Vintage Dirt

Positive and Preppy!?

2011-02-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm retaking my oral comm class from a few semesters back. We have a group activity to do, and i got paired with two pretty and bubbly chikas from the class. We had to come up with a list of similarities and differences, as well as two alliterative words describing ourselves. My first name starts with P, and one of my partners thought I'd be suited well by the word "Preppy".

If you know me, you know I'm offended. I am in no fucking way preppy! I don't dress preppy, I don't talk preppy, and i don't try and ejaculate anally like most "preppy" guys I know.

My revenge? Nodda. I told her I wasn't and that I was offended and all, but she's kinda cute. lmao

Peeing for Num Nums

2011-02-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty interesting debate with a somewhat conservative friend I have. It was about this growing trend in many states to require drug tests for eligibility to receive food stamps and our states adoption of this nasty policy. I hate the idea. We have a great deal of differences in political opinions, but we can agree... we need more cowbell (lol great picture, i had to write it in).

Oh yeah, the topic! Peeing for num nums...

My two cents were that people addicted to drugs will choose it over food. People with families addicted to drugs will choose drugs over their kids. People ADDICTED to drugs are ADDICTED; The drug habit is not a voluntary one all the time. These people need rehab... or to be left the fuck alone until they commit a real crime. To have the government draw this line in the sand, saying you may have to choose between groceries and your addiction, is wrong. The restrictions on qualification are stringent as is, and often make the process difficult. I believe the process of selection (which I would support restricting further if abuse is a problem) weeds out most people who don't really need the assistance. Food is not the thing to take away from someone you want to punish. This country is wealthy enough that every American should eat, in my view.

He had a good point, though. Why should he pay for the food of someone else who obviously has money for drugs? I kind of ambushed him at this point. I reminded him he's drinking beer right now, the day after spending state money on groceries himself. It wasn't cheap beer either, it was freakin awesome. With 1 real income and a 18m old child, he qualified.

His response was that beer was legal. Very true. Ignoring that this person used to get high a lot back in the day, I ineloquently tried to explain my point of view until the subject wandered off to something else.

So, now to sum up and spin the story to my liking:
By rationalizing that beer is legal and illegal drugs are not, and therefor you are more deserving of assistance, you are making a judgement of morality and hiding behind the precedent of said established morality.

Since most drugs leave the system rather quickly, the drug users most heavily affected are pot-heads. There are fewer heroin users on EBT I'm guessing. Meth cleans out faster. Crack, too. You could still use them and and pass a pee test every month. Lovable stoners are the most numerous drug users who's habit sticks around for pee tests and is affordable at low income levels. They also seem burdened with the stigma of laziness, a key argument against entitlements. We're gonna run with this idea. There are others, but this one is a pretty good median to ride I think.

Lets not hide behind kids; our stoner has no child. She is 22 and in college with a part time job (without a part time job or child, you can't get food stamps in this state while in school). Through careful budgeting and scraping by, she's carved out a nice little niche, and now things change. Suddenly, she either has to fail a state prescribed urine test, or leave the $200/month EBT support behind. Quitting isn't even an option since pot is going to be in her system for her next appointment regardless. You weed out a working student, trying to better themselves or their country, from a system designed to temporarily support people as they try to better themselves. That makes sense why? Because that person spends 25 bucks on a bag of weed? If it was really about the money, you would go after people who buy beer or sugary junk food too.

Lets say she does quit smoking pot. Does the need for an "escape" or stress relief mechanism just go away? Will she go to a psychologist and talk out her issues and live happily ever after? Probably not, since years of psychotherapy help slowly and cost a lot (remember she quit her recreational drug for food... she's broke). Maybe she'll exercise instead! This being America, lets give that a 1 in 10 chance of happening. That pot is going to be replaced with any number of legal, harmful alternatives. Maybe it's from the script pad at the local free clinic where they deal anti-depressants instead of illegal drugs (expensive!). Maybe it's crack, so she can pass a pee test (brain damage!). Most likely, though, a 22yr old who just quit hanging out with her stoner friends (bad influence) is going to turn to alcohol. Cheap, addictive, liver-rotting alcohol <3...

This social lubricant is legal and helps people meet new people (who drink) and she's soon in a new clique full of greater social pressure to get "messed up" (bars, parties, hangover honors). She gets pregnant one night and dies by coat hanger. Or she burns her face off with 151 and her drunk friends take her to wal-mart instead of the hospital. Whatever, she still got every dime of her EBT. Things went from bad to worse via government intrusion on issues of nonviolent morality.

If you'd like to argue the merits of alcohol as an alternative to pot, I would refer you to a few sources in pot's corner:

Common sense
Science
History

So, by drug testing this person you've spent money on drug tests, ended a promising career, and/or created a junkie 9 times out of 10. You've taken a harmless drug and replaced it with harmful alternatives.

So what? Whats the point of my admittedly dramatic example? It's not the only story! WTF!?

Unforeseen consequences come up from every action taken, especially in government. When the foreseeable consequences however offer little to no positives and numerous negatives, it's plain to see the true driving force behind the prohibitionists: Moral ethnocentrism, ignorance of scientific alternatives, and a disconnect with the religion that inspired the former. Jesus would be a socialist, people! Everyone would give freely and infinitely of themselves, regardless of morality, creed, or social status. We'd all be broke and happy together, like a hippy commune. Love, and sharing fish, and playing out on the water, and singing songs together about love and sharing and water. Just look at the haircut we give him in our pictures!

Doubt that? Think you seen Jesus driving a truck that says "8 MPG BITCH!" on the window and "Reaganomics" on the bumper? I would ask you check your facts again, far right fundamentalist... I'd welcome a bible verse throwing match... I love those.

Don't sweat the small stuff people, you only hurt yourselves. Definitely don't legislate that stupid bullshit, though!

Snowpocalypse & Beyond

2011-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Well, back to classes tomorrow. I've had most of the week to myself to surf the web and listen to music, and hang out with friends. I figured out some new creative stuff to do in my free time. I realized you don't NEED talent anymore to get a ahead. You just need a bit of imagination. Got a great memory? Fuck you, I got a cell phone with Google. The curious will win.

Anyone ever read Ender's Game? Real issues are arising out of what used to be the realm of Sci-Fi. Robotic wars, the opening up of interstellar real-estate, body enhancements, and prolonged life through science has turned dreams into reality. What state is the US in right now in terms of this exponentially accelerating rush forward?

I have a good word. It starts with "ST"...

Staggered. No matter what the naysayers say, as of right now we're still the shiny little shit of the world. We have a lot of smart rich people. We're like "GDP: What now, Bitch?!" (It's the biggest & size matters). We're just under the blinders of generations of being in the lead. China is the "Tortoise", and America is the "Jet-powered-firetruck driving, throwing McD's out the window, self-important and ever so burnt out Hair".

Embellishment aside, as of now they're growing faster then us. Big deal. Ego bruises heal and mutually beneficial arrangements are made. The way things are going, the lines between nations and cultures will dim. It got out that a European intelligence agency had given an agent laser eye surgery... only his let him see 600 yards... at night. How long before computer chips in contact lenses can recognize the text you're looking at and translate? Maybe it'll bluetooth it to an implant that vibrates against a bone in your ear (it came in a pill with this years iPod). I bet someone in a cubical somewhere tucked a similar idea away. Focusing on making sure that next generation of world changing tech is properly milked at home will ensure a continued prosperity into the future.

To the same audience, the speaker talked about how the obstacles to war for our government, like asking people to buy war bonds, pay war taxes, and actually declaring war via congress, where disappearing. Now they have civilian organizations operating bombing missions in countries we're allied with (Pakistan) and they're called "Drone Attacks" and no soldiers ever die and no war is acknowledged. If you'd like to check it out, Here's a link:

Wired for War

My point is Pandora's box has been open since moneys picked up sticks. The change that has happened since then, compared to the previous billions of years, has been consistently outpacing our imagination. Nobody ever sees it coming; what is impossible in youth has routinely became reality after a few generations of dreamers fixed your mistakes and rebuilt the world. At this point in mans global development, the western democracies have a huge advantage in capitol and influence, but time will tell if we have the bravery and ingenuity to face (and pwn lol) a new world.

I'm excited at the thought of being baffled as an old man. If you want a real world example, open your calculator and give Moore's Law (# of transistors on an integrated circuit has doubled every 2 years) a dry run. 1 times 2... now count the number of times you keystroke *2 (doubling) before that 2 turns into 2000. How about 2,000,000? A billion?

Haha did you really hit it that much?

Brrrrr!

2011-02-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

In my neck of the woods, we wait on snow to melt. Plows run the main roads, but then they're done. We just got the worst storm in 40 years I hear, and my car looks more like a skateboard ramp then a vehicle this morning.

I'll be walking to the store here shortly to buy cigarettes with my last few dollars; in an effort to delay that inevitability I wanted to post something about global warming. I'm no expert, but I spend a lot of time reading and watching their ideas on the issue. I also hear often that snowstorms like this one disprove it. There's a bit of a flaw of logic happening.

Snow comes from water, right? More snow means there's more water in the atmosphere. More water comes from a higher rate of evaporation or an increase in the surface area of the water on the planet. In this way, warming the earth would lead to more precipitation. Simple right? You'd be amazed how many can't seem to follow.

But, this isn't global warming. People say "The worst storm in 40 years!" but remember 40 years ago? Records aren't being beet everywhere. The rate of dead birds falling from the sky hasn't increased, just the news coverage allotted them. It seems the most dangerous thing about this upcoming 2012 date-of-DOOOM! (3 O's for emphasis) is the people who completely missed it when their teachers started talking about "Critical Thinking".

How did we get so many snoozers in America? In a system weighted to give rural people more power per vote, how can we allow ignorance to still guide their ideals? Well... It worked! The country got rich off it's lower class and manipulated information to fit the needs of today instead of a vision of tomorrow. George W Bush, case in point. History will record him as one of the worst presidents ever, undoubtedly. Anything he did needed to be fixed later. The war he started will fail to accomplish what he set out to do. Yet, here in hillbilly heaven, he's somewhat loved! Is it a christian ideal to neglect facts for god? It seems to me, a godless liberal, that yes... yes it is. When you can't explain something or you're faced with overwhelming evidence, you turn to "Faith" and violence - or a complete mental block. Like this 'lil tidbit... Jesus never preached personal responsibility over charity. He said give of yourself, and when you're afraid you're giving too much, give more. Taxes for a health care system? That's right up his ally!

Matthew 5:42 - New American Standard Bible
Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

I'm not a democrat, but I support Obama. I think his party is more focused on creating prosperity for those who haven't been given a fair chance so far. To hear Mancow on the radio in the morning, knowing that there is no other side of the story being made available, scares me. People say "At least he says what he believes in" but I see no evidence of that. He spouts hate along party lines. If that's really how he thinks I'd be shocked. People usually have opinions that can't be found on a republican blog.

So remember kiddos, trust nothing from our government. Trust our media even less. Vote like every voice is really heard, and teach your kids to shoot for the day when it doesn't. Keep your eyes open and remember the history of this country and species to keep perspective on what's really important. Don't let fear drive you to sacrifice liberty. Don't let god take away your brain. And please... Be good to one another!

Big Fuckin Pussy!

2011-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Snapping a photo out my front door, I was certainly not in a proper mindset for anything artistic. My nipples could cut glass that moment. Bad news bears. So a friend says I suck at taking pictures and I'm like quit bitching and do better. Now I'm looking around for photogenic, high contrast stuff I like. Some tips I got: Leave detail out of the corners. Grab the eye from a distance or no matter how detailed it is... nobody looks. A lighter color in the center (like red) jumps out of darker colors (like blue) around the edges. Properly stated in art major terms? Nope. But here's the pictures I came up with in my house on a way too freakin snowy day.

I think it looks like a wave, but totally n00b i know.

A torch? I just like how the background changes.

A few of my favorite things... Whats that in the corner? I donno. Don't ask!

Did I follow the rules I read? Do I kick some serious ass at photography? No, but still. It's the internet. Fuck you, go to an art show....

So how did my antagonism flesh out? A Copy/Paste war in which i thoroughly stomped ass. Once again, no real competition :(

What is it with people that make'em so quick to pass judgment on others when they themselves suck nuggets? Everyone's got the idea that they're god's special gilded turd... sorry folks. You at least have to try. Suck or not, you're better for it.

Dreaming of a White Schoolday

2011-02-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Blizzardocolypse 2011 is here! I had snow up to my knees for the first time in a long time. The whole city is shut down & for good reason. I just heard the MO Nat'l Guard is shutting down roads. My friends are falling in snow on Facebook, and my car isn't going anywhere! Wish I had some pot, but Sublime, weights, and Xbox will have to suffice.

On your marks

2011-02-01T00:58:00.000-08:00

I'm going to talk about whatever I see that tickles my fancy. Like "Tickles my fancy" - what a great saying. You can look forward to insight like that, and some blathering outrage at stuff I read on the news. I don't mind being offensive, but try to keep it clever. Try.

I've written as a hobby for about 10 years now, and it mostly sucks. I'd like to say I have an irregular perspective, but that's not always a good thing... or true.