( READ THIS before you comment on any of my posts, and we will all be a lot happier. )
When posting your comments, please follow the Bigger Asshole Code of Conduct:
I get to be the bigger asshole on my blog.
I will define the terms “asshole” and “bigger” at my sole discretion.
So last night, I had a student list the math course he was taking as “Calus.”
We worked on u-substion. Part of me died inside.
The best way to tell the tale of Porn Hat is through the chat I had on Rizon tonight. Yes, this really happened while I was tutoring today.
( No pictures, but still probably NSFW )
Book banning has taken place in many different societies for several different reasons. However, the most common reason for banning—and in most cases, burning—books tends to be fear. Fear of losing one’s faith. Fear of strange and uncomfortable ideas. Fear that children will engage in unsavory practices if they read about them in books. And, of course, fear of losing control over other people.
But book banning, as a practice, is counter-productive. There are several reasons for this.
( 1. The “Forbidden Fruit” effect )
( 2. “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” )
( 3. Hypocrisy. )So now that I’ve given you my opinion on book banning and why I’m against it, I’d love to hear yours. After all, the free exchange of ideas, however controversial, is how people strengthen their minds. :)
WTF is wrong with you? Highway 84 follows almost the entire length of the road, including the stretch you were on when I came this close to hitting you. You can go a lot slower on 84 without endangering peoples' lives. I don't care if you are in the slow lane, it's fucking dangerous to drive at 25 mph on an interstate without even having your emergency lights on!
Did you not see that the people behind you were slamming on their brakes to avoid hitting you? Did you not hear me honk my horn? Did you not realize that everyone in the other lanes was going more than twice as fast as you were? What, exactly, was going on in your head?
I mean, I can understand if you're having car trouble that somehow prevents your mid-90's Chevy Blazer from operating at normal speeds. But there are several things you could have done that are 1000x safer than what you actually did.
Would this be a good way to add a little bit of the unusual to people’s lives? To get people’s minds off the mundane and onto striving to do what others insist cannot be done?
Or is it just an incredibly stupid idea brought on by sleep deprivation and too much sugar?
EDIT: As of 7:21, @theuntwittable is now online.
(Scene: a left-handed man is sitting at a table in a cafe, working on his laptop. As he clicks his USB mouse, an outraged woman approaches.)
OW: You sick freak! How dare you flaunt your left-handed perversion like that?
LHM: Excuse me?
OW: Left-handedness is an abomination! You must turn from your evil ways, to the path of righteousness and right-handedness!
LHM (still trying to stay calm): I’m not the one making a scene here. You are. All I’m doing is working on this spreadsheet. I’m not being flashy about my left-handedness, I’m just going about my business. Please leave me alone and let me finish my work.
(A young lady walks up.)
OW: How dare you try to blame ME for this? You filthy southpaw, I oughta--
YL: Excuse me, but don’t you have anything better to do than harass him? He’s not bothering anybody.
OW: You’re in on this, aren’t you? You’re another one of those filthy left-hand recruiters trying to corrupt our precious children!
YL: Actually, ma’am, I’m ambidextrous. And he’s not--
LHM: Oh, you’re one of those.
YL: Excuse me?
LHM: You’re left-handed, but you try to hide by acting right-handed for society! Stop living in denial!
OW(in a patronizing tone): You’re not really ambidextrous, dear, you’re just confused. A lot of girls go through a phase where they think they’re ambidextrous. You don’t have to try to write with your left hand anymore—our ex-left-hand counseling can set you free from all that.
YL: A phase? Counseling? I am what I am—a young woman who happens to write perfectly well with either hand. Stop dodging the issue here.
LHM: You’re just denying your left-handed nature!
OW: Stop confusing her, you sinister* pervert!
(As the curtain falls, all three people are embroiled in a vicious argument.)
*Yes, I made a Latin pun. Don’t hold it against me.
Fred Jones, a.k.a. Slacktivist, has written an eye-opener about check-cashing services and bank fees.
I’d never given any thought before I read that article as to why working-class people rarely have bank accounts, and I’m ashamed of that now. I don’t think I’ll ever take debit cards, direct deposit, and savings account interest for granted again.
I have, against my better judgment, created a FanFiction.net account. And, also against my better judgment, I have written a horrible Zuma fanfic.
From a conversation with my mother:
Me: “So, basically, *blah blah blah*?”
Mom: “No, *convoluted restatement of what I just said*!!”
O-kaaay then...
Well, my car has officially crossed the line of being more expensive to maintain then to replace. If I save up, at my current rate of pay, I might be able to trade it in for a new, inexpensive car and manage to make all the payments on time.
But I’m not staying at my current rate of pay. Apparently, I was not supposed to be hired for the number of hours I currently work, so my boss is cutting my hours.
And once again, instead of providing you with updates on my own life, I am plugging someone else’s online material. But he totally deserves it.
If you haven’t read Fred Jones’s blog: he is a liberal evangelical Christian (yes, they do exist) who writes delightful social, political, and religious commentary about his more conservative brethren. His most recent posts tend to center around the cult of the offended and how much accommodation is too much. He also has a Friday feature wherein he meticulously deconstructs the Left Behind series, bit by bit. (He is currently working his way through Tribulation Force.)
( ”Snippets” )
If any of this sounds appealing to you, you might want to bookmark Fred’s blog. Again, he deserves it.
So why is it that, when visibility is so low we’re all forced to drive at 30 mph on the interstate just to be able to see out of our windshields, one car in five still doesn’t have headlights on? I don’t like coming within 20 feet of a vehicle before I know it’s there. It’s scary, it’s dangerous, and people should really know better.
When I was in driver’s ed, we were taught that when it rains—even a light sprinkle—you should turn your headlights on—not just so that you can see your surroundings, but so that other drivers can see you. Apparently, a lot of you haven’t learned that lesson. Cracker Jack must be giving away driver’s licenses again.
Cross-posted to bad_driving
On the radio today, talk show host “Bubba the Love Sponge” read a news story about a Burmese python who broke out of its cage and killed the owner’s daughter.
Bubba’s comments on the story about wanting to “kill every snake I see” are way overboard, but he does have a point. Snakes are beautiful creatures. So are wolves, lions, and bears, but that doesn’t mean you should keep them as pets.
The #1 rule of pet selection is: Do not buy a pet that can kill you. This isn’t species discrimination, or me trying to ruin your fun, kids. This is plain common sense.
If you want a reptile, fine. There are small, non-constricting, non-poisonous snakes out there (like the corn snake, which is an insect’s worst nightmare, but is totally harmless to humans). There are snakes out there that won’t grow to be 15 feet long. Hell, there are box turtles and iguanas available at any pet store for you to get your reptile fix. A box turtle is a safe family pet. A 15-foot-long Burmese python is not. If you do not work for a zoo or nature show, there is positively no good reason for you to associate with any constricting snake.
Burmese pythons are taking over the Everglades right now because they can kill alligators. And not just baby alligators, but full-grown, 10-foot-long, potential man-eaters. They’re upsetting the delicate balance of nature, they’re about the most dangerous pet you can have legally, but for some reason, idiots keep clamoring for pythons, so the pet stores are pretty much forced to keep some in stock.
You can’t domesticate reptiles, kids. They’re pretty to look at, the scaly skin feels neat, but you can’t domesticate them. You can keep them in captivity, and some of them won’t bother to attack as long as they’re kept fed. But every single reptile you bring into your home is essentially wild, because they are not social creatures like dogs and cats. Until more people learn this, we’re going to have more tragedies like this, because Burmese pythons are clever and dangerous.
Well, I’ve changed a few things. Took a bit to get things the way I like them.
I may go back and tweak things again later, to make this thing purple, the way I originally wanted it. I’ve fiddled with this thing enough for tonight, though.
Also, I've looked through my previous entries, and...my blog is boring. I either need to start doing more interesting things, or looking at things in a more interesting way. It's sad when you're bored by your own writing, about your own life.
My laptop has Windows Live Writer, which basically updates your blog for you without your having to actually open your browser. <lj-cut text = “This is my first post with this feature.”> <i>So basically, this is a test.</i> <b>I want to make sure everything works all right.</b> <a href=”http://www.google.com”>The last thing I need is for HTML tags to malfunction on me.</a></lj-cut>
If this works properly, I will probably end up using WLW to update from now on. I’ll still use my browser to look at LJ when I want to reformat my journal, or see what my LJ buddies are up to.
EDIT: OK, so it's Rich Text formatting, and I can't type the HTML tags with it the good old-fashioned way. Duly noted.
So you want to make a webcomic. Maybe you've got an idea that is just screaming to be drawn and posted, maybe you've already drawn your work and want to share it with the world, or maybe you just saw someone else's comic and thought "I can do that!"
Well, before you post your comic on the Internet for others to enjoy, you might want to consider a few factors that can affect your readership. I've read numerous webcomics and seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here are the qualities that make a good webcomic:
( 1. In which artistic quality and eye-gouging color schemes are discussed )
( 2. In which the reasons for general hatred of sprite comics are discussed )
( 3. In which the mechanics of humor are discussed )
( 4. In which plagiarism and quality characterization are discussed )
( 5. In which the general flow of story arcs and one-shot comics are discussed )
( 6. In which update schedules are discussed, along with the reasons no one likes a quitter )
( 7. In which comic navigation and archival are discussed )
( 8. In which readers don't always have a huge, hi-def monitor and a broadband connection )
( 9. In which other important factors of webcomic creation are discussed--ignore at your own peril )
If you've read all those rules and intend to follow them, I wish you luck in your comic creation. Who knows--I might even read your comic myself! If you've decided rules are for losers and that you don't have to pay attention to my advice, then don't be surprised if you end up with five regular readers, one of whom is your mother and three of whom are just reading it to mock you.
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