) MicroftXXX (has nothing to do with traditional XXX); b) RabenstrangeThree Things You Like About Yourself: a) I can quickly learn new info; b) my rationality; c) my spontaneity

Three Things You Dislike About Yourself: a) My apathy; b) My Laziness; c) My tendency towards foot in mouth disorder

Three Parts of Your Heritage: a) German; b) Norwegian; c) SwedishThree Things That Scare You: a) Loneliness; b) Dying without accomplishing anything; c) Government & the UN

Three of Your Everyday Essentials: a) Steel toe boots b) Leatherman; c) Talk radio
Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now: a) Steel toe boots; b) Woodland Camouflage BDU pants; c) Underwear

Three of Your Favorite Bands/Artists (at the moment): a) Switchfoot; b) FM Static c) Pillar

Three of Your Favorite Songs at Present: a) Innocence Again – Switchfoot b) Festival Song – Good Charlotte; c) Frontlines – Pillar

Three New Things You Want to Try in the Next 12 Months: a) Firing a full auto weapon; b) More of Thep’s Vietnamese food; c) World domination

Three Things You Want in a Relationship (love is a given): a) honesty; b) intelligent exchange of ideas; c) understanding

Two Truths and a Lie: a) There is life after death; b) Gun’s are the great equalizer; c) Taxes are a necessity in modern society

Three Physical Things About the Opposite Sex (or same) That Appeal to You: a) intelligence; b) quiteness; c) cooking skill.

Three Things You Just Can’t Do: a) dance; b) shut up; c) do homework until the last minute.

Three of Your Favorite Hobbies: a) paintball; b) shooting; c) reading

Three Things You Want to do Really Badly Right Now: a) slack off; b) play Half Life 2; c) finish my book.

Three Careers You’re Considering: a) Economist; b) Real Estate Agent; c) Entrepreneur

Three Kids’ Names: Girls: a) Abigail; b) Megan; c)? Boys: a) Wesley; b) Matthew; c) Zachary.

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die: a) accomplish something important; b) get married; c) please my CreatorThree People You Want to Take this Quiz: The Shadow Walker, TBQelite, the rest of the readers on my blog.

Accusations

I have been labeled as belonging to the, quote, "comic book people". I find this very disturbing as I despise comic books and often belittle and ridicule those who read them. If an adult or adolescent person has so little imagination that he/she needs pictures to visualize a story the should stick to the TV instead of reverting to the childishness of picture books. I do not excuse the manga people among my friends for their contribution to this decline in literature quality.

The only exception I make in this tirade against comic books is syndicated funnies such as Dilbert, the Farside, Foxtrot etc.. These comics unlike their story book cousins contribute to the overall satisfaction of the reader by using subtle (especially in the case of the Farside) visual clues to impart funniness. Isn't it amazing how often comic book people completely fail to understand daily funnies? Anyways that is my mostly incoherent opinion regarding "comic book people".

Another Survey

01. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? I started a blog.
02. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I am not a resolute kind of person.
03. Did someone close to you give birth? That was last year actually. 04. Did anyone close to you die? Not really. But my friend’s dad died.
05. What countries did you visit? United States
06. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? Motivation
07. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Nothing is entering my head, so I presume nothing.
08. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year? 3.9 college GPA while still in high school
09. What was your biggest failure(s)? Not making it to Regionals with the Quiz team
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I was blessed with good health.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Spyder Sonix Paintball Marker
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? If I knew I'd be celebrating.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Apathy
14. Where did most of your money go? School
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? LAN parties, Paintball, Guns, the Election, Big Paychecks
16. What song will always remind you of 2004? Sea of Faces
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier
ii. thinner or fatter? More Muscle
iii. richer or poorer? Richer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Reading
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Screwing around without getting anything done
20. How will you be spending Christmas? With various branches of my extended family
21. Did you fall in love in 2004? I wouldn’t allow myself to do something that irrational.
22. How many one-night stands? Not one and I’m proud of it.
23. What were your favorite TV programs? Red Green
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Christine Greguiar
25. What was the best book you read? War of Honor
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Kutless
27. What did you want and get? A Mauser 30-06
28. What did you want and not get? A FAL in 7.62mm with a folding stock, flash suppressor, 2x scope etc.
29. Favourite film of this year? The Incredibles
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I had a LAN party. Seventeen Terran Years.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Getting along better with my parents (not that my relationship was at all bad).
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? BDU pants, T-shirt and Steel Toe Boots = Good
33. What kept you sane? Insanity is the only sane reaction to an insane world.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? For appearance: Kiara Knightly
35. What political issue stirred you the most? Assault Weapons Ban Ending, Hurray!
36. Who do you miss? No one
39. Who was the best new person you met? I didn’t meet many new people.
40. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: Time accelerates as you age.
41. Best live shows of this year: Kutless @ Mars Hill
42. Best drinks of this year: Mountain Dew, but it’s making decalcifying my teeth so I had to terminated my addiction.
43. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: I’m a menace to society, at least that’s what they say to me.

A Prayer Request

For those of my readers who are Christians:

I am nearing the end of high school and I will need to make allot of important decisions in the near future regarding colleges, career paths and the like. I would appreciate my readers asking God to give me guidance as to what he wants me to do and that I would be sensitive to his voice and his purpose for my life.

Thanks,

Rabenstrange

The Complicated and Often Contradictory Consciousness

Here are my answers to a long list of questions. Hopefully they will intrest my readers and allow them a closer look at the complicated and often contradictory consciousness that inhabits my body.

1. Name: [real name censored for privacy]

2. Nicknames: MicroftXXX, Rabenstrange

3. Birth date: 07/14/1987

4. Heritage: European

5. Siblings: I am the oldest of 6

6. Shoe size: My shoes range from 9½ to 11

7. Eye Color: Blue Grey

8. Hair length & color: Buzzed, Blond

9. Height: 5' 7"

10. Clothes you have on: Woodland BDU pants and Switchfoot T

11. Shoes you have on: Steel Toe Boots

YOUR.....

1. Weakness(es): Laziness, Apathy

2. Fears: Mediocrity, Lonliness

3. Perfect pizza: Thick, crispy crust and lots of meat.

4. Favorite song: I don’t have a “Favorite Song” but a song that I identify with is “Festival Song” by Good Charlotte

5. Current mood: Mildly amused

6. Goal: To identify my Creator’s purpose for my life and to fulfil it

7. Fragrance: I prefer that people don’t have strong odors of any kind.

8. Most overused phrase: “Do you know what I mean?”

9. Bedtime: Optimal time is around midnight or one due to the fact that I work better at night than during the day.

10. Best friend(s): TBQelite, The Shadow Walker, Gerhalt, Emily

11. Weird saying(s): There is nothing you cannot accomplish with vision, passion and an infinite supply of expendible labor.

12. Room colors: I don’t do decorating. My walls are white.

13. Finger/Toenail color: None*OPPOSITES*

1. What's a major turnoff for you?: Bossiness

2. How far would you go on a first date?: I believe that a first date’s only function is to discover if a girl has moral and ideological views that are compatible with mine so that I can make a decision regarding future dates.

3. First thing you notice about the opposite gender?: Their over all figure.

4. Do you have a b/f or g/f?: No. I believe that it is irresonsible to get into romantic relationships when you are not in a position to move into a serious commitment a.k.a. marriage.
RANDOM....

1. McDonald's or Burger King: Burger King, because they have chili

2. Single or group date: No preference.

3. Finger or toe rings: Finger

4. Adidas or Nike: If they don’t have steel toes they don’t go on my feet. I like Stanley boots.

5. Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: I like my tea hot. I like peppermint and chamomile.

6. Have you seen Santa?: Santa is myth. If he were real, I would probably detain him for burglary.

7. Animal you resemble: Homo Sapien

8. Last concert you went to: Switchfoot

9. Book(s) your reading: Gods and Generals, The Green and the Grey

10. Day/Night: Night, it’s much easier to get things done when everyone else is asleep.

11. Hangin out/Chillin: Hanging out. I hate being cold.

12. Shoes or barefeet: Boots

MORE RANDOM....

1. If E.T. knocked on your door with a peace sign asking to use your phone, what would you do?: Sell him on eBay.

2. Sing: I don’t.

3. Take a shower: If you insist.

4. Last CD you bought: FM Static

5. Want to go to college/university: It’s not a matter of wanting to go. It’s a matter of higher education being necessary for my chosen career path.

6. Like high school: I was self taught for the first half and I am going to college for the second half. Both have been acceptable.

7. Want to get married: Most certainly yes.

8. Believe in yourself: I belive I exist.

9. Think you're attractive: Sure, and not just physically.

10. Think you're a health freak: I may be a freak but I’m not a health freak.

WOULD YOU RATHER BE...

1. Rich or famous: Rich and anonymous

2. Older or younger: Younger

3. Talented or intelligent: Intelligent

4. Liked by all or loved by few: Loved by a few, feared by the rest

5. Dependent or independent: Independent

EVER...

1. Been called a tease: No

2. Changed who you were to fit in: I change other people so that they will fit me.

3. Broken the law: Only minor traffic offenses so far. I’d break a law if it infringed on my rights.

4. Had a pedicure or manicure: Never had either.

*YOUR FUTURE*

1. Age you hope to be married: When I can have a good, steady job and am in a secure financial position. Mid twenties would be nice.

2. Do you want a family?: Most assuredly.

3. Numbers and Names of Children: 6+, Matthew, Wesley, Abigail

4. Describe your Dream Wedding: My bride will get to have everything she wants and will be very pleased. Personally, I like outdoor weddings.

5. Where would you most like to visit: Israel, Switzerland, Space

6. First kiss location: Mom, kissed me when I was born, that would be Valley Hospital.

7. What do you want to be when you grow up: A husband, father, philanthropist

8. How do you want to die: Purposefully

9. Where would you want to go on your honeymoon?: She’ll get to choose. I like snow

10. Believe in love?: God is love and I believe in God

THE.....

2. Last thing you cried or got teary about?: Tears of anger at injustice

3. Most embarrassing thing that's happened to you: If I had an embarrassing moment I wouldn’t share it on the internet.

4. Last person you gave your phone# to: I give my email address.

5. Last fast food place in which you ate : TBQelite’s basement.

*ALL YOU*

1. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal(s)?: I have a large pillow animal thingy that I use to prop myself up when I read in bed.

2. Your ticklish spot(s) : I am not ticklish. Honestly.

3. The best compliment you could get: My Creator saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

4. Last thing you did: Wrote something condescending on someone’s blog.

5. Jewelry you wear: I don’t do jewelry, the closest thing I have is a pendrive on a lanyard.

6. Piercings you have/want: None, ever.

7. Food/drink you dislike: I abhor the taste of alcohol. I also despise coffee in almost every form.

8. What ticks you off: My weaknesses. The United Nations, Government,

9. Are you a leader or follower?: I am a leader, but I am content to follow someone who is leading in the direction I want to travel.

10. Your favorite feeling(s): That my Creator is working in my life. Opening my paycheck.

11. Your favorite flower: Lillies

12. Tattoos you have/want: None, ever.