Archive for May, 2009
All Hail The Hero of Oklahoma City!
As this story relays, Jerome Ersland, 57, fended off two armed robbers from the pharmacy in which he worked, killing one of the perpetrators. While the other employees fled, Ersland could not, given his war injury and the back brace he was wearing as a result. Fearing for his life, he did what he needed to do. Some call it overkill. I call him a hero.
Reading this story and many other accounts of it, I’m sorry to hear that the escaped criminal didn’t meet his cohort’s fate. The dead robber — with the not-so-charmingly illiterate name “Antwun” — knew exactly what risks he was taking when he walked into that store brandishing a gun, demanding money and drugs. The second he pulled that weapon and pointed it at another person, he lost all “rights” to his life. His crime was the ink that notarized his own death sentence — no red tape, no plea bargains, no technicalities, no whiny “human rights” (or, worse, “civil” rights) groups to protect him because he’s assumed to be disadvantaged or because he’s black. His skin pigmentation didn’t force him to enter a store with a loaded weapon, train it on other humans, and bark orders at them to hand over their possessions under threat of dispatch. Shit comes in all colors, and this time it happens to be a little dark. Thankfully, someone flushed it down the toilet.
And to the mother of this criminal, bemoaning her son’s death, I could only hope that she stays out of the childbearing/childrearing market permanently. She’s partially responsible for this apparent lack of proper parentage, and this is one of many logical outcomes of that failure. Congratulations, Mrs. Parker. You should receive no pity, no condolescences, and not even so much as a kind word. Rather, you should be shown for the worthless and irresponsible person you are — reviled, vilified, and lampooned. I mock your child’s death unrestrained.
In stark contrast, Jerome Ersland should be applauded and given the fullest support and appreciation. He saved his own life, but he also sent a message. And that message reads: “Criminal scumbags will be given no quarter in the public sector. Come against us, and we will retaliate.” Incidents like this are a perfect illustration of why law-abiding citizens should be guaranteed the right to bear arms, and that guarantee should be set in stone. In the spirit of another hero before him, Ersland acted when the prospect of police intervention simply could not be waited for. Though, unlike the decade in which Goetz rose to fame, perhaps the existence of the Internet will aid in propelling Mr. Ersland’s example, in hopes of emulation. The lesson given is thus: If opportunity presents itself, do what you have to do to survive.
Hail Jerome! Hail vengeance! Hail justice!
(Surveillance video of the event is contained in the following video clip. The audio is in Spanish, but the narration isn’t needed to understand the tape shown. Story begins at :45)
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Linkdump: 5/28/09
Because, as we all know, the best source of parental advice is from total strangers on the Internet.- David Thorne is at it again. This time, it seems the world of fitness must suffer his incendiary e-mails.
- Boy, would I die for a wacky tombstone. No, wait…
- From the Stating The Obvious Department…
- Such a refined sense of cantankerousness must age like a fine wine. Now, get the hell off my lawn!
- And, last, please do NOT show this link for ANY reason to Colonel Akula. You can keep a secret… right, Internet?
Vermont Craigslist – A Portrait In Madness
We have cows that keep pooping and it’s more than we can handle. Every day there is more cow shit piling up and my husband is starting to panic. He works at Jiffy Mart and doesn’t have the time to figure out what to do with all of it. I work too, and I dread coming home each night only to see the cows have pooped another mountain. Please, if you know what can be done about this situation, please let us know as we are at wits end. The stench is becoming unbearable here and I can hardly eat my salad right now as I type this.
becaus my graduation coming up i realized i had to do heavy personal overhaul.. i decided i’d share this cool new tooth whitening product that fixed me up. it’s free.. at least for now. give it a shot… the free sample was enough to make my smile much better.. still werking on the rest.
all in one copier/fax/scanner, the laundry hamper, a party light (spinning flashing) a dog hammock for the car (new, still in package), a rooster
boat is in good shape no seats it has no trailer i needed this boat gone a week ago i hate to just give it away but i have way to many toys ive had it for 5 years and never had it on the water my dad neeeds it off his property hes building a house and its right in the way not sure if motor runs never tried its a big motor atleast 75 hp bring a trailer and some muscle and its yours first come first serve call me
1 commentToday’s soup is……dadadada…..Pasta E Fagioli……everything sounds fancy in Italian, even the minestre! [address deleted]……near the covered bridge. Look for the big, purple mailbox. Serving from Noon until 1:30….or until I run out of soup. Please bring your own container. Mangi!
Review: Myst for iPhone
Myst was one of those computer games you either loved or hated, with very few gamers in between. Originally released for the Macintosh in 1993 (and later ported over to a number of computer and gaming systems), it was one of the earliest CD-ROM games (yes, I linked that term for the kiddies), taking advantage of and, to some degree, showing off that technology. Over 15 years later, that same tech truly shows its years, but there’s still something to this once best-selling PC game of all time (up until The Sims) — a sense of nostalgia you can’t quite put your finger on. Is it somewhere you’ve been before?
Those who hated Myst typically gripe about its lack of real-time motion or opponents to fight, completely missing the point. Others found the puzzles (central to advancing in the game) too difficult, particularly when, even at the beginning, you’re thrown into its world with no spoonfed objective or tools. There will always be gamers who cannot conceive of a game being worthy of applause unless there are gallons of digital blood to wade through or plenty of easily-found pointers to guide you merrily and effortlessly along the way. Myst affords you neither.
It is, in essence, an immersive story wrapped up in a world (comprised of “ages”) both surreal and certain, beautiful and somewhat strange, and not without an array of challenging puzzles — all of which, adding to the story while they push the player forward to one of a few possible endings. (More background available at the game’s Wikipedia page.)
May of 2009 saw the porting of this game to the iPhone. And it is, with some minor tweaks, a faithfully direct port. From that haunting introduction from Atrus, the lead character of Myst, to the arrival at Myst Island, it loses none of its luster being on a smaller screen. In fact, a game like Myst makes perfect sense for the iPhone, with its tap and swipe gestures being the perfect navigation through the Ages. The original music is still here as well — a soundtrack I actually purchased on that ancient format called compact disc sometime early this decade, along with the ones for the next two games (Riven and Myst III: Exile) in the series. I could make a separate post on those soundtracks alone, but I’ll merely say that they come highly recommended and move on.
Game options include adjustments for scene transitions and volume, four bookmarking slots, and a few other settings, including webpage links leading to help and hints pages provided by game-maker, Cyan. Though, it might have been nice to have some sort of notation feature within the app. Being on a portable device, it’s often a bit impractical to be carrying around bits of paper everywhere with scribbled clues and maps, and there definitely are bits of information to keep track of for future use. But, I suppose quitting the app and going back and forth from the iPhone’s Notes app will have to do.
But, that’s all that I can really fault it for. Myst for iPhone loses nothing in the translation to this smaller and transportable form. Were I to get metaphorical on you for a sentence, it might be feasible to say that the device itself is similar to the Linking Books in the game, bringing you back once again through that starry abyss and into a rock-solid classic game. Recommended.
No commentsProject Revealed… And It’s Made of WOOD!
18 hours of labor, 53 pieces of wood, 88 degrees outside, and not a spot on my dress shirt (though, I did wear an old and worn pair of slacks, which didn’t exactly fare well). The loft bed is actually part one of a two-part project as underneath this miniature fortress will be what will be deemed “The Command Center” — which will come in stages and be posted about in the future. For now, enjoy the new Flickr set on my Loft Bed Project.
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