ERICtalk

The minute you walk in you immediately say to yourself... this guy is trying to f me big time

2010-08-15T14:31:00.000-05:00

So like any good citizen, I don't have a printer that is hooked up and full of ink. For a company (HP) that would like me to purchase their fine goods, they sure as heck don't make it easy. So I did the next best thing; traveled to Kinkos and planned on printing my 27 page document there. I planned on a four or five dollar cost associated with my job. The document is only black and white text. A simple task indeed. Well, to steal a web comic joke I read a few months ago, printer ink must be made from unicorn blood because the cost was between three and four times higher than what I estimated. So here I sit, preparing myself to read a 27 page court decision on a 10 inch screen. Hurray.

Can someone explain why printing is one of the most frustrating experiences on the planet? It's annoying to do at home. It's annoying to do at Kinkos. The only non-annoying location really is at work. You probably shouldn't be printing there. And when it comes down to it, you're sort of stealing. If only there was another reasonable way.

Bada Bing Bada Boom. Learn from a Professional kid....

2010-08-14T18:46:00.000-05:00

So I've been on what I guess I'll liberally call a sabbatical from blogging (laziness for the more astute). I'm fine with that. The summer has been wild and crazy (including wild and crazy kids... a lot like the show wild and crazy kids). I've ran my second marathon, moved, sold some worldly possessions, acquired others, read some good and bad books, drank a lot of coffee, and began my foray into the world of law school.

I just finished briefing the third in a series of four cases for my orientation this coming week. Basically they believe we need some practice briefing in order to be successful. I really haven't been that worried and I'm still not. I spent a lot of time briefing in undergrad. Not that I'm an expert, but compared to those who have done none... well... forgettabotit. In any case, I do certainly need the practice reading, writing, managing homework, and the rest of the schooly stuff that goes with school.

As for books, I'm just about to finish The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I really hate to name drop books because it makes me sound, as Holden from the book says, like a phony. Only doing it to make myself seem smart and the rest of you comparatively, well, dumb. I'd like to squash this idea by admitting that I certainly am not that smart. I've already used spell check to correct posession, sabbadical, and most recently, comparitively. Moreover, I'm not sure I used the word, "foray" correctly. Important? No.

Finally, I've slogged my way into Dragon Quest IX this summer on the Nintendo DS. On Weekend Confirmed (one of my favorite gaming podcasts featuring Garnett Lee), they discussed whether as gamers, we're still afraid of a stigma related with gaming. Despite the fact that a ton of people game in one way or another, are we still afraid? Yeah. I am at least. A few good points were made that it's perfectly fine to watch completely useless and horrible television, but not fine to admit to a few hours of Halo, Alan Wake, or god forbid, Dragon Quest IX. Is the stigma really there or just perpetuated by gamers? I'd say a little of both.

Goodbye friends, I'll try to post more. More than zero.

Smartphone-a-rama!

2010-06-05T10:38:00.000-05:00

Most people my age (and older) are used to our phone just being a phone. The software has never been an issue the same way deciding between OS X and Windows has been for our computers. We grew up in an age where we never thought of our cell as anything more than a telephone. That reality has left us and if you are a proud owner of a smart phone, you'd know why. The fact is that once you've experienced the web in your pocket, it's tough to go back. I don't think anyone should go back. My smartphone has practically replaced my computer as my primary internet device. I imagine most will follow suit.

With that on the table, I encourage you, when you decide to enter the smartphone market, to research your purchase. Like I stated in the beginning, software is a new issue for cell users. Most of us used to (and probably still do) choose a cell phone based on hardware.

Phone Guy: This phone has a touch screen.
You: Sweet.
Phone Guy: It also has a slidey keyboard.
You: I'm in heaven.
Phone Guy: Also, it has a camera with a flash.
You: The Flash is my favorite super hero and I'm going to take a picture of my cat.

Right? You've been there and fallen head over heels for a .5 megapixel camera on your phone. Hell yeah I'll renew my contract.

I don't imagine that you will go out an buy a smart phone today, but what I'm asking you to do is take your time and seriously consider your purchase as you would a computer because this will essentially be your new computer. Don't buy one without trying it. Just as you can get computers that don't run windows or OSX well due to hardware constraints, the same is happening with phones. A lot of phones run Android, but not all of them run it well. Do your research. Your smartphone is going to be your primary way of interacting with the internet.

The Price of Gadgets

2010-06-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

As consumers, we in the U.S. are pretty damn uninformed. I'm currently playing music from my ipod nano over a set of sony speakers via a stereo to audio out jack. I have no idea where any of those products were produced. You are probably in a similar situation. Sure you read that sticker that said, "designed in California," but I guarantee you it wasn't built there. I can give you a hint though. The largest manufacturer of U.S. gadgets is a Taiwanese company that has quite a large number of factories in China. The name of this company is Foxconn and it makes products for Apple, HP, Dell, and Nokia (just to name a few). Foxconn also has an alarming number of suicides already this year (9 deaths, 2 seriously injured). It makes me wonder, are the gadgets worth it.

Like I started, we have a bad habit of using a ton of products that we know absolutely nothing about. Now, I'm not talking about what the product actually is. Of course you know that the computer you're reading this on is made up of a processor stuffed with ram and peppered with an OS ready for you to eat out of your monitor bowl. However, where and how was it made? Does it matter? Do you care?

Most of us are probably all aware that the labor standards are a bit more lax in China than in the U.S. Heck. That's why so many companies bring their business over there. You may say, "But Eric, most of our products come from China... why not go on a rant about shoes." Well loyal reader, the fact is that for me, gadgets are different than most other products. In my mind, they cross that line between life tool to luxury. I can't justify a computer or ipod the same way one would possibly justify a pair of shoes or sweatshirt. That being said, it should ring a warning bell that Foxconn actually is one of the better paying companies in China.

So here's the deal. This isn't anything new... unless you haven't thought about it. I hadn't. I am now. As of right now, I've already sent an email to Dell, HP, and Apple saying that as a consumer (soon to be buying a new computer) I really care about what steps they take with this Foxconn business. So far Dell has said nothing. HP has commented that it is investigating the working conditions. Apple has said the same and a rumor popped up on Engadget that Apple may start paying Foxconn employees directly. It's a start. I believe that this really is all in the hands of the companies employing Foxconn. Personally, I'd love to see these companies bring these jobs back to the U.S. They should put a little American flag on their products and call it the America tax. I'd pay it if it meant that my product was built by employees who don't feel enticed to commit suicide.

Leaf The Oil Spills Behind

2010-05-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I read an interesting post on Engadget about the Nissan Leaf. I can't remember what the article said, but I noticed the advertisement used in the post: first 100% electric car. Now, I can't quite put my finger on it, but outside of the hippy-dippy crowd, there seems to be sizable amount of suspicion, distrust, and all around dislike for the electric car. I don't know why... but it's out there. Let's talk deal.

To begin, these are all Nissan's numbers. The car can go about 100 miles on a single charge. A single charge will cost a user about $2.50 (through their electricity costs). Right now, I estimate that your average driver pays that cost for around 20 miles. Double that if you're a lucky hybrid owner. Moreover, that price is only going up. And quick. Electricity costs will undoubtably rise, but probably not at the rate of oil.

Of course there are problems with this electric car problem (distance, chargers, untested on the mass market), but why aren't people crazy about the potential of electric cars? Is it that we're crazy about paying for gas? Crazy about the dependence on the Middle East and the necessity of involving ourselves in every security matter their in order to protect that interest? Oil spills? I'll pass.

Right now I don't have the means to pre-order the Nissan Leaf (not even close). However, one day I will. Until then, bicycle all the way.

Mr. E's Crazies List 2010! Part 2

2010-05-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

2. Tim Pawlenty

I've really got to hand it to Tim Pawlenty. He went from being a fringe contender for the Crazies List to number two in the overall running. He made great strides back when he made his illegal unallotments, but myself (and I'm he too) were a bit disappointed with the crazy points that earned him. However, this week he came roaring up the charts by not only vetoing a DFL sponsored bill that kept the bulk of his cuts intact (2.5 billion out of 3 billion isn't a bad ratio) and vetoing a health bill that would get more low-income Minnesotans health insurance (plus save that 500 million he refuses to find through tax increase). Finally, to top it off, he went on the governor's fishing opener without finishing negotiations with the DFL on a budget. Again, I say bravo to Tim Pawlenty for really putting in some effort this week to earn a spot on the Crazies List 2010.

Now, I will admit that I am not a huge fan of Pawlenty. However, if you asked me to point at what I dislike about him, I would have trouble naming more than a couple of things (1. He's rigid... 2. His way of "balancing the budget" is to delay payments to schools.... "we can do it all with spending cuts" he says...) My big push against him is: what has he done over the past eight years? I honestly don't know. He didn't raise your taxes. Your city raised your taxes... but he didn't let the state. Beyond that I can't name a single good idea for the state of Minnesota that he has brought to the table (and that was not a good idea). This man presumably wants to run for president and his best idea is no new taxes. Again, I think that's a noble ambition except when I'm the twenty-something year old who will need to pay the national debt down the road. Thanks a lot no new taxes pledge.

If you can't trust, you can't be trusted

2010-05-09T19:05:00.001-05:00

We as a society have an issue with trust. By an issue with trust, I really mean that we have none. Now... I am not one to make broad claims like these out of nowhere (unless I'm trying to get a rise out of someone... but being that this is a blog and I can't see you, the reader, getting noticeably angry, there really is no point). Anyway, we don't trust each other. Allow me to provide an apt anecdote:

Last Sunday (a week ago today), I stepped out my door with my dog at around 10 pm. Walking down the sidewalk, I noticed a person carrying a small child. My first impression was, "this is kind of sketchy." Not an uncommon reaction for south Minneapolis at night. I continue my walk, Yuki does her business, and to my surprise a woman asks me where the park is. Well, the woman was the person I saw earlier and I directed her toward the park. Before I could continue with any more of a reaction, she informed me that she had lost her car after she and her daughter attended the May Day Festival at Powderhorn Park. The first words out of my mouth were that I would help her look (what can I say, I have a soft spot for children and being a knight in shining armor). We walked about 10 blocks before I told her that she and her daughter should come back to my place and stay with my neighbor while I drive and look (she had been walking about for two hours at this point).

I found her vehicle quickly (I had been doing some heavy thinking about where it could be... turns out I was right). I drove them to the car and her final statement was, "that it is so great that I found a seemingly trustworthy person to help out." Now, before I get into all the jazz of my post, I just want to say that I wasn't disappointed by that statement and this woman is taking me out to dinner with her and her daughter to thank me. However, that last statement she made really spoke to me about our society. We have a tendency to assume the worst in others (specifically strangers) and we're all guilty. In the beginning of my little anecdote, my first thought about this woman and her child was, "sketchy." I'm not saying we should not be cautious, but who knows how long this woman would have been looking for her car if she hadn't taken a chance with me.

Unfortunately, this post is not a "here's a problem and fix it post." Chances are you can't just walk out your front door and start fixing the trust-your-neighbor problem (only I have those mad skills). Ultimately, we waste a lot of time fearing and distrusting people we don't even know. Take for instance the constant claims from politicians that the other side is interested in the downfall of the country. Worst yet is that shit plays really well with a lot of voters. Time to get over it.

Mr. E's Crazies List 2010!

2010-04-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

Deep down in the depths of my soul, heart, and brain (the big deciders of my emotions and thoughts), I concoct a crazies list... which for some time has gone unlisted. Well, this week finally pushed me to a point where I feel it is necessary to share bits and pieces of it. This was brought on by the first entity on the list:

1. The entire state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma just recently passed... over the governor's veto mind you (so a supermajority I'm assuming), a law that a) forces a woman who is getting an abortion to have an ultrasound and receive a report on all of the babies vitals and b) protects a doctor from being sued if he or she withholds information about any genetic defects the baby may have from the parents.

I'm really not pro-abortion (sorry ultraliberals). If I had to choose a side, I would probably extend the protection of the Constitution to a fetus (since no matter what happens, they will eventually have that protection). However, that isn't the world we live in and I think it is kind of sick that a large chunk of Oklahoma thinks that they should make a difficult decision even more difficult. Moreover, a doctor shouldn't be held responsible for lying by omission to his patient. That's ridiculous.

Now, if this had passed by a simple majority and the governor signed it, then I'm cool with it. Your state is just a little over half crazy. However, the governor vetoed it and the legislature overrode the veto. Yeah... that's why Oklahoma makes my crazies list for 2010. Congratulations!

Progressbaritis: Inflamation of the Progress Bar

2010-04-20T06:36:00.003-05:00

I don't know what it is about a little bar that fills up as numbers are poured into it... but I absolutely love that thing. I bought my friend Borderlands, a game that lives and dies by the progress bar. Perhaps you call it the XP bar, rank bar, or leveling-up bar. No matter what you call it, for some reason it has a strangle like hold over gamers (and probably nongamers as well). We like progress. Not that games don't have progress, but we like having progress for everything we do, not just story centric events. Video games are generally built around a number of ideas. You have the story (easy to get progress), mechanics (dealing out complication bit by bit), and finally character progression (often difficult to do well when it comes to emotion and story, but easy when using a progress bar). Okay, so the list should be longer, but those stick out to me right now.

So, the progression bar is a blade with two sides. First, it's awesome. Like I said, the progress bar is an easy and addictive way to see your character grow. New skills, abilities, higher life bars and magic bars all add to the notion that your character has done something worth while in the game world.
- Hey! I used this sword to kill a bunch of mad pandas. In real life, by the end of all that panda killing... I would be pretty great at it. Thanks progress bar for reflecting that in a game!

However, the progress bar is a bit of a crutch. Ask someone who plays a lot of RPGs... or a person who has ever played an RPG. The story can range from awful to great, but that doesn't make up for the repetitive gameplay. The progression bar does. Yet, I would like to periodically see meaningful changes and progression in a character. Maybe after all that panda killing my character is really skilled at the task, but I'd rather see a different change in my character than being able to put a skill point into "panda murdering." Maybe he simply holds that sword with a little more confidence. Maybe an NPC (non-player character) comments on my recent accomplishment. I think those ideas have all been tried... and failed as far as I'm concerned. I still want something more. The progress bar is great, but let's see a bit more.

Intelligent Inquiry: America's Moral Decline

2010-04-17T09:47:00.003-05:00

I've always been a bit of a pessimist when it comes to the general public. Despite my beliefs in democracy and the importance of participation... I actually sort of don't believe that. In a country where American Idol is allowed to run for 9 seasons, I just can't have faith in the American people. Okay, that was a cheap shot. I listened to a podcast of the MPR midmorning show and Kerri Miller had a guest on who basically felt this way. Chris Hedges (the guest) basically took up this banner. His argument was that Americans are slowly losing the ability to tell what's real and what's fake due to the introduction of 24-hour entertainment news. Well, to be fair, not all Americans... just a majority. The rest are those who can still read, understand, and interpret complex ideas and translate those into beliefs that move the country forward. I don't know if I sign on entirely to that idea, but he does have a point. I really can't watch the news. I understand that I grew up when news was already entertainment focused, but four years of college and my own academic pursuits have really kind of put me on the 'I-want-information train." I don't need some news reporter to tell me what someone on facebook thinks. I don't need them to try to make me afraid of the deficit, health care, or immigration. Worse yet, I feel that politicians are completely fine playing this game. All the way to our president, politicians are fine with skipping details and going straight to what will play with people who prefer not to think. That's fine... but what am I suppose to do. I like to read the New York Times as opposed to digging through a bill to find information. However, I can't do that when all Obama says is, "health care bill is good." That doesn't help me. The health care bill was something I wanted but it was damn hard to defend it because I knew nothing about it. Usually this is the part of a post where the writer offers a solution. I don't really have any. If you read books, good for you.

Law School: Making the Choice

2010-04-15T21:37:00.002-05:00

I won't lie. The economy and my lack of a job played a key role in my decision to go to law school. Prior to December of 2008, I was seriously considering graduate school. So much so that I had taken the GRE only a few months earlier. I didn't really know what I wanted to study in graduate school. That was a big problem. A bigger problem was the clear deficiency of receiving a higher degree in the area of history/political science... they don't often yield a higher salary. That's unfortunate, but look up the numbers... it's true.

So anyway, law school. As I said, I was unemployed and basically needed to decide where my life was going to go. I didn't have a job and all I had invested myself in at the time was a marathon. Basically, I had time. I began searching around with my new GRE score, but I couldn't decide what I wanted to study. That was the real problem. Money is also a problem, but not knowing what to study is a much worst problem if you want to go to graduate school. I kept shopping around and discovered that I would never likely be able to choose. That's where law school became the top contender. A law degree is versatile and gives me a lot of movement in my career. I like that. I need that. I get bored fast.

On top of that, I've always had an interest in the law and specifically social sciences that operate more like a science. Sure law has it's wiggle room (it's not a science with unchangeable rules), but there is a structure in place for the study of law. I feel that many of the other social sciences are a bit more subjective where views are constantly changing and even if you convince a majority that your view is correct, it doesn't matter. Law on the other hand... well... if I can convince a majority of people that all roads have heated bike paths, I could get that to happen. That's what draws me to law.

Law School: The Beginning

2010-04-14T06:41:00.002-05:00

I've been doing some thinking about what I'd like to do with this blog. The whole writing about articles has grown a little stale for me. I didn't do it that much, but I think I tried to force it. Anyway, I've decided to go in a new direction. Law school. A year ago at this time in my life I had no idea where to start when it came to prepping for law school. I knew I needed to take the LSAT. That was about it. At the time, I would have liked a resource about someone else's experience of the application process. That is what I would like to provide on this blog for a while. Now, I don't expect some law school hopeful to come read this religiously, but perhaps some of the regular readers are curious how one goes from simply wanting to go to law (or grad) school, to actually doing it. That's the plan for the next few posts at least. Now I need to bike to work.

Intelligent Inquiry: U.S. and Russia Best Friends Forever

2010-04-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

Lieberman: Obama Won't Get Nukes Treaty Without Changes

When it comes to international relations, I've been a straight realist. While the word is descriptive in its literal sense, in an academic sense it's the belief that states (countries) are constantly competing for resources, military capabilities, and international influence in order to ensure existence. I'd love the world to be different, but when it comes to world politics, this is what's at stake. However, a big shift took place in the 1940s: nuclear weapons. Suddenly states could no longer count their pennies and translate that into how many military units could be mobilized for security purposes. After the creation of nuclear weapons, conventional forces lost their potency as applied to major power conflict. A country could mobilize 1 million men, but that doesn't matter when a single missile can destroy a city. The major powers then proceeded to have an arms race while making nuclear policy on the fly. That's where we still are today.

I've lost my way in this post, but I'll come back and rally around the question: Does anyone still want these things around (nuclear weapons)? I understand that nuclear weapons have undoubtably deterred a number of wars in the past, but I can't help shake the age old fear of MAD when it comes to nukes. If you're not familiar with the concept, MAD (mutually assured destruction) was the realization in the heat of the arms race that nobody on earth could survive a nuclear exchange that would take place if something broke out between the USSR and the US. So going back to my question, who still wants these things around? Lieberman? Palin? What is wrong with them? This treaty doesn't even eliminate all nuclear weapons. Not even close. But Lieberman says he'll oppose the treaty unless we update out nuclear stockpile. Again, I would like to bring your attention to MAD. Unfortunately, I'm sure many people will rally behind his claim that this treaty makes us "vulnerable to Iran." All I can say is that even with this treaty, we'll still likely be able to destroy the earth a few times over with our nuclear weapons and I'm sure if we choose that route we won't forget about Iran.

iPad: It changes everything

2010-04-07T06:29:00.002-05:00

My roommate's brother and I got into a facebook showdown the other night. Okay... so it wasn't a showdown... He posted a comment that praised the iPad (I don't think he even has one, but he does have an iPhone so he knows exactly what the thing does). I asked him, "what's so great about it?" He said, "it changes everything." I responded, "like what?"

That was the end of the discussion. Now, maybe he just hasn't gotten back to me. It's possible that like myself, he has no idea what the thing changes. I don't know if anybody knows. It's a big iPod touch. If you don't have any ipod touch or iphone and you have 500$ laying around, I say go crazy. However, I imagine that the target audience of the ipad is already quite inundated with technology.

The questions really comes down to what does the ipad change? I'm sure the hardware is great. Apple's usually is. However, as a long time fan of Apple, I've come to expect a bit more from them, which is my mistake I suppose (I'm having a Nintendo flashback here). I would recommend people check out Microsoft's tablet, "The courier." Even if you're not a tech head, it's a much more interesting device from the looks of it.

Hangin' with Mr. E

2010-04-06T06:24:00.002-05:00

Today is the first day of my self-created after-school class, Hangin' with Mr. E. Spring session has a special feeling around it. I'm more excited about this after-school class than any of my others, and because of that I'm doing a little more planning than I did with the others. Not to say that I did no planning for the others... but sometimes that was the case. Anyway, I have a few good things planned. Of course, this is the first day so the rules are ever important. However, I've got some apples and bananas for the children to eat while I do some reading, named "fresh reading." I'm also planning on giving them a riddle to decipher in their groups, as well as some free writing time. We'll see how it turns out.

Child Safety

2010-04-05T06:22:00.002-05:00

This weekend, I learned that one of my relatives was burned by a gas fireplace in a daycare. Now, the relative is still in that toddler/ preschool phase, but the only opinion given to me about the situation was, "accidents happen." I really do believe that accidents happen. Sometimes children burn themselves, cut themselves, get bit by an animal, or receive an incredibly large splinter in their finger after going down a slide (that was me), but is it really acceptable for a child to be burned like this in a daycare? Is it really unfair to think that a daycare (or babysitter for that matter) should be responsible when a child is burned by a trivial item (in the age of heaters and all). I don't think so. Recently, a child at my job had been burned by an iron at his home. I didn't dig too deep, but why the heck does a two year old even have access to an iron? Why is a mother leaving the iron unattended with her children present? Why shouldn't the daycare be held responsible? If knives were left on the floor and a child cut themselves, I doubt anyone would say, "accidents happen." For the record, accidents do happen, but if I was the parent that wouldn't be my response.

Neglect

2010-04-04T18:31:00.002-05:00

This blog has been a lot like Nic's plants over December and January. In the spirit of Easter, Jesus really said it best... well... I'm sure he said something about how his words are the water. There's a lot of stuff about words and water in the Bible, no doubt about it. Anyway, ERICtalk has been under distress lately. I've been waking up, listening to an MPR podcast, and then going to work. Then, at night my writing has taken back seat to a book about the First Minnesota volunteers in the Union army and Battlefield Bad Company 2. Furthermore, over the past few weeks I've been taking my sweet time affirming my attendance at Hamline Law School. This weekend I finally sent in my 500 sweet sweet dollars (well my parents') to the school and I am officially a piper. I have some other loose ends to lock up, but we're pretty much set. That being said, it's been easy to put off writing when I've had that to fill my "usefulness meter" every week. However, that has passed and I'd like to get back into it. So, I am pledging to begin posting again. No more neglect.

The Health Care Bill and Judicial Review

2010-03-23T16:51:00.006-05:00

With the momentous signing of the Health Care Bill taking place not all that long ago, a whole host of legal challenges are waiting in the shadows, the most prominent of which is a group of state attorneys claiming that they will challenge the law. Another set of challenges will likely come from the states that pass laws that invalidate the health care legislation within their borders. I figured it might be interesting to collect and organize some information as to whether or not any of these claims may or may not have merit.

Lawsuits will likely challenge the law through the Tenth Amendment, claiming that the bill does not adequately fit within Article I Section 8 of Congress' power, primarily addressing the mandated insurance. Does Congress have the power under its ability to regulate interstate to mandate the public to purchase health insurance? Probably... It all depends if you consider health care part of interstate commerce. I read a few articles from those who believe it is not. They basically argued that 1) health care transactions rarely, if ever, take place in multiple states; and 2) that health care isn't traditionally a commodity that can be considered to be part of commerce. I would disagree, but the argument has a bit of merit. I don't see the Court overturning this law via that route. They've upheld crazier laws under the commerce clause (see Wickard v. Filburn which basically says that Congress can regulate anything as long as it has the slightest impact on interstate commerce). As for the states trying to nullify the law by passing legislation... it ain't the 1850s anymore. I guess they just don't believe in the Supremacy Clause. I also had a time where I didn't believe in Santa Clause, so I won't blame them.

Health Care Bill and Politics

2010-03-23T06:10:00.002-05:00

I've seen a multitude of responses to the health care bill. On Facebook, a person was preaching how the American people are willing to always fight for what they believe in and will never give up. Stupid me... I thought she was in favor of the bill. Or... I generally responded to my friends with a high five. Good enough.

Whatever the response, I believe that passage of the bill makes this upcoming election far more interesting. If it didn't pass, I felt the Democrats were going to get beat up pretty badly in the midterm election. They may still get beat badly, but the health bill could help a great deal if the media coverage goes well. I've already noticed that it came off quite favorably during the ABC special report I received after it passed. It's difficult to claim that stopping insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions is a bad thing (same goes for letting children stay on their parents' plan until they're 26). A Republican just won't likely look great telling that information to large groups of people. I see Republicans trying to play down the bill in the upcoming elections and Democrats doing the opposite. Either way, this was a major win for Obama in particular. I can't see him losing the next presidential campaign after this.

The Lumina Lives

2010-03-16T06:20:00.001-05:00

Coming this summer, the new, HD DVD equipped, Chevy Lumina! Two classic products, coming back in one fantastic product! Get one today!

The Federalist Papers

2010-03-11T06:28:00.003-06:00

Last night, I finally made it to Federalist paper No. 1. I started reading the book a few weeks ago. I've taken my time making it through the introduction which is extraordinarily long. Moreover, I've only been reading the book before bed and even for a future law student the read is slow. However, the first entry, written by Hamilton, I feel is an adequate window into political arguments today.

Federalist paper No. 1 is an introduction to the arguments that will be made over the series. If you're unfamiliar with the Federalist papers (which I won't make you feel bad about because I couldn't have told you precisely the arguments made until I read this), it begins with a criticism of the Articles of Confederation and then a defense of the new Constitution. It's a bit more complicated than that, but this description will do for now.

Now, to take a small break, I recently read an article about how the Tea Party is bringing a debate about the Constitution and Originalism to the forefront of American political discourse (big words big words big words). Basically, people are actually talking about what makes our country... well... our country. That two-hundred-some-year-old piece of paper all of the sudden may have meaning again to the general public.

In a way, I'm glad that that people may start thinking about government and the founding fathers. However, I hope that if and when this discussion takes place, people actually do a little research about it. I imagine that the typical hype will be over the first ten amendments (which generally people can name standing on their head), but I want people to look further than high school civics if possible. I don't want people to assume that they understand the (for example) Second Amendment just because they know what it says. People need to understand why it was written to begin with. The Federalist Papers would be a good start.

Public schools and food

2010-03-10T06:25:00.006-06:00

My coworker, Emily, wrote a great blog post yesterday regarding school lunch in Minneapolis public schools. You can find it here. Moreover, I also spent a bit of time reading a TIME Magazine article about school lunches in Paris, France and you can find that here. The two articles don't cover the same topic, so don't skip either if you have an opinion about what America's students are putting in their bodies. However, I did see a connection between the two that spoke to me as an educator and purveyor of goodness (just thought of that, woo!). Our school lunches are not helping our students build healthy eating habits. Now, I hate to judge too much, because my school also had school lunches that were relatively unhealthy (at least they could be). However, I should have learned how to eat healthy and take care of myself in school. That's a school's job. To teach. To prepare. I've spent five years slowly adjusting my eating habits to be healthier. I'm not done with that plan yet, but I've made headway. However, I feel I'm a bit of anomaly when it comes to self improvement (anomaly... not the only one). I am consistently trying to improve myself in ways that I see fit without any external pressure. I'm trying to eat healthier, but no doctor has talked to me about my cholesterol or heart rate. That's just me. Not every student is like that and they will continue their bad eating habits for far longer than they should.

With that in mind, the TIME article explores the school lunches of Paris and finds that their approach to meals is treating the meal with respect. By that I mean that their children take time everyday to enjoy a meal with multiple courses; the food is prepared with quality ingredients and the school suggests what should be eaten for dinner to supplement the lunch. That's a big step above the cheese sticks our students eat every two weeks. We don't need to copy the model set in Paris, but I'd love to see our students to love some delicious, non-processed foods. I think students deserve a chance to have vegetables that taste good without ranch. I don't expect this to happen, but hopefully someday we'll face up to it.

Intelligent Inquiry: Let me play Scrabble while I drive... It's in the Constitution

2010-03-04T06:26:00.005-06:00

Lawmakers Consider Tougher Distracted Driving Rules
From MPR

Driving while texting is dangerous. I've done it. Not often, but I have. I've never thought it to be safe. I don't even like talking on the phone while I drive. A number of times, I've ended a conversation with someone while using an on ramp because I know I can't focus enough while on the phone. Bravo Minnesota legislature.

However, I have a few questions. Like... why wait until 2010 to enact a law like this. Oh yeah, cell phones were so much safer 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years ago. Moreover, what about eating, reading, and insert activity here in cars? Legislation probably already exists, but still... just now cell phones are a risk. I'm so glad that our legislature is on the ball.

I feel like these sort of obvious issues are the only thing the two parties can ever agree on anymore. Issues that are so obviously a problem that only Hitler could possible oppose the passage. However, leave even the smallest room for contention and the whole thing blows up. I'm surprised a right to clean your gun while driving isn't being included in the bill. "Oh... second amendment... blah blah... founder's intent... I was at new country con 1781 dude..." I suppose I should get over the way modern politics play out, but maybe I shouldn't. Maybe none of us should. I don't know about the rest of my readers, but I get really sick of nothing getting done. I get sick of hearing the same damn story every year about how the MN state legislature is going to need extra time to figure out our state budget. It's gotten old, and I'm not old. Although, if I continue caring about this, I will probably considerably shorten my life and therefore, I am potentially rounding out the end of my life right at this very moment.

Water or Ice?

2010-03-03T06:25:00.002-06:00

I learned a new game the other night as I took a run. Yuki was spending time with our neighbor, so only I shoved off for a good jog. I left about 7PM, and given that I'm a thinker, I began thinking about ways to pass the time. Well, eventually the sidewalk taught me its own game... water or ice? I was amused by the idea of this game because not only is it entertaining, but it also has depth. See, as you run, you are obviously trying to guess whether or not the patch of H2O you're coming upon is water or ice. The complexity comes in when you realize that in some situations you want it to be ice, and in others you want water. For instance, you see a thick layer of what you believe is ice. Oops! That was actually water! Now your shoe is wet. In the other case, you may see a thin later on the sidewalk that shines in the moon/street light. Oh goodness, you better pray it's water. The game can only be played at night and you must live in a neighborhood where only a maximum of 75% of the sidewalks are cleared. I only lost the game a few times (more on the water side than ice...), but overall it was fun. Actually, that was a lie. I took a shorter run than I wanted to simply because I had to play the game. Now, for those who read to the end of the post, you get to find out that I've been accepted to Hamline law school and William Mitchell law school. All in the same day. No word of scholarship of William Mitchell, but Hamline is doing me a favor the same way that John Marshall would. I need to look at their programs before I make any decisions. Water or ice?

Intelligent Inquiry: The Definition of Psycho

2010-03-02T07:01:00.000-06:00

Supreme Court To Hear Chicago Gun Rights Case : NPR

I'm against concealable weapons. There, my bias is out of the way. I don't thing that the Constitutional grounds for banning firearms is solid for either side (for or against), but if there was ever a compelling reason to continue banning them; this guy (Otis McDonald) wins:
"who grew up on a farm in Louisiana shooting rabbits and squirrels. McDonald says he now wants a handgun to fend off youngsters in his Chicago neighborhood."
So, a man who used to shoot small animals wants a handgun so he can shoot at kids.

In a way, I don't even care to talk about the Constitutional issue at hand. Even though it includes so many of my favorite topics: incorporation, federalism, and personal liberty. In the article, Alan Gura, McDonald's attorney, argued "if you can buy contraceptives and that's your way of extending your personal security, then one must assume that the right to buy a handgun for defense purposes is also going to be secured as an aspect of liberty." I don't know what kind of lawyer this guy is, but he's trying to pull a false comparison on... well I don't know... but in this case the reader/listener. For it to be true, pregnancy would have to somehow be comparable to death (which for some, I guess it may be). In any case, Mr. Gura would be remiss if he played that card at today's oral arguments.

Paint my chicken coup! Make me!

2010-02-27T10:35:00.004-06:00

Weekend update! This morning is a slow news situation so I'm not compelled to do an intelligent inquiry (the prominent story being an earthquake... and that just isn't all that funny). So I thought I'd just chat about a few random things that are on my mind.

I finally received my EBT benefits. It took over a month, but I have my card and it has a balance. I plan on buying some ingredients for sweet potato quesadillas and bulgur burgers. If you weren't aware, as an Americorps member I'm eligible for food assistance. Since I get paid an awfully small amount and I work some 50 hours a week for that position, I have no reservations about accepting it. Next...

Plants vs. Zombies by Popcap games. I recommend everyone giving that game a try. There's a free demo on Popcap's site and it's available for PC, Mac, and Iphone/Ipod Touch. The game is wonderful, but the meticulous attention to detail is the real treat. The game includes an almanac with short descriptions of each plant and zombie with a surprising amount of wit. Moreover, the game has a great sense of humor. For instance, there is an achievements list presented as a hole in the ground. Once you hit the bottom of the list, you can keep on scrolling for an obnoxious amount of time, but if you keep going and hit the other side, you are come out on the other side of the world with zombies dressed up in Chinese attire. Again, the small attention to detail is what really makes this game shine. PS... If you don't think this is your cup of tea, find and play Peggle. That game will hook you.

I've been going through "The Elements of Style" lately. That sounds about as boring as it gets, but I'm never really satisfied with my mastery of the English language. I'm proficient, but I'd rather be a master at it. In other boring news, I've just started looking over the Federalist papers. For a few boring reasons: I'm going into law so it seems to be a useful piece of lit to have read. Also, I find a lot of people throwing around what America stands for and I'd like to have the tools to argue about that a bit better, because the fact of the matter is that the Federalist papers and the Constitution are probably our best guides to framers' intent when it comes to our government. Again, I'm just starting.

Ramalamadingdongshubopshubopshubop

I'd rather be covered in trash than live in a world filled with snooty garbage men

2010-02-25T22:36:00.003-06:00

I am not crazy. I know what you're thinking. This dude wants to lecture me on the environment. Maybe and maybe not. Probably... but oh well. Anyway, I'm not crazy. I am generally skeptical of the person giving me a speech about the environment, health, or art because we generally are all hypocrites. We all have beliefs, but more often than not we betray ourselves on the follow through. Not that big a deal. I want us all to have ideals. It's just when the doling out of advice comes around that I become bothered. Therefore, I don't want to dole out advice. I will be the first to admit that I waste as much as the next person, so I have no footing to lecture anyone else. However, I would like to explain my thoughts on the subject of waste and our culture. Rock on.

Now, in case you didn't finish yesterday's post (and let's face it, to finish the post you had to read and reading sucks), I'll catch you up... I basically claimed that I would write a rant about Americans and waste. If you think that I'm going to praise our waste management, well you'd better go to foxnews.com instead (They're the only publication willing to tell the truth about this country. That everything is just fine). Long story short, we're terrible at it. This began for me the other day at the elementary school I work at. The third grade was learning about garbage. According to the literature they were using, each American will produce about 4000 times his or her body weight in garbage. That's the only piece of information I'm choosing to work off of for this discussion.

I don't call myself an environmentalist. Rather, I enjoy thinking about things in terms of responsibility. I'm a responsiblist (horrible word). In other words, I believe that there are consequences for our actions that we all have to own up to at some point in our lives. That entails smoking for your entire life which can have dire consequences or buying things that produce a lot of waste which may seem to have innocuous consequences now, but over time that may turn out differently.

Ultimately (I abuse this word but too bad), I'm really just shooting for minor change at this point. For instance, I think a lot of us could get in the habit of brining lunches in a glass/plastic reusable container of some kind. They're affordable and you'll probably end up eating something healthier than you otherwise would. I'm also going to try to think about this more when I go grocery shopping, looking for items that don't have as much packaging. Finally, just try to buy fewer things in general (not that I have a choice).

PS: For anyone who's played games over the past ten years, Madcatz is going to have some fucking explaining to do when we're out of natural resources and we're asking, "who wasted all the plastic?"

We don't need no stinkin' E

2010-02-25T06:26:00.004-06:00

If you look closely, you can see on the right side of this image that ERICtalk is one of the cited sites (in the green!). Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn, so I won't. I figure one of two things happened. Either I wrote a great summary of the event (it wasn't terrible), or someone at the Citizen's League went to google and searched "Policy and a Pint Goetz Minnesota." I'm betting on the latter. In fact:

However, I'm not letting that possibility bother me. I'm still happy and proud that it was put up. My blog obviously looks legitimate enough that they felt it acceptable to put up (unless they really didn't look at it... which is possible). Furthermore, my friend Nic last night pointed out that there isn't much of a difference between myself and other bloggers. Well, maybe those for major news organizations... but that's not a fair comparison because let's face it, that's their job.

That's it for today. Tomorrow, expect a smart-ass post about humans and how much trash we produce.

Intelligent Inquiry 3: Bachmann a Genius, First to Discover Problem Facing America

2010-02-20T10:08:00.005-06:00

Bachmann Warns CPAC that America Faces 'decline' from Excessive Spending
From Minnpost

Sarcasm punch. I really dislike Michelle Bachmann. I mean, dislike her enough where I am inclined to leave this state to avoid being associated with her. Just to cover the basics, she made the following remarks
- We face decline due to our budget woes (duh)
- Obama has the "intention to fail" and is "choosing decline"
- "What I produce belongs to me, not the King, not the government"

I'm not sure where to begin with this. The most obvious point in my mind is that Bachmann is a hypocrite. For eight Bush-kissing years, Bachmann didn't have much to say about the deficit or national debt. Here's my biggest problem with Republicans of late. They talk a big game about cutting taxes and spending. So they they cut taxes, but continue to spend. Then we end up in the hole that we're in now. I'm not that big of a Clinton lover (Bill that is), but he understood something back then that we all don't understand now... how to get a surplus (I'll give Congress a shout out too, since Constitutionally, it is their job after all... unless you live in MN).

Bachmann is a leader of the crazies. Pause...

cra-zies [krey-zees]
- noun
1. A mentally deranged, demented person.
2. People so far caught up in their beliefs that they cannot participate in debate and compromise: The crazies voted for Michelle Bachmann.

Unpause... I am fine with her believing that we should be allowed to keep the fruits of our labor. In a way, America was built on that principle if you want to be loose with history. However, as most people get when we would like to win an argument, we get selective memory. Bachmann forgets that America has and is slowly amending away that idea of you keep what you earn by necessity. The hard truth is that if we want roads, schools, trains, food, security, unemployment benefits, police, snowplows, mail, a military, and whole host of other things, we need to make sacrifices. Like I said, we get selective with our history. We were built on the idea of keeping our what we've earned... If we had stuck to our guns on that issue... well, I'll let Washington tell it how it is:

Washington to Continental Congress: Look, I understand that we were all pissed off about having to pay a bit extra for tea and stamps. Like most of you, I rushed down to the post office with a shit ton of mail the day before that law went into effect. However, and I must be blunt, if you guys don't send some supplies... and well, soldiers, to join the army, we're fucked.

Thanks George. Here's the deal, you can be anti tax and spend, but I suggest you walk the talk and stop using things the government paid for. Don't mark that homebuyer credit. Stop calling the police when someone robs your house. Don't use the roads. You sure as heck better not use a bridge. I'm sure that the free market will figure those things out for you in no time.

Policy and a Pint: The Future of Health Care

2010-02-19T06:17:00.003-06:00

Nobody plans on getting buzzed in the UBS forum. It's just not the location for that kind of thing. However, last night I attended a policy and a pint event at MPR. My first notion was that Minnesota is the best place on earth. No way around it. We say, "we're smart, but we want a beer too."

I took a few notes from this event that I'd like to discuss and give a few of my opinions. First, the notes!

- Minnesota is awesome --> 2 beers
- Thomas Goetz from Wired, speaking about How technology can revamp health care
- Everyone in unison sets down beers to clap
- Mr. Goetz suggests a drinking game: Everytime he says "health", you drink
- PROBLEM: Cascade of ill health
- Americans are generally passive agents to ill health (3% follow basic health rules: don't smoke, eat some veggies, exercise)
- 75% of health costs go to diseases that are preventable in some manner (diseases that are direct results of lifestyle choices)
- IDEA: Studies (three that I won't mention) correlate to show that people who feel "in control" and people receiving feedback are more likely to make better health choices
- Self monitoring, control, Hawthorne effect = people taking control
- Technology can help people self monitor = date creates relevance, but means more when it's our data
- More engagement= better health
- FINAL: Decisions count --> every single one has some ramification on your health

Now, I can't really comment on a large scale, but I can talk about my own life and a few things I found particularly striking. First, the point that every decision we make counts, even the little ones. I feel that this point is a great reason for everyone to continue trying to self improve. It was almost a decade ago that I started exercising regularly (not for health reasons mind you, but that's another story). I started my venture into vegetarianism over a year ago. This past summer I biked or walked to almost every destination. While I don't stick to any of these decisions every day, I can't help but connect this point to those decisions. I can't see the benefit of these choices the day I make them, but undoubtedly I'm changing my life for the better with those lifestyle choices.

Another point of his was that we live long, robust lives and we have the opportunity to change our habits. I think we are quick to dismiss any positive change in our lives as out of reach. "I've been like this for years and I can't change now." That's stupid. We live LONG lives. We can take advantage of that.

The event cost 5$. What a sweet deal. I have to go to work now.

Intelligent Inquiry 2: MPR needs a pelvic exam

2010-02-18T06:23:00.003-06:00

U of M changes pelvic exam lesson for med students
from MPR

With rising tuition costs and budget crunches, I can't figure out if the fact that the med school spends $150,000 on demonstrators or that this story is on the front page of MPR is more ridiculous.

When are you going to take video games seriously?

2010-02-16T21:08:00.003-06:00

I've never had to answer the question. It never came up. I came to the conclusion on my own. Yet, I'm asking... well... just about everyone else, when? I only ask because frankly, I just haven't seen it yet. Parents, friends, girlfriends, politicians, teachers... gaming is an adolescent activity, end of story. Yet, I can't necessarily blame them. After all, we didn't all grow up with video games. Some of us simply due to the fact that they didn't exist, and others due to circumstance. So, for those who didn't grow up in the warming glow of an SNES, they have made their deduction about games by observation. Again, I can't blame them for having a less than stellar opinion. Video games have gotten a bit of a bad rap in the media for quite some time. Violence and addiction seem to be hot button issues, but beyond that I seem to hear an endless stories of neglectful boyfriends who would rather play Xbox than watch America's next top model. If this is your experience, I'm sorry about that and this article is a hand reaching out to you.

However, there is another set of people that this article speaks to, but with a critical hand. The gamer who sees gaming as an immature phase. I don't remember who said this to me, but the quote was, "someday I'll grow up and get rid of my Xbox." A case of self pity masked with the veil of self improvement. Why? For this fellow and the individual mentioned above, is gaming really the immature vice it is portrayed to be? Obviously, I would say no.

Perhaps my biggest problem with the entire situation is that people are so quick to give the benefit of the doubt to television, movies, magazines, and books. The common view is that video games, in some way, are intrinsically lesser in value than our other forms of media. I will admit that the video game industry puts out its share of crap. However, in no way is that an exclusive component of video games. I think the twentieth season of survivor and "Hot Tub Time Machine," are evidence enough of that.

I would also argue that gaming rivals its competitors at the other end of the spectrum as well. I don't claim that video games have a rival to "Macbeth," (the industry is only 30 years old) but some games easily compete with Oscar nominees in a number of ways. For example, I'd like to bring up Mass Effect, a game I finished recently. In terms of quality (the plot, character development, setting), I can comfortably say that it is a large step above the new Star Wars trilogy (that isn't saying much I know) and is pushing its way into Lord of the Rings' territory (that is saying something). Nothing is taken for granted in the story. Every character has motivation that you may or may not be aware of. For me, I found out about one of my character's key motivations way too late, which ended up with him dieing. Not by my hand, but another member of my group. The experience rivaled most movie dramatic moments (maybe more so... I started that part over about six times trying to figure out how I could stop it). Maybe more so because it was my fault.

Ultimately, my point is that video games are in no way a lesser medium than television, movies, or print. Games are capable of addressing the same issues and provoking the same emotions as the contemporary forms of media. I have no doubt about that. So my advice is to put down your issue of Cosmo, turn off your Avatar, and start taking them seriously.

Episode 51

2010-02-14T10:21:00.003-06:00

In a flash (well not literally or figuratively for me), I've reached the big fifty post mark. It's quite an achievement considering that all my other blogs slowed at about 15 or 20 posts (with the exception of Anarchy in the UK). With that in mind, I consider this blog a success. I'm proud that I've been able to keep a stream of content, even if it ranges from good to barbecue sauce related (see barbecue sauce execs). I've tried some things that haven't panned out (looking back, I notice the two editions of "Eshort"... what the hell was I thinking). It's time to look ahead. There are ways I want to improve this blog and some are within reach while others probably aren't. I just want to talk about those a little... in list form! (dun dun duhhhh...hhh)

1. Use Labels
Blogger has a nifty system that allows you to label your posts (ie: I could label this post as rambling nonsense... and I will). Basically, readers are able to search for posts that address specific topics or items. Nifty eh?
Likelihood of victory: Seven thumbs up

2. Write for myself
Sometimes I feel like I need to write for a specific audience. For instance, say I write about Left 4 Dead 2. My mother reads this blog. She doesn't care about that. She probably doesn't know what that is... which is fine. However, I shouldn't not write about it because I feel my audience may not be interested. Let's face it, in America, we don't know what we're interested in until it's on every night from 5 to 6 PM.
Likelihood of victory: Four bottles with fairies.. whoo!

3. Get more user participation
I enjoy hearing comments from people. I enjoy reading what my friends and family write. However, I'm under the impression that either they don't want to do this or for some reason can't do it. Kudos to Nic for being the most dependable commenter (even if it's at a rate of 1 a month and usually is only some smart ass remark).
Likelihood of victory: I'm not Eric Dietz, and I'm playing Simpsons Scene It against him.

4. Turn this thing into a website
I would like that way more... I just have no idea how... and I'm not going to take the time to learn. I'm sure it's very easy... at least if you already know how to do it. At this point, I'm much more interested in reading, playing guitar, going back to my Japanese, and training for a marathon than doing this.
Likelihood of victory: I might as well be Mercutio, counting on Romeo to have my back...

Anyone want to visit Chicago with me?

2010-02-12T09:31:00.003-06:00

From: John Marshall Law School Office of Admission

Dear Mr. Dietz:

Congratulations! Our Admission Committee is pleased to inform you that based upon your academic credentials and supporting statements, your application for admission to our August, 2010 entering class, Full Time division, has been accepted.

Additionally, due to your outstanding academic record, you have been awarded an Edward T. Lee Scholarship for the full amount of tuition. At our current tuition rate, this scholarship is valued at $113,400.00 and is renewable in full on an annual basis as long as you remain in the tip third of your class.

Mo money mo problems

2010-02-09T21:38:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, I'm not going to be posting for a little bit because I need to finish a scholarship essay. I did the math of my available time this week and I need to reserve my mornings to write it. Sorry. Check out the new, improved style of my blog. I think it looks pretty good (that means don't free ride off of the emails).

Mr E

3NN: Ninendo No-Nonsense News (yeah... that's 4 Ns total!)

2010-02-08T18:08:00.006-06:00

An excerpt from Monday night's transcript from the 3NN special event with Bowser

Toadsworth (T): Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a special 3NN one on one with leader of the opposition party, Bowser, King of the Koopas. Koopa King, thank you for joining us.

Bowser (B): It's my pleasure Toadsworth. Is it okay if I call you Toadsworth?

T: Of course.

B: Thanks.

T: Now Bowser, I must begin by asking about what has the entire Mushroom Kingdom in an uproar, of course, I mean the Koopa Party's "Just say kidnap strategy," which has paralyzed the Mario administration's legislative goals.

B: Well, as you know the Koopa party has had a difficult few years. After my last defeat at the hands of Mario and his brother... what's his name?

T: Luigi.

B: Right. Luigi. Thank you. Anyway, after my defeat by Mario, our party took a big hit in the midterms and again in the presidential elections.

T: Yes. The Mario Party has succeeded quite swimmingly. Chuckles.

B: Chuckles. I see you're referring to the frog suit slogan. Yes, even I was surprised how popular the image of Mario in a frog suit became. More surprising yet was his slogan, "A Suit We Can Believe in." The entire kingdom loved it.

T: Back to the point at hand. Just say kidnap?

B: Yes. With our substantial losses in the Mushroom Kingdom Congress, we are being forced to go to drastic measures in order to preserve what we believe is the proper future for out Kingdom. Remember, just because the Mario Party made gains in Congress doesn't mean that we're about to forget about our constituents. They deserve to have their beliefs represented too.

T: What problems do you specifically have with the Mario Party's agenda?

B: Well take health care reform for instance. We agree that reform is necessary, but that a number of hurtles must be overcome. Immigration, the kingdom's debt problems... the Mario Party is trying to rush this reform through. This problem isn't as simple as a game of tennis or golf (also basketball, soccer, and kart racing). Laughs

T: Laughs. Yes. Mario's recreational activities are quite well known aren't they?

Intelligent Inquiry 1: Obama's Bi?

2010-02-08T06:21:00.003-06:00

Obama Plans Bipartisan Summit on Health Care
from the NYT

So I believed I would be writing about the Super Bowl this morning. Not that I was excited about that possibility, but let's face it. We're America. We care about Haiti when it makes us look good and we care about football and celebrities the rest of the time. In any case, to my surprise the top story on NYT this morning was about Obama and another showdown between him and the Republicans. Obama really is a genius in his own way, and that's because Bipartisan nothing. This is about as Bipartisan as anything in politics (which is nothing at all). Really, this is an opportunity for Obama to make a bunch of old white dudes look like idiots, which is smart because that is probably what Obama can do best (and they probably are). To be fair, he also has to do it because he is really bad at politics as far as his first year is concerned. He can't bully his own party, so he might as well bully the opposition party. And... if all else fails, I recommend playing the race card (I really hope he doesn't).

Moreover (for writing only), I'm bothered that this health care nonsense isn't done with. I'm under the impression that politicians are paid to do something (mistake #1... not the paid part, the doing something part). Change the bill, cut things out, present it in parts, do something! Sure, Obama and the Democrats would love a public option, expansion of medicaid (great time magazine article about medicaid expansion and state costs in TIME), and the ending of insurance company exempting patients with pre-existing conditions. All of those things won't fly by in one bill (at least right now). However, I could see one of them getting through... the pre-existing condition thing. Honestly Congress, I bet some people could use that part right now. Stop having press conferences, lunch, and state of the union addresses and do it.

A Little Change

2010-02-07T09:59:00.002-06:00

So, ERICtalk has basically just been a forum for what's on my mind which has worked out great. Surprisingly, I've kept a up a regular stream of content and personally, I'm not embarrassed about the quality. At the very least, it has entertained readers to a nominal extent. However, over the next week I'd like to change it up a little bit. I was having a conversation with one of my friends this weekend and he suggested that I start a news blog... because i'm an excellent journalist? Nope... because we were talking shit with each other and he was laughing at what I was saying. I'm not sure if he suggested it after a lot of thought, or just said it to be nice. In either case, I would like to try it. I'm not going to be shooting for hilariousness every time, but I never do. So with luck, it will be funny or at least marginally entertaining.

THE PLAN:
Just to take the headline from one of my favorite news sites (mpr, nyt, scotusblog), read the article, and then write about it.

It's unlikely that this plan will eat up every post, and maybe I'll think of a way to classify these posts so they can be organized in some way.

Mr E

The State of the Union

2010-02-04T06:27:00.005-06:00

I must admit that over the past year, I have slowly lost some of my faith in Obama. Now, I don't believe I am part of the Obama generation. I didn't really vote for him because he was offering something radically new. He did what any politician does... he promised a lot of stuff. Promises were expected and that's fine. I did vote for him because I thought he would do a better job than McCain and I still stand by that decision (that dude is old... really old... and as an old man told me, "I know what it's like to be that age. You forget things!"). Anyway... I've slowly been losing faith. He's not a bad guy, but I'm losing the belief that he can get things done. Health care reform was badly handled and I'm not seeing the "bipartisanship" that he claims to be interested in. Yet, he did kind of win me over again at the State of the Union. I like the guy. What can I say? He comes off as frank and honest and I'm convinced that he believes that his programs will be the best solution for the United States' problems. Only one year in, that is good enough for me.

I would like to see Obama change a few things. First (and smaller), I don't think Obama had any business giving the Supreme Court guff (for lack of better words). Alito sat there shaking his head (which could have been for a number of reasons) and I don't think he was out of line doing so. Obama may disagree with the decision, but it's not like he's going to change it. Also, I feel as if he has bigger fish to fry (<--cliche). Second and finally, I wish he would uphold his own claim to bipartisanship. At one point, Obama made a comment about how America had all kinds of problems before he walked in the door. The Democrats had a good laugh... obviously the Republicans didn't... but I would have really liked to see Obama tell all the Democrats to sit down, shut up, and stop laughing. "Why are you laughing? This isn't funny. This is terrible for our country." I feel this is a constant problem with politicians. They would rather dance in their competitors failures than create their own victories. Frankly, Obama is no different than these politicians that I mentioned. I wish he was.

Health Care Debate

2010-02-04T06:14:00.002-06:00

Note: I've put together a list of positions some people on another blog that I'm active with have taken. For privacy sake, I've replaced their names with numbers.

1: Pro Reform
- Believes we are all susceptible to lack of coverage under current system
- Doesn’t believe there is proof that Federal government can’t handle reform
- Believes state only reform is hampered by “race to the bottom”
2: Pro Reform
- Believes primary care should be available to everyone in order to bring down ER usage for non-emergencies
- Believes denying primary care drives up cost for entire system by forcing uninsured to leave medical issues untreated that become much more expensive as they get worse
- Believe offering primary care to undocumented immigrants is cheaper than forcing them to use ER
3: Against Federal Reform, Pro State Reform
- Doesn’t believe federal reform will be efficient or effective
- Believes federal government should solve immigration first
- Believes people still would not be covered sufficiently
- Doesn’t believe that insurance could be managed/enforced sufficiently
4: Pro Reform
- Doesn’t believe budget crisis to be sufficient reason to put off reform
- Believes supply and demand will fund health care (at least somewhat)
5: Against Reform
- Believes that abuse by undocumented immigrants should block reform
- Believes that some use the current system irresponsibly and should not be offered coverage
- Believes system would become too clogged with abusive patients
- Believes that too many human services are offered that can be abused
- Doesn’t believe federal government should take over the system
- Doesn’t believe oversight is the answer
- Believes a “revamping” is a good thing
6: A little from A and a little from B
- Believes companies should offer more affordable coverage
- Believes parents should have options of keeping their child on their coverage
- Believes that government should offer some level of regulation on the companies
- Legalize pot

The Lost Value of Demos

2010-01-31T10:11:00.004-06:00

Last night after a few glasses of whiskey and some political discussion, my friend Dan watched me play through a few demos of Xbox Live indie games. While we sat playing such great games like "KGB The Agent," we began discussing the value of demos. Back in the day (and I mean like 6 years ago), a demo disk was a great item to obtain. While generally the games weren't great or satisfying in their short form, free games were free games and something about that was welcomed with open arms. However, that feeling has slowly faded. Not just for my friends (I download demos on their consoles whenever I get a chance, even if they don't want them), but also for myself. My experience with game demos is a bit unique. When I was a lowly middle-schooler, I bought a Sega Dreamcast and had no money to buy a game following the purchase of the console. So for a few months, all I had was my free demo disk that came with the machine (included games: Sonic Adventure, Powerstone, Ready to Rumble, some racing game, House of the Dead 2, and Sega Bass Fishing). To say the least, it sucked to only have five or so games... but I appreciated it. Today is different. With the internet, gamers have unfettered access to hundreds of demos. We take for granted the fact that a new gaming experience and new content is just a minute away for no cost. When I was 13, I would have loved that... especially in the absence of the ability to purchase a real game. So why don't we really care about demos anymore? Maybe the games we own are just that much better. Maybe we're different in that as adults, we can buy games we want to play rather than wait for Christmas or a birthday. Either way, I feel as if demos are on the way out.

My case for health care reform (response to other blog poll)

2010-01-29T08:09:00.000-06:00

This post is in response to our latest poll. I know this isn't really a forum for this kind of discussion generally, but fuck it. So, as many of you probably know (or can at least guess), I support health care reform. In fact, I support the crazy health care reform that would eliminate insurance companies, cover everyone with a single payer, and basically turn our country into Scandinavia. Now, before the rage inside you compells you to come find me and beat me to death with my own hammer and sickle, I'll admit that this will never become a reality. In fact, I don't see the current plan in front of Congress right now (which is far back from the plan I just described) has a good chance of being passed. However, I must contend that some sort of health care reform is needed. To support this belief, I am not bringing a bunch of numbers, but rather a short story about... well for privacy sake, let's call him Kic Nempfert.

Kic graduated in May of 09' and his insurance coverage was set to expire at the end of the month. On May 31st, Kic was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, for all the people in the United States who get sick with no insurance, some personal blame can be laid on them. They should have paid the x$ a month (excuse me, xxx$). However, I don't think Kic can hardly be considered the irresponsible type in this case. This was just bad luck. Not just bad luck, I'm talking Romeo and Juliet star crossed lover luck (look it up if you're confused). The likelihood that he would lose his insurance and be diagnosed with a million dollar disease on the same day is astronomical. Yet, it happened. It sucks, but it happened. Now what can he do? No insurance company would ever accept a recently diagnosed cancer patient (or any cancer patient for that matter). He could get a job, but that also seems a little difficult given the whole chemotherapy and compromised immune system thing. So what options are left open for Kic?

So that leads me to why I believe we need some kind of health care reform and why I believe we need it now. Moreover, the reason I was inclined to write this and post it on this blog was that this shit could happen to anyone... any of us. Moreover, I think an interesting statistic is that 60% of bankruptcies are declared due to medical bills, and 75% of those bankruptcies come from people with insurance (Health Magazine June 2009). Again, I don't care what your political alignment is... that shit is fucked up and you don't want it happening to you.

I don't know what the "right" approach is to health care reform, but I'm not really convinced that anyone does. What I do know is that the current system is broken and I'd rather not see the US sit on its hands any longer.

I liked this quote

2010-01-28T06:38:00.001-06:00

"One person’s constitutional right is another’s loose and sloppy construction"- Barry Friedman

Keeping the King of England Out of Your Face

2010-01-26T19:27:00.003-06:00

Yet again, the Simpsons make a joke out of one of our keenly observed American tenets. Our precious Second Amendment, our right to weapons, etc, etc... (First the mad scientist, then the mad grad student... when will it end? -Futurama). Alright, enough with quotes and more to the point. I've been on a road to this post since the triple homicide took place just under a month ago not all that far from where I live. A week ago, Nic and I partook in a viewing of "The Cartridge Family," a Simpsons episode where Homer gets a gun (referenced in the title of this post). Finally, last night a shooting took place outside of Centennial Hall, a block from where I spent two years of my life, five blocks from where I spent another year, and a block from where my sister currently resides (to recap, T-Hall, Dinnaken apts, and Pio). The road wasn't clear a month ago. In fact, I haven't really given the topic of guns a lot of thought for quite some time. A case went through the Supreme Court a few years ago striking down a ban in D.C. on handguns, but that came and went. However, this is fresh in my mind and I must be honest that I have come to a conclusion. If you support the right to own a handgun, you are an idiot. Yet, I don't want to leave it at that... I would like to elaborate your idiocy... Let's begin...

Before I begin, I would like to give my blessing to hunting rifles. Hunters should hunt. It's an American tradition and all. Please enjoy. This post specifically refers to handguns and other ridiculous weapons... the ones meant to kill people specifically.

Guns kill people. I hate to sound like a broken record, a cliche, predictable (like the broken record metaphor), but it's true and there is no way around it. A common counter is that people kill people. Well, I'll succumb to the point, but come on now... If every malice harboring person had a handgun this country would be f'ed. Moreover, I can't help but think that if that the shooters in south Minneapolis and at the University had been carrying rifles instead of being able to conceal a handgun, someone would have stopped them. At the very least, maybe said to the themselves, "this shit is messed up," and then called the police.

Next, I'm not sure where inane idea that concealed weapons add some sort of added protection to a person's life (reference: first sentence of paragraph above). I try to imagine a US where police wouldn't need to worry about being shot. Hell, I imagine a US where I wouldn't need to worry about being shot. Thankfully, I believe it is rare that a person knows another person who has had a hand gun pointed at him or her. However, I believe it is far rarer that a person knows someone who has actually used their gun to deter another with a gun. I don't know a single person who has done that. I don't expect to.

Finally, we come to the Constitutional argument. Of course we have the Second Amendment and I won't run around it with some belief that the founders didn't intend for it to apply in the way it is. I admit that the Second Amendment is valid and should probably apply to the states as the other Amendment's do. Yet, like our other rights, I believe it should be curbed to some extent (obviously). We limits on our rights and the Supreme Court has stated those limits are constitutional if they serve a compelling government interest. Again, I make no argument to to get rid of all guns... just the ones that are obviously used for killing people.

To sum up, this was a cranky post. A post mostly fueled by the feeling I had after I found out about the shooting in front of Centennial. I sat there and thought, "statistically, there is a good chance that could be/could have been my sister." I understand that this wouldn't be an overnight job, however I do believe we need to start somewhere.

Falling

2010-01-25T06:16:00.002-06:00

Yesterday morning, I woke up with the intention of taking a short jog, which I do just about every day. For the record, it was a bad choice. Whoever said that if you set your mind to something you can accomplish anything.. well... they were wrong. Yuki and I left and hit the icy ground. After about two blocks, things were going alright. We had to start and stop quite often. Eventually, I decided that we should run on the road for a bit. I specifically remember making a mental decision to keep running over an elevated patch of ice... and down we went... into a puddle. If that wasn't unpleasant enough, some woman was on the side of the road with her dog barking like crazy and she was saying things to me. She wasn't asking if I was okay... she was going on about her dog or something. So there I was, all wet from my fall slowly walking to the sidewalk with this woman and her dog. In the end, I had only gone two blocks and walked home.

Weekend Update

2010-01-23T09:16:00.003-06:00

I know I don't usually post on Saturday, but I'm feeling spunky. First, the Citizens United decision was made and the Court decided that Corporations should are able to spend an unlimited amount on independent advertisements (used to be illegal to spend any amount). I've read a lot of commentary on the issue and it seems that most sites believe this decision to also extend to unions, but that is still unclear. After reading all of Justice Kennedy's majority opinion, he interchanges the two words as if to give the impression that the decision extends to unions, but that does fall outside of the decision. If it doesn't extend to unions yet, I'm sure a case will come up and be decided quickly allowing them the same rights. To be honest, I don't really like what this does to campaign finance. I know that corporations were able to move their money in other ways during campaigns with quite a few hurdles. Those hurdles didn't stop the money... but frankly I like the hurdles. Yet, the reasoning in Justice Kennedy's opinion is sound. He relied on the importance of political speech during an election and the necessity of the First Amendment to protect that speech. I like the idea of fairness and less influence on my politicians, but there is no right to that in the Constitution. Freedom of speech is in there.

Last night Nic and I started A Link to the Past... likely the greatest game ever made. I say that a lot, but while usually I say that about any game that has made an impact on me, I say it about this one with the addition that it is nearly flawless. I won't gush on, but he and I are going for 100% completion on it. With the absence of achievements on the Wii, we need to settle for making our own.

Citizens United v. FEC

2010-01-21T06:14:00.002-06:00

The Supreme Court has set a special public session for this morning where they may decide Citizens United v. FEC. The case involves corporations arguing that they have the same rights as individuals do concerning the First Amendment, specifically addressing the spending of money in campaigns. To put this in context, a single donation from a large corporation could easily match the money made by Obama's campaign a few years ago. It depends on how the Court rules, but it could be a very narrow opinion that involves only the Hilary movie (look it up if you want more information) or could strike down a large chunk of campaign finance law. I'll update once the Court has rendered its decision.

MLK Day

2010-01-19T06:11:00.003-06:00

Last night was an interesting experience for me and a friend. We went and saw Keith Ellison at Cavalry Church in Minneapolis. He was the keynote speaker for the event and I had certain expectations. I joked about how as long as he says diversity, MLK, and challenges involved with moving forward, he'll have hit the standards for any MLK day speech. However, he didn't. Moreover, I left last night's event unsure about what MLK day really is about.

Last night, I was a little bit embarrassed to be represented by Ellison. His speech was a confusing mash-up of facts about MLK, mixed with constant reminders that he was just like any of you out in the audience. However, it was equally likely that he would say that King wasn't just a man. In the end, the speech didn't go anywhere. Again it left me unsure what MLK day was about. From Ellison, I would have taken away that we should be offended by the government's attempts to subvert King. Americorps encourages the it to be a day of service. However, I'm unsure that watching movies and setting up a rec center for a community party was what King had in mind when he talked about community action. This is residual from my childhood, but I guess I thought it was a day to celebrate either the progress made by King in regard to racism or some other factor involving race. Anyway... I guess the easy (and lazy) answer is that MLK day is what each individual makes of it, but it seems more that King was just a guy that few people my age know anything about other than what we've read which I don't think can recreate the emotion that seems to have inspired the holiday. Maybe people who experienced it see the holiday differently, but I can't speak to that. I imagine that for most it is just a day off and no one is complaining about that.

Some things I've liked over the past week

2010-01-15T06:17:00.002-06:00

Cooking: Zucchini Bread, Pad Thai, Egg Rolls, and Sweet potato quesadilla filling
Video Games: Batman Arkham Asylum, Drop 7
TV: Boston Legal, How I met your Mother
Books: The Clinton Tapes, Savage Inequalities
Exercise: Swimming, Running

Cancer's Approach on Me

2010-01-14T06:21:00.007-06:00

It started in 1939. We're in Poland, having a great time. Then around 11 PM on May 31st, German tanks roll over the border while we're still trotting around on horses. On our heels, we all fell back. Through some miracle we roll over, crawl to the channel and swim over to England. What a nice place. The feeling doesn't last long. A few months at best. The planes are again over us. This time we're ready, but our response is merely defensive in nature. In a way, banding together in the shelter has become perfunctory.

Law Watch

2010-01-13T06:20:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to bring up a few federal cases that are going on today/ this week.

1. American Needle v. NFL

American Needle was a producer of NFL licensed hats for many years until 2000, when the NFL signed an exclusive license with Reebok. Understandably, American Needle was unhappy and proceeded to sue the NFL and Reebok, citing a violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act (a set of antitrust laws). Section 1 prohibits any group of independent entities from working together to restrain trade or commerce. The big question in this case is whether the NFL can be considered a single entity. Players' associations from baseball, hockey, and the NCAA have weighed in on the side of American Needle while companies like EA and VF Imagewear have sided with the NFL. I'm not sure how the case will turn out but it's being argued in about two hours.

2. Proposition 8 Case

The first case to challenge whether the banning of same sex marriage is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. We've heard a lot about cases involving same sex marriage, but those have all been in state courts. This is the first case to be tried in federal courts and given the sensitive topic, it seems likely that it will go through the appeals process, possibly to the Supreme Court. I support the challenge to proposition 8, however I am worried about this case hitting the Supreme Court. History shows that Congress and the President enjoy deferring issues of this nature to the Judicial branch if possible. Depending on which way the Court rules, we could be stuck with that decision for a long time. I'm unsure how the justices will vote, but the Court is definitely conservative leaning, so I would be worried about the issue going there. The case isn't likely to hit the High Court for a few years and we don't know who will sit on the bench then.

Just say no to 3D

2010-01-12T06:06:00.002-06:00

I'm not into this whole 3D thing. 3D is fine for the imax experience, or even one time films like "Avatar" (which I have not seen yet). However, at this years Consumer Electronic Show, the new technology for televisions was 3D and I am not really sold on the idea. I already feel that many movies in theaters are only using 3D to artificially raise the price of tickets, but at least these are relatively low expenses. After buying a new 3D enabled television, Blueray player, and glasses, a consumer is looking at a hefty expense. The argument can be made that most people took hold of dvd players and HD televisions despite the high cost, and so why shouldn't 3D move in the same direction. Well, I would argue that those two technologies succeeded because they either make viewing a more enjoyable experience, or don't inhibit the way people are used to watching their televisions. 3D fails in this regard. As of now, rules exist when watching 3D television, which means that I won't be watching without the glasses or from an angle. I don't know about most people, but I have the television on usually while I'm cooking or doing some other activity that also holds my attention. I don't usually do those things directly in front of my television and I don't plan on wearing a large pair of 3D goggles while doing those activities. The experience is worse in 3D. Moreover, the trade doesn't make up for these short falls. Sure, perhaps "Avatar" is always awesome in 3D, but for every movie of this caliber you get a thousand that have about ten seconds of 3D where a pie is 3D during a food fight. I don't need that.

Voting

2010-01-08T07:33:00.003-06:00

Yesterday on MPR, the host was speaking with her guests about what does the political landscape look like now heading into 2010 as opposed to way back in 2008 when Obama was elected. Well, they believed that your independent voter isn't happy... or at least has lost the excitement that caused them to vote for Obama. I can't claim to be an independent fully. I agree with most fiscal conservative agendas... but it's the other stuff that will always make me vote liberal. However, I'm worried about the democrats in the next election because as crazy as the I think some social conservative polices are, the liberal side has been just as disappointing. I would say that watching them form this health care bill has been like watching a bunch of monkeys edit a picture in Photoshop CS. They suck at it. Then, once the bill is figured out, some of the monkeys demand a banana before they do their part. I would like the see the Democrats get their act together, but if all the difficulties their facing don't turn around I think they will be hurting in this fall's election.

That rocket be trippin

2010-01-07T06:23:00.002-06:00

So last night, three of my friends and I were in the hospital (not just for fun), and I think I've come up with a pretty original setting for a movie or series of movies. The idea isn't elegant, but definitely has the, "What the fuck is happening," going for it.

So, basically the setting is from the near future (like all movies, right?) and technology has been developed that would let the United States attach rockets to our borders allowing us to transfer the entire landmass from Earth to the planet of our choice. I personally prefer the moon. The idea came to me while chatting about how screwed the planet will be from carbon emissions and somehow it's the developing world's fault (it probably isn't). So the whole United States decides, we're getting out of this jazz. I feel that movies too often try the, "oh the human race has to move underground to survive," or, "they need to fly to a secret space colony." Like I said earlier, this has the, "Am I seriously watching this quality," allowing it to be enjoyed for years to come.

Now, before you roll your eyes at another one of Eric's crazy ideas, hear me out. The plots are endless. I want to go over a few.

1. Stereotypical End of the World
Clive Owen and his girl are desperately struggling to reach the United States before it leaves the planet to escape the coming tidal wave threatening to destroy the Western Hemisphere. In the epic last scene, they cross the Rio de Janeiro and grab onto the leaving land mass at the very last minute. Also allows for a commentary on illegal immigration.

2. Stereotypical Zombie Apocolypse
A bunch of b or c list actors fight through hordes of zombies back to the border. Steal Rio de Janeiro ending and add in some tragic biting deaths. Instant classic.

3. Romantic Comedy
Patrick Dempsey (or even Alec Baldwin) promised their girlfriend that he would get her french chocolates for their anniversary. With his beloved to return in only a day (from her trip to... Seattle), he heads to the store to buy the chocolates, but the country is already on its way to the moon (the chocolates would have had to be shipped from France). Now he's in a mad dash to find some before it's too late and his girl gets stolen by some muscly jerk.

4. Dramatic think piece
A Forest Gump-like film where the main character is diagnosed with some terminal illness. In his past, he developed the technology allowing the country to be blasted into space, but had his work stolen by his protege. Now on his deathbed, that story is told by people coming to visit him. Finally, the climax is delivered when his old protege comes to see him, the flashback shows the betrayal, and then he apologizes and they hug and love each other. Then, the main character says that all he ever wanted was to see the rockets fire. They do and he dies. Everyone cries. The end.

5. Jackie Chan/ Stereotypical Black Actor in "That Rocket be Trippin"
Taken from Rush Hour, basically Jackie Chan and Tracey Morgan are trying to find a gang (who are likely ninjas for some reason) that plans on sabotaging the rocket system and selling secrets to some evil country.

Preferably I'd like to see all five of these movies released the same weekend.

Drive my car

2010-01-06T06:19:00.003-06:00

Why aren't we investing heavily into alternative forms of energy? I know it would screw me over a bit, but the US should be taxing gas heavily in order to promote this transition. Now sports car and truck drivers, before you drive down my throat (ha, drive), I want you to hear me out. Just for you, I won't even play the environment card. F the evironment. Look at it from a few other perspectives. First, oil is finite. That is a fact. Eventually... all the oil on earth will be gone. Laws of supply and demand say that as supply diminishes (and assuming demand remains... which let's face it...) the price increases. So whether we raise the tax on gas now or not, the price will go up. The other reason I have for this push is that I want this country to continue being awesome. And... well, you know who's going to be rich in fifty years? The country who's producing vehicles that are beyond gasoline. Also, the other countries will have to eat boot. Hopefully our boot.

Christmas reflection

2010-01-05T06:29:00.003-06:00

I'm a sucker for Christmas. I've acquired a kind of permanent nostalgia from a lifetime of family gatherings, gifts, and television specials that nearly force me to put up a tree, throw a party, and give gifts. I am the first to admit that the expectation I have from the nostalgia is waning and rarely if ever allows the actual Christmas experience to meet the bar set for it, which sucks. However, I feel that the holiday always justifies itself in other ways. On Christmas day, my parents and I dropped off a gift to my grandfather's neighbor, V (just a first initial for privacy sake). He had helped our family cut wood this fall and had worn a flannel jacket with the front nearly torn off completely. So, I bothered my family that we should get him a new fall coat (an innocuously priced gift in my opinion). We did. V opened his gift and I make no exaggeration when I say he had tears in his eyes upon opening and trying the coat on. I began to have that Christmas feeling settle in at that point. I doubt V really needed a new jacket, or even wanted a new jacket. What he did need was to know that he had friends. He had people who cared about him. He lives alone. His family couldn't make it to Christmas that day due to the weather. I imagine that friends aren't an easy commodity for someone like him. So when we come on Christmas day and take time out of our day to let him know that we care, it means a lot.

We all want that feeling. I may give gifts and throw parties for that reason. I want people to know that I give a shit about them and that's difficult when the rest of the year you are already calling them and spending time with them. So I take it up a notch (bam!), because I don't really know how else to let people know that. I don't see me changing in the near future, but something to think about.

New Year

2010-01-04T06:20:00.002-06:00

Hello, Erictalk is back for the new year. I know I gave no formal goodbye or well wish over the holidays, but I basically took that time off to withdraw into that sweet sweet break lifestyle. I had plans on writing, but it just didn't work out. Actually, I'm a creature of habit... and my habit has always been to write in this blog before I go to work at about 6:15 AM. I was not up at that time over break, so no posts. Anyway, I have a lot to write about, but I thought I'd start out with some resolutions I've set for myself.

1. Cooking
So far so good. I've made a few salsas, a sweet potato based filling for quesadillas, and pad thai. Moreover, ingredients for zucchini bread litter my kitchen as I'm writing this.

2. Run a marathon.... again
As of now my sidewalks are covered with ice and the high temperature has been around five degrees. Yet, I want to run another marathon because as far as the brain releasing sweet endorphins goes, this activity tops the chart.

3. Drink less soda
I drink about one soda a day which probably isn't all that much when compared to the population at large. However, I've never been comfortable with ingesting something on a regular basis that I know is not beneficial for my body. I don't want to get rid of soda completely, but make it more of a treat than a staple.

4. Continue writing this blog/ Start a podcast for it
I have the equipment. I need a plan. I've wanted to start a podcast for probably a year now. I really love the medium as far as getting information goes. I became hooked in January of 2008. Ideally, this would be a practice round and I really want to start one for law school once I start.

To be honest, I believe that it being the new year is a crappy reason to change my lifestyle. I've wanted to accomplish these goals for a while... the first is just a reminder of that. We should all be striving to better ourselves all year round.

Part I: Shoehorn Approach

2009-12-16T06:11:00.000-06:00

I currently have two Japanese language memorization programs on my iphone, one for Kanji and one for vocabulary. Both programs (Japanese Flip and Kanji Flip) feature the same programming feature where when you correctly identify an answer, you see that question less often. However, if you answer a question incorrectly, you would expect to see that question again very soon. It's great except that it's difficult to know what kind of progress you've made. Moreover, it offers little encouragement to come back and continue your work. This is where video games come in... and the shoehorning of those elements come in. The two problems I mentioned are two problems that plague bad games and for those that have those problems solved, elevate the best games. For instance, a sense of progression is often achieved by a leveling system in video games. As you complete tasks, missions, etc, your game character gains experience points and levels up. Sure I'm slowly gaining in my Japanese ability as I use these two applications, but a nice progression bar with information on questions answered correctly would be nice. To bring it a step further, I would like to see abilities added as you level up. For instance, perhaps the player would gain experience point bonuses for each question answered in a row and at level 5, the player gains the ability to skip a question in order to preserve that streak. Another approach would be the inclusion of items. Get to level 2, win a new theme for your application. Get to level 4, win a little piece of candy. Answer ten food vocab questions correctly and you unlock a miniature chibi slice of pizza. Whatever... These types of hooks have been used in RPGs for quite some time with great success. Educational programs should be taking advantage of those ideas as well.

Video Games and Education... holding hands

2009-12-11T06:16:00.006-06:00

I don't mean in the moral way (although they often try), but in the I'll sit down and dedicate my life to something for 20 hours kind of way. My time in education has made it pretty clear to me that students can often have a difficult focusing on their work for long stretches of time. For some, short stretches are a real challenge. Now, I remember myself as a child dedicating hours and hours to what can fairly be called some of the worst video games on earth... terrible, horrible, awful pieces of entertainment. However, like I said, hours and hours of dedication. So, I'm curious how education could have harnessed those hours I spent on Alfred Chicken for SNES and turned them into something useful. I've got a few ideas.

More to come...

Barbecue Sauce Execs

2009-12-09T06:26:00.003-06:00

I have a larger post in the works, but ponder this for now....

Do you think the executives at Barbecue Sauce companies just sit in the board room and say, "hmmm, we made big inroads on ketchup this month and all signs point to the trend continuing in this fashion. If we keep this up, we'll be the number one condiment by the end of the year." They pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate....

Florida v. Powell and Miranda

2009-12-07T06:11:00.003-06:00

I think most people believe that the Supreme Court decides an issue and never goes back to it. That my not be true, as the only evidence I have is that most people recognize the case Roe v. Wade, but if asked about Planned Parenthood v. Casey, relatively few would have any idea what that's about. That's fine, but generally that is not the reality with most issues, which brings me to this post. Today, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Florida v. Powell where Powell, Florida, and lower courts around the country are waiting for clarification on whether it is sufficient for police to tell suspects that they have a right to speak to a lawyer before questioning and that they may use that right during questioning, or must they specifically inform them that they have a right to counsel during the interrogation itself?

Powell was a felon in possession of a firearm. When arrested and interrogated, he made several incriminating statements, including that the he owned the weapon found on him. These statements were introduced at trial and he was found guilty.

“You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering any of our questions. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed for you without cost and before any questioning. You have the right to use any of these rights at any time you want during this interview.”

That is the exact text of Tampa's Miranda warning and was used before Powell's interrogation. The defense believed that because the warning did not explicitly state that Powell had the right to an attorney during the interrogation, his statements should not have been eligible to be submitted as evidence.

My Take:
I am sure that there are times when police improperly obtain information from suspects that should not be allowed to be used as evidence in a trial. However, I do not believe that this is one of those times. This man is guilty. He voluntarily admitted that he owned the weapon. He wasn't told that he could consult an attorney during the interrogation explicitly, but he was told explicitly that he could consult a lawyer prior to the interview and he didn't. Finally, as I have put in bold above, that warning does state that a suspect may use the rights at any time.

The actual decision won't be handed down for quite some time in this case, but I'll make sure that I follow up on it.

Eshort: Some stuff

2009-12-05T08:25:00.001-06:00

Just for everyone's information, every post that I write (with the exception of this one) are products of the time between 6 AM and 6:40 AM.

Also, why at coffee shops when you tell them that you would like room for cream, which they know because they asked me, do they put the top on the frickin cup. You know I'll just need to open the dumb thing again. grrrr.....

Modern Warfare 2: I hate it and love it

2009-12-04T07:00:00.002-06:00

Modern Warfare 2 has done something that I've wanted to organize for a few years now and I can't help but be a little jealous. As a gamer (yep, I'll admit it even though I'm a bit fearful of the assumptions that are carried with that title), I've seen the evolution from playing with your friends in a room on a 24" TV to the introduction of high speed internet and HD televisions in all of our homes. With that came a general decline in the time being spent chatting with your friends while shooting each other with a Klobb in Goldeneye. That always made me sad. However, I was certainly willing to settle for its replacement by online gaming, especially since college equally lowered our time playing together.

Well, here's where MW2 has succeeded where I feel I've failed. Last night I had a blast playing with 4 of my close friends playing the game online with voice chat (again, the stereotypical nerd scene comes into view: headset, controller, TV). These friends and I love to be together, but I'll be honest that none of us are crazy about sitting on the telephone and chatting, so we rarely get a chance to talk other than email and text. Gaming has changed that. Yes, this time is being used to play MW2, but it is also being used as time for conversation like others would do at a coffee shop or at a bar. Moreover, the benefit extends further in allowing our group, which is stretched across the states of Minnesota and South Dakota, to interact all together despite our location.

The reason I'm a bit jealous and angry towards MW2 is that I've wanted this to come to fruition for years. It has periodically with Halo 3 and a few other titles, but for some reason MW2 has put fire in my friends' boots. Personally, I don't even think the game is that great. It's fun, but it can often be frustrating if you aren't a pro at the game. Yet, the experience is still a blast when played together as most games are. Kudos MW2.

Eshort: Dream

2009-12-04T06:56:00.003-06:00

This morning I dreamed that I went downstairs and got a snack. Then I woke up and tried to grab the snack off of my night stand... lesson: always have a snack with you in bed

Rudolph the Sexist Reindeer

2009-12-03T06:25:00.003-06:00

Two quotes from the Christmas special:

Mrs. Donner wanted to go along too, but Donner said, "No. This is man's work."

They were sad at the loss of their friend, but they decided that the best thing to do was to get the women back to Christmas town.

Gotta catch em all

2009-12-02T06:31:00.003-06:00

So yesterday morning I was reading this week's TIME magazine and it had an article about the largest crackdown of dog fighting in recent history. The article featured the story of what happened, but it also had full colored photos of all the dogs. It was sad, but cute.

A little later in the day, I was reading with a student who I don't typically work with (two of my case load students were absent). He had brought a Pokemon book to read. Here's kind of how it went:

Ash: Pikachu, I choose you!
Rival: Fire thing, I choose you!
Ash: Use Lightning Bolt!
Rival: Use Flamethrower!

(A few pages later)

Rival: I don't care about being friends with my pokemon... All I care about is catching them all...
Ash: No way... There's nothing more important than being your pokemon's friend and learning from them.

Okay... this is from the kid who just sent his little electric puppy on a killing spree against another puppy that shoots fire. Nice friend...

So I wrote this over two days and it has gotten to be a bit long. To sum up, pokemon is raising a generation of dog fighters. The end.

Hello Triangle Man

2009-12-01T06:22:00.002-06:00

So last night I was playing Assassin's Creed 2 and I took a moment to stop and think about how far games have actually come in terms of visual technology. The game takes place in 15th century Italy in Florence, Tuscany, and Venice. And... in expected nerd fashion I had just finished what was essentially a dungeon and emerged at the top of a building in Florence. The game's camera was intentionally tilted upward toward the sky and my view was blinded by the setting sun. I walked forward and tilted the camera down and realized that I could see the entire city of Florence from this point. That's not all that impressive, however the fact that all that I could see were places that I could actually go is impressive. Every home, church, tent... all the way to the city walls are places that my character could go and interact with.

This is where I really began to think about how far games have come and I organize the evolution in a simple way. In the NES days, you had the simplest form of visual graphics. Little colored squares were organized on screen to make what was suppose to be your character and environment. If you were playing a superman game, your mom was likely to walk in and say, "Who's that blue and red blob on the screen?" Well duh mom... it's superman. However, that didn't last long because once the SNES and Genesis came along, gamers were finally able to identify the characters and things they were using... for the most part. Then came the N64. We've finally made it to the third dimension. However, in order to achieve this the graphics had to take a bit of a hit. That often meant that your characters looked like they were made out of triangles.

Mom: Why is that triangle man fighting that triangle man?
Me: Sigh... isn't it obvious... the triangle kingdom is experiencing a triangular coup and....

Okay... so it wasn't that bad... but still... most of those games looked awful (However at the time I as well as many others probably would have praised how good these games looked). As new systems have come out, games have progressively gotten better in a linear fashion up until where we are now. Mario 64 also had some moments where you could look from a high point and see an entire level that you were free to play in just like Assassin's Creed 2... which is cool if you're cool with a world made out of triangles.

Happy Thanksgiving and so on

2009-11-30T06:21:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving break was great, but I must elaborate the pain of beginning work again after what was basically an entire week's worth of time off. I didn't realize that I love breaks... but here I am, 6:44 AM, and I wish I was getting up in an hour to take my dog on a run. It's not so bad, but it was extraordinarily tough getting up this morning. Also, now we can all listen to Christmas music.

A few things that bug me about the Health Care Debate

2009-11-25T06:15:00.002-06:00

I'm bothered by the fact that the people debating and voting on whether or not our country reforms health care absolutely have little or no personal stake in it. U.S. representatives and senators have some of the best health care coverage out there, so it seems easy for them to blow it off for one reason or another. Similarly, I'm also annoyed by people with health care who rain down their worries upon me about the 'possible' decline in their health care. I understand why they are worried. I haven't seen any proof that their worries will come to fruition yet... but frankly I don't care if they do. The fact of the matter is that I've been in the situation where I lost my health care and had to buy private insurance. It is not feasible to do so. If you lost your job, I highly doubt that most people have a hundred some dollars every month for health insurance (and that was the price for only me... the non smoking, marathon running, 22 year old...) Moreover, I have crappy health insurance now with Americorp. All I'm saying is that the college educated guy who volunteers to serve his country for a year by helping school children shouldn't have to declare bankruptcy because he breaks his leg or gets some other obscenely expensive to treat disease. That is not the kind of country I want to live in because that sucks.

Catching up

2009-11-22T13:20:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a few days. With my birthday on Wednesday and then work on Thursday and Friday I just have neglected to make time to write. However, I am planning some good stuff for the next week or so, specifically for those interested in some of the new video games of late. For my birthday, I ended up owning three new games: Left 4 Dead 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Assassin's Creed 2. I'm planning on putting up reviews for at least the first two games and probably in the order listed. That's about it for now.

PS... if you got an invite to the Christmas party, you should go.

Posting Early: Writers Blok...

2009-11-16T20:03:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow morning I need to run to the bank... so I'm not going to post anything incredible. On top of that, I will be attempting to pick up L4D2 at some reasonable time. I read that it is being released at midnight at some gamestops, but I can't stay up that late. So tomorrow...

On a different matter, I need to write an article about Elizabeth Hall, but I'm having the hardest time making it not suck. I would blame myself, but the subject matter isn't exactly great. It is a school after all... People learn, eat, and ride buses.. bada bing bada boom...

Best Dog Video Ever

2009-11-16T06:54:00.001-06:00

To counteract the last post (kind of depressing)

Modern Warfare 2

2009-11-16T06:17:00.002-06:00

This weekend I played the new Call of Duty game at a friend's house. Like the last one, it looks and plays great. That's not what this post is about. I want to discuss a specific mission called "No Russian." In this mission, you are playing as a CIA agent in a Russian terrorist group. You and your crew are in an elevator and everyone is packing some heavy firepower (It's a Call of Duty game so that's a given..). As the doors open, the leader says to everyone, "No Russian," and before your eyes is an airport terminal filled with people. I think it is obvious where this situation goes... it does go there, and you are given full discretion to shoot a bunch of unarmed people. I didn't (which is kind of boring in a game where your only method of input is with a gun). I kind of walked around horrified for a bit. I tried to shoot my bad guy friends, but the game doesn't let you do that.

I'm a bit conflicted on the whole thing. First, I think this is an interesting step for video games. The medium is maturing. The fact that a developer and publisher put this in is a big step. This kind of content is for a very mature audience and it's a risk to put that kind of content in a game (also, this is Activision's largest game this year... so a bit of an extra risk). On the other hand, I'm not sure this is the right game for this content. As stated earlier, the only method of interaction is with your weapon. That is all. That isn't a criticism... that's just what a first person shooter is... You aren't given the luxury of stopping the terrorists... I think you should be... On top of all that, the next mission of this game features a comical Russian invasion of the U.S. that reminds me of Red Dawn... I get confused over what tone the game wants to have..

On another Nintendo related note, New Super Mario Bros. Wii comes out this week. Apparently it is very similar to Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World which are two of my favorite games ever. It should be good.

Gifts at Target

2009-11-13T06:30:00.002-06:00

So last night, my roommate and I were at Target to buy some paper towels. We had been out for about forty-eight hours at that point and we had both been dreading a Yuki accident for which we were not prepared for (although we're at about hour thirty-six now and still no accident... but now the crutch of the paper towel is back so she'll probably start going all over the place). So we're walking down the aisle and on one of the end-caps is a number of items with no real theme other than being packaged in red. After a bit more observation, it became apparent that these were impulse-buy gifts. I don't have a problem with those existing, but it makes me wonder who is walking through target and all of the sudden says, "Hmmm, yeah... Uncle Billy does need a 20-piece stainless steel grill set... or a clock radio or pen that's also a radio or coffee mug that's also radio, or a stainless steel grill set that is also a radio." I'm just not sure who these people are. Probably the same people who buy tennis balls for their dog out of the dollar section near the entrance. Oh shit...

Yuki and the Wonder Years...

2009-11-12T06:41:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I like to think that Yuki is narrating her life like she is Fred Savage...

"Yep. That's my dad. And he's angry. Why do you ask? Well... it's a long story. It starts in the fall of 09'. He had just made dinner and was preparing the final parts of his meal. I didn't want make him angry... I just really wanted the rice. So he put his plate down and I only put my nose near it. I swear. However, somehow the plate went flying and here we are. However, I think he and I both learned something that day. First, it's that no matter what, we will both always love each other. Also, he learned never to let me near the plate ever again."

Why Nightmare Before Christmas is awesome but unnecessary

2009-11-11T06:15:00.002-06:00

So last Saturday night I went through what has become an annual event... watching Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. The music, voices, and the movie's sense of humor are pretty great overall. Yet, I couldn't help shake the idea that the movie's plot is totally unnecessary. Like I needed an hour and a half movie to teach me that it would be a bad idea for a skeleton to hijack Christmas. I think I could have predicted that outcome.

Moreover... other parts of the movie don't make any sense. Like when Jack is telling those dumb trick-or-treat kids to be careful with Santa Clause. They bring Santa back in a garbage bag dumped in a walking bathtub and Jack is just fine with the situation. Worse yet, after Jack gets Santa's hat, he again sends Santa with the kids (who inevitably bring Santa to Oogey Boogey... which Jack also knows about... jeez). Clearly I have no reason to trust Jack's judgment. However, I don't see why the people of Halloween town trust his judgment any more than I do. This skeleton is the one who after Halloween mopes around for 20 hours and walks off into the woods. Afterward, he comes back talking about a magical land with snow and lights.... Again, why isn't the town committing him to the doctor's crazy lab with the doll girl.. actually that would work out pretty well for the love story. I guess I shouldn't expect a lot out of a town that elects a mayor with a head that spins. Also he's a moron.

Rock Band Influence

2009-11-08T15:16:00.002-06:00

So I've had this thing where I play a song on Rock Band and if it is good, it will work its way into my rotation of songs that I listen to on my ipod or computer. One example is "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Not really for any particular reason other than I just happen to remember it. I don't know how many others there are, but the list numbers is likely over fifty songs (which is a lot considering I know most songs that are in the game).

Last night, I was driving my friend home and she asked, "do you have the Beatles' songs on your computer?" Of course, I answered yes... but it was obvious to me that her interest was born out of Beatles: Rock Band. She even admitted that her parents had never really listened to the Beatles, but she has started liking some of their music after playing it in the game.

I don't have much else to say about this other than if a majority of people end up experiencing what I've described in this post, I would be interested in seeing bands use Rock Band as a promotional tool. Post a few songs for free on Rock Band from a new album, get people hooked, maybe they will buy the real thing off of itunes.

PS.. I don't proofread these posts... and I likely never will

The ERICTalk Blog

2009-11-07T10:29:00.002-06:00

Yo everyone. It's like I'm yelling "Eric" and saying "talk" in a not as excited manner. I'm trying a new blog that will just be a collection of my observations on current things in my life.

For instance, sometimes I end up just loving a particular part of a song even if it should not impress me in any way. In "Hello Goodbye," the Beatles play a C scale on guitar over and over and I love it. It's just a C scale. Congrats to them I guess.

That is a pretty boring example of what I expect to write about on this blog (to be fair, I just finished listening to "Hello Goodbye" so it was relevant for me at the time).

If you don't want to be on the email list for this, just let me know. I'll take you off, but I added those who may have a small interest in what I'm up to.

Eric