I am a movie fan. Anyone who really knows me knows that for me the cinema is the best escape from day to day life. They also know that I got this from my grandfather who would pick me up in an ugly faded green Nash Rambler every week. We would stop by the local Thrifty Drug and pick up candy to sneak in (he had a trick jacket just for this with holes in the pockets so could load up the lining with goodies) and we would go to the movies. He was always careful to be sure we got our drinks and popcorn (which we did sometimes) telling me “this is where they make their money, so get something so they stay in business”. I learned then that the ticket price went right back to the studios, concessions went to the theaters. But even back then a 15¢ Hershey Bar was $.95 and that was outrageous (and this was before “movie sized” candy). We never really paid much attention to the Oscars other than it was cool to see if we had seen any of the ones that won awards. I was always amazed that with him we ALWAYS saw the best picture of the year. He would call that one and never got it wrong.

My sister was never into the movies as much as me and my grandfather, but apparently every year she goes away for an Oscar Weekend. She does the whole spa treatment and pampering and then goes to her hotel room and indulges in the Oscars. It’s as good an excuse as any for a get away, she certainly enjoys it.

Certainly in our house Oscar night was special. The whole family would get special dispensation from mom to stay up late and complain how slow they handed out the awards. How, “damn it, it’s 11:35 and they still haven’t handed out Best Picture?” would pass my fathers lips as he nodded off in the big chair every year. It was they only night of the year my mother would burn popcorn for us to munch on (thank god for copious amounts of melted margarine). It was not until I was in my teens that we would actually try to predict who would win what category and that sort of added a new edge to the show. It was all luck for most part, but it was fun. So in that light, here are my picks for the 2009 Oscars in order how they are presented on the Oscars Website (sorta):

Best Actor: Frank Langella Sean Penn (hardest pick all night)
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger
Best Actress: Kate Winslet (she’s due)
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz

Best Director: Slumdog Millionaire (an unusual split from Best Actor / Picture)
Best Picture: Frost / Nixon (I went with what I thought was best...)

Best Animated Feature: WALL-E (better message than KFP)
Art Direction: Benjamin Button
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire (should be Button)
Costume Design: Austrailia Dutchess
Editing: The Dark Knight Slumdog, undeserved
Makeup: Benjamin Button (should The Dark Knight though)
Music/Song: Slumdog Millionaire
Score: Slumdog Millionaire
Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
Sound Mixing: Wanted Slumdog, this was just wrong
Visual Effects: Iron Man Benjamin Button
Adapted Screenplay: Doubt Slumdog
Original Screenplay: MILK (should be WALL-E)

I did not do all of them simply because I have not seen “best foreign film” or “animated short”.

I know my list looks very different from what a lot of the critics are saying, but I think that while this year had a lot of very good films there was no one stand out that everyone was going to say was “it”. No one film brought every element of film making to perfection in my opinion. Also, I do not think that just feeling good about a movie is a reason to call it a “best picture”. With all this in mind I have to remember who is voting on the nominees, it is the film industry and not the critics and the Academy often feels different from the critics who are usually full of hot air when it comes to understanding the movies they are watching. So my picks are from years of Academy Watching; I could be right, I could be wrong, but if I am right this is going to be an interesting year at the Oscars.

After about a year of taking online courses I have to wonder what exactly I am learning and why colleges bother to hire professors.

In all the classes I am taking the curriculum is based on whatever textbook is chosen as appropriate for the course. In the case of the college I am going to (which is in most respects a traditional “students attend in person” college) the college has taken the idea of choosing texts one step further and have chosen a publisher to provide the courses of study taught at the college. So in effect is not the publisher of the texts then the professors at the college? Are not the authors of the text the experts that should be teaching the classes that I want to attend?

As it stands, the professors at the college present students with a text, they read from the text and supposedly create assignments and projects based on the text. However, the assignments could indeed be created by the text authors, projects put together by the publishers, and finally all the quizzes and exams written by the publishers and authors. If this is the case, why are we bothering to hire professors? What exactly do they bring to the learning experience that is not already provided by the text authors and publishers?

It was always my understanding that colleges were places of higher learning. I thought higher learning was something more creative than just reading a book and parroting the facts back. So where is that creative higher learning? I want to be there; I want to think about things that are new and cutting edge. I thought that professors were people who invoked original thought from their students? I thought college and professors passed on ideas that may not be published, examined, determined, judged, argued, written down, scrutinized, re-examined in various editions, judged again and finally just accepted. Isn’t there supposed to be an original thought somewhere? Weren’t professors the gardeners of human knowledge? Weren’t students supposed to be the fertile soil tended by professors in which new ideas grew? Where is that? What if the texts are wrong?

Seriously, with the current teaching in college you might as well get high school teachers to teach the subjects. There is no point in paying professors with letters behind their names if they are not going to teach something other than what is written in the textbooks. After all, is that not why you hired the professor with letters after their names in the first place, to teach something new, to bring a new perspective to the subject, a fresh way of looking at something, to explore their ideas and promote “higher learning”?

Recently I asked the following question to my “online professors”:

Please forgive the perceived sarcasm, but I have been taking online classes now for a year and it seems that there is very little “taught” in these classes that you could not get by buying the book, reading it and doing the review. So, what is it that you, as a professor, offer me in terms of value add to this course of education aside from accreditations?

Not one of the professors could answer this question. The least answer I was expecting was “guidance” or ‘expertise”; but even these answers did not arrive. This is interesting when you think about it. I am taking classes to get my BA in Secondary Education with an emphasis in computer programming and fine arts and I have already thought about this question and I know what I would answer if this question were asked of me. My answer:

I hope to bring to the student a new and fresh way of looking at a subject beyond what may be written in any textbook. I bring years of experience in the business world and an understanding of what may be expected in a career in programming or fine arts that is just not written about in any text. I have analytical skills that help me to understand what it is you need to learn better and more fully. My goal is to give you the student tools that you can use and be successful with. Hopefully my experience and ways of understanding things can help you. I am here to help you be successful and creative.

I think my answer is pretty good. I think that when a student eventually asks me that question he/she will be happy with my answer. I think at that point my having letters behind my name is not proof that I read the books, but rather, a signal that I have added to the world in some way and this is recognized with degrees. I hope to inspire new minds and tend to new ideas encouraging them to grow.

Right now I have to go back to work and read more textbooks and not really learn anything at all, just dedicate to memory information that will be forgotten about 5 minutes after the exam that must be taken in order to get my credits for the degree that will be earned on information that is fugitive and really not needed for anything that I will be doing in the future.

Someone hand me a #2 pencil.

This is a work of fiction based on an online game I play called EVE. You can find out more about it by clicking on the banner to the right of this article.

The Icarus Effect

Brother Ivannois knew he could not advance within his order until he had attempted and lived through the Icarus Effect; a dream state induced by a triple dose of the Sooth Sayer Booster. He had already transferred his pod to a tricked out Condor, a very fast and nimble ship. He was told that he should use the fastest ship he could afford and one that maneuvered as best as he could withstand; it would all add to the effect and make survival easier. He tipped the booster into cerebral feed two.

The ship was ejected from the station; he invoked the booster for the first time.

The contraband fluid coursed through the tubes feeding the cerebral implants and he slipped seamlessly from consciousness to a light trance, ships sensors feeding his heightened awareness. Every ship outside the station became known to him, his sense of their movement and trajectories became an intricate dance. He moved the ship with but a thought now, a thought to dance with the ships around him. In his diminished awareness he knew he had to continue the experience to the Icarus Effect. He willed his disembodied hand to boost again, something not normally done.

The second dose of Sooth Sayer hit his brain and the ship he was in was gone. Ivannois was floating in space, aware of all the ships, stations, asteroids, planets and even space junk that moved and surrounded him. He shot from ship to ship to junk to container floating in space with the ease of walking, easier in fact. He examined each for their queer beauty and moved on, finally making a huge jump to explore the moon that the station he’d left orbited.

In preparing for this experience he had rigged a special circuit that would deliver the final dose of the booster if he was too far into the experience to remember. The third and final dose hit and his living dream-world became his reality.

Spaced shredded. Ivannois was no longer in an open reality, but one where the very folds of the universe could be experienced. He was ripping his way through psychotically hued ripples heading toward the undulating and pulsating sphere that was a moon. He could feel his hand grasping the folds and pulling him along; his feet were kicking as if swimming, impelling him forward, and the wings on his back steered him to his destination, cutting through gossamer sheets of space; wakes of rippling light from his travels could be seen behind him. As he looked something new caught his eye, something scintillating.

He turned his back to the moon he was heading for and stopped to appraise the gem in the cosmic kaleidoscope he was now part of. He began to reach for the radiant object, his desire now fixed on it. Ivannois was convinced if he could possess the glorious object he could completely escape from the universe and find a permanent Nirvana of his own. So strong was the feeling he flung his unfettered body at the star unmindful of any ill effect.

The chromatic display of folded space as he approached was strong and blinding, but that mattered not in the least to Ivannois whose fascination overwhelmed any remenents of his caution. He felt in his heart that all his questions would be answered as the miasma of light and complex space surrounded and overwhelmed him. The universe faded to white…

Brother Ivannois awoke several hours later, the pain in his head so tragic he could barely stand it; but that was nothing compared to the despair he felt for not reaching his utopia. He read the ship logs and found that the ship had automatically returned him to a safe spot when the ship entered into the corona of the star and the armor plating began melting off.

Brother Ivannois sat in his pod and wept.

I think there is an inherent flaw in our American system and philosophy. I think this flaw is what is making our lives difficult. I think it is the reason that we are not excelling as a leader of the world. I think that it is costing us as Americans too much money. I think it may be a fundamental flaw in interpreting the meaning of the founding fathers. I think that we are mistaking “Equal” (as in “all men are created equal”) with “Same”.

It should be plain to see once you point it out that “equal” is not the same as “same”. “Same” implies that all elements and circumstances are similar or even identical, and when taken as an abstract whole can be considered to have a value. “Equal” does not have the same implication that the whole(s) as in comparison be the same or even remotely similar, but in the end have a comparatively similar value. For example, a person with 10 small American flags is the same as another person with 10 small American flags. However, you could say that the person with 10 small American flags is equal to a person with 1 large American flag. In both cases there is value in the flags, but in one the value is compared directly unit for unit and in the other a judgment is made that 10 small flags is comparable to one large flag. I know it is subtle, but this is important.

This concept it hit me years ago when confronted with Women’s Rights issues that my ex was so fond of quoting. I personally did not have a problem with equal pay for equal work, or consideration for pregnancy and so on. What I had an issue with was that some of these women wanted to be treated the same as a man. I do not care how you cut it, there are ways in which men and women are different and that cannot be changed. As a general rule men are more physical and generally women are more emotional, and therefore there are jobs more suited to each. There are exception on both sides, I am not talking about exceptions except that they prove the rule and I have no problems with the exception either, but when a woman wants a man to treat her exactly like a man, we have a problem. After all, viva la difference! In this way women are seeking equality with men but not parity. Some women have not figured out that equity does not have to mean sameness or parity, but rather equality in worth, salary and respect. I for one like holding a door for a woman, it is polite and recalls more chivalrous days and a higher civility. I do not have to have the door held for me by a woman; she is doing it for the wrong reason and does not get the point of the door holding and Women’s Rights (unless she is doing it for the right reasons [politeness] which I do not discount).

(Oy… all this politically correct speak and such, truly I do not mean any prejudice against anyone, but I still have watch every word and phrasing.)

So in the above example can we agree that women are looking for equality and not sameness? Are we really looking for women to wear pant suits instead of something more flattering? Should women give up what makes them special just to fit in with everyone else? And while we are at it, shouldn’t we as men wear dresses occasionally to make women more comfortable? Hmm… let’s get real about it all and move on understanding that equality does not mean everyone must fit the same mold.

So, let’s move on to a more immediate and potentially more devastating program that is now being evoked within our school system, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. While ostensibly a reauthorization bill with the inclusion of high standards for children and more teacher accountability, it has in actuality become the “every child must go to collage act”. It has now standardized scholastic testing and teacher evaluation and forced these on schools by refusing funding if the goals are not met. It also treats all kids the same and really does not take into account the special needs of some children. But let’s be clear here, it should be obvious that not all children are the same and no matter what we do not every child will be college material, and there is nothing wrong with the child if in the end they are not college material.

Because of this massive educational act we are now treating all children the same, not equal, but the same. In the system now if a child is more academically inclined, good at reading and math and such, they do well because the system is set up for them. On the other hand if a child is artistically gifted (or may struggle with a learning disability or some other issue that impairs their ability to learn) and not as apt at academics, their education is being neglected in an effort to bring these children to parity with academically inclined students.

It is a wonderful idea to think that college is available to all students and if this true it is a great stride forward for the education system in our country, but it is a different thing to say that all student must attend college. To paraphrase Erasmus, “In the country of Doctors, the Plumber reigns supreme!” In fact you can replace Doctors with any single college product and replace Plumbers with any blue collar occupation and still be on the right track. The point of the above is that in order for the country and society to move along smoothly you need a work force that does not have to be college trained. In fact, as is portrayed every year in June as the college grad get ready to look for work, there are far few jobs available for these college grads than most expect. Also, being a college grad with letter after their names they expect a pay rate that is well above those who do not attend more advanced education. This is required to pay off college loans. So where is the fairness in all this? In making everyone the same we are killing ourselves because their isn’t a plumber in the house.

We have to face the very real truth that all children are different, but all children must be allowed equal opportunity to excel. This does not mean they need the “same opportunities” to excel, it means that they are allowed to grow where they need to grow and into a life they need to be successful. An artistic child needs to be guided and enriched through the arts. A child with a mathematical ability needs to be guided to areas of pursuit that takes advantage of these gifts. In some cases the children will grow up and go to college, in other cases they may enroll in a trade school or work as an apprentice in a blue collar field, or finally not attend college at all if it does not suit them. But what is amazing in this scenario is that all these options are available.

It really is about the American Dream, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The child says “I want to be a doctor.” Fine, we can provide you a path to that. Another child answers that she wants to be a poet, do poets need college? Some would say yes, some would disagree, but the options are there for the child’s choosing. Yes, some, many in fact, will go to college and take positions that our society needs filled. Yes, many in fact, will not go to college and take positions that our society needs filled.

The problem with creating a standardized program where everyone has the same expectations and are required to fill the same roles and everyone is expected to go to college is you get a standardized student. Right now it would seem the standardized student is not good enough compared to with global expectations. It seems to me when you give the student the keys to their own future, allow then to make the choices that they will take into the future, the overall effect was an overall better society.

Break the “sameness” mold, shoot for equality.

This is a work of fiction based on an online game I play called EVE. You can find out more about it by clicking on the banner to the right of this article.

Incident In Aunia

Captain Jay Harshaw is a tall man with a strange look and a somewhat addled mind, but one thing for sure, if you need something done, he could probably do it; if you could peak his interest, and that was harder than most would think. He stands 2.1 meters with wild hair in a race between silver and bald, and bald was winning. He has a habit of wearing his old Gallente Military fatigues, holdovers from the Caldari war. In fact, these fatigues are so out of style that they came back in style and are now tragically completely out of style again, not that he cares. But what most people notice first is the strange smirk that is constantly on his face, a smirk that says everything may not be functioning properly upstairs. At 64 years of age Captain HJ (HJ because when asked his name he always replied in military parlance, “HarshawJ, Captain of the good ship Arkenstone, Placcid Mining Corporation, payroll number triple zero two”) was still sharp in most matters, but one can never be certain when he will slip around the bend.

“Sir?...”

Ensign Benson nudged the Captain and the low sonic noises on the bridge ceased to the relief of the crew. HJ opened one eye and scanned the bridge lazily, his eye stopping on the all too anxious face of Carl Benson, Ensign.  “You’re mother mated with a Minmatar; what is so important that you had to disturb my cogitating?”

“We may have a problem Sir.”

“We may have a problem have we? And what exactly is the problem you think we may have Ensign, Benson?” Now he remembered why he hired the moonfaced boy standing next to him; Ensign, Benson; he was worth hours of fun at the dupes’ expense. He chuckled to himself which was of course interpreted by the crew as a sure sign the Captain may be off his medication again.

“Astrometrics reported a blip about 100 clicks out maybe an hour ago. It appeared, then disappeared about 5 seconds later. We didn’t pay it much attention, it could have been another miner passing by. But a couple of minutes ago astrometrics noted a warp signature starting in the same place but no blip. The logs show the ship an hour ago was a small ship, a frigate, maybe an Imicus class ship; they are often used by startup miners.”

“So where exactly is the problem? We get buzzed by other miners every day. They buzz us, they see the hulking HJS Arkenstone and the orbiting Hammerheads and get the picture; leave us alone. Unless you figure the blip an hour ago was not just another miner, is that it?” Of course that was it. HJ knew the signs of a cloaked ship when he heard them. And a ship that could warp out cloaked; he knew what that was all too well, covert ops.

“Sir, it could have been a Helios, a modified Imicus.”

“Is that a question or a statement Benson?”

The Ensign was sweating now; he had heard the rumors of other Ensigns that had not lived up to Capt. HJ’s expectation; rumors of frozen corpses being found amongst the minerals that the Arkenstone mined. In fact he never would have taken the position had the pay not been so monumental! Captain HJ was the only captain in the region that would take on a greenhorn and give him a full share and that was nothing to sneeze at considering the Arkenstone was noted to turn a billion ISK or more in two weeks. By his calculation the crew must all be very well off and he wanted in on that certainly.

Benson bit his lip, straightened his back and pronounced, “That’s a statement Sir!”

HJ looked him over and keyed the comm system on his panel. “Engineering, how many cans do we have out right now?” Lt. Commander Argyle snapped back, “We have eight out sir. Number nine is assembling now and will re-can number one in about a minute.”

“Are you loading the gifts in each can as per protocol Sean?” The sounds of a quick cargo inventory could be heard in the background, “Aye sir, eight cans out, eight toys out, one per can.”

The Captain flicked off the comm and slouched further into his seat. Ensign Benson was still standing there, looking as prim as could be. “Sir, any orders?”

“What would you have me do against a ghost ship that we could not identify and may be nothing at all?” HJ let out a sigh and then, “Resume your station at communications Ensign and open a channel to corporate. Get me the CEO; get me Colonel Tibbets.”

With a snappy “Yes Sir” ensign Benson returned to the comm, happy to have something to do. “Opening channel sir, it will be a minute or so…”

The atmosphere on the bridge got tense even though the captain seemed to be as casual (or distracted) as usual. He stood up, ran a hand through his hair which did not tame it a bit and said, “I bet you don’t even remember the Caldari war, do you Benson?” The crew on the bridge groaned. “Those were the days… the tactics were harsh, the tech was new and incredible and a man could be trusted to give everything for the Federation. Those were the days; it was even before clones.

You know I used to be a frigate pilot? That is where I got most of my training in fact. I flew Atron Mk II’s, before they could fit micro warp drives on them. They were still fast though and they were ugly and I loved them. Ever notice that people love the ugly ships more? They do you know. I wonder why? Well anyways, you learned fast or you died. Heh, we wouldn’t even talk to new pilots until they had at least 5 sorties under their belt and even then there was no respect until they flown 10 and had 10 confirmed kills. After that life was better in the Militia, but it was still hard, always living on the edge. It was that edge that made life sharp and in focus, colors brighter, beer better. I hated the Caldari, but I loved them for giving me that lust for the edge in life. They were real sons of bi…”

“Sir, the Colonel.”

HJ pulled himself out of his revelries and turned to face the forward screen. “Fat Man, what is it you want?” came the crisp booming voice of Paul Tibbets from the screen.

“Little Boy, good to see you. I just wanted to let you know that we may have to play with our toys and all that. Is there any reason we shouldn’t?” Tibbets thought it over a second. “No, it has been a while since you played with them… six years?”

“No sir, seven years going on eight.”

“Really? Well it’s about time then. You know who it is?”

“Well, it’s not Serpentis, Blood Raiders, or Thukkars, they don’t operate this way from the signs I am seeing. Angel Cartel is a possibility, but I think we would have been hit by now. It’s probably a new group, well funded, and trying to be smart about grabbing ore. That’s what I am counting on.”

“Are we going to have problems with Concord, HJ?”

“Not in this system, were still in empire. Unless Concord has changed the rules we shouldn’t have a problem in any case.”

“Well stick to corporate protocol and I will back your play any way you do it. Tibbets out.”

“Captain, new warp trail reading, this one closer. No ship on scanner.” said Lt. Axelrod from the astrometrics station.

HJ sat down again showing no signs of nervousness even if every other member of the crew were now fidgeting and fussing in some manner. “Mr Axelrod, give me 15 degree scans along the system plane of the ecliptic. Look for fleets or gangs forming within about 4 AU. Mr. Haas, recall the drones and launch the Tech 2 drones, just in case. Engineering, Sean you listening? Warm up the invulnerability screens and the afterburners to be on the safe side. Goggles, leave the roids we’re mining targeted, relock the remaining targeting slots on our cans; we may have to pop them ourselves. And no matter what happens, don’t stop mining. Ensign, take us to yellow alert, silent siren.”

The ships’ interior was momentarily bathed in cruel yellow light as the crew went about their tasks preparing for hostiles. The roll call of stations could be heard over the comm as all hands took positions.

“Now where was I… oh yeah, frigates as dog fighters, that was surely seat of you pants flying; fast, gutsy, and more than a little insane. But I have to admit, when it comes down to a duel, a knife fight as it were, I will go against any other pilot out there in a frig before I use a bigger ship… after all why waste a big ship when the small ships are truly skill. You will know the better pilot after a frig fight, no doubt about it.

But that’s not where I earned my rank… no the militia had other ideas for me. It was the battle of Serpents Coil, in Vilinnon. Several of our battle cruisers had spotted and damaged the command ship but couldn’t finish the job. We were low on ships, but we knew that if we could just take out their commander the Caldari would do what they always did and that was turn and run. Three ships were asked to give the ultimate for the war, I was one of them. Two of our Thorax rammed the repper ships supporting the commander and I was to lance the command ship and finish her off. Only right, I was in an early version of the Ishkur. Needless to say our cruisers occupied the attention of the repper ships and that left the command ship open. I made my run. As I lanced that ship through the bridge it blew taking my ship with it of course. I fully expected my pod to eject into the middle of massive explosions and I was a goner. It was what I lived for, it was what I would die for, I was ready for it. But something happened and my pod blew right through the ship. It nearly killed me, but I had just enough cap to warp out and spend the next three months recovering at a station.

Little did I know that I had just paid the piper into a new fighter wing whose entry ticket was survival of a suicide run. High command moved me to the 108th Stealth Bomber Wing, the Fat Men.”

Benson interrupted, “Ah, I heard of them! They call them Fat Men because they fly Tristans. Right?”

“No that’s not it… we flew a prototype ship back then, what was to become the Nemesis. Common mistake but the name Fat Men came from the ordinance.”

“The ordinance? I don’t get i…”

Klaxons sounded and the bridge of the Arkenstone became awash in the blood red illumination as proximity alerts ripped across the control screens. Two Myrmidon battlecruisers warped in practically on top of them and the whining of being target locked rang from the tactical station.

Goggles looked up, “Both BC’s have locked on to us. We’re being scanned.”

“Stay calm people, remember where we are…”

“Communications open, they want to talk.”

“By all means Ensign Benson, we should talk, open the channel.”

The screen filled with the vision of a Caldari woman, about 2 meters tall, mocha skin, and the most ridiculous uniform you can ever imagine. She came off looking more like a stripper from a pleasure hub than a captain of a ship; certainly she did no work on her vessel. It was almost laughable. “I am Captain Vexia of the corporation Paradise Pirates. Surrender your cargo and we claim the cans in space as free property. And to let you leave in one piece you can deposit 100 million ISK to my account. Or you can die.”

“Captain, captain, right away with the threats and hostility? I’m sure you can be more civil than that? I am Captain Harshaw of the exhumer Arkenstone. To what to I owe the timely visit by you and your…” he looked down over the ships scanner, 9 ships in all had surrounded them, they were organized, “8 companions? Surely not our little mining operation?”

“That is precisely the reason and I have no use for pleasantries… you’re going to give use what I want or would you rather test weather your clone is up to date?”

“My my, we are to the point aren’t we… ok… tell you what, you can have the cans in space. I will withdraw my drones and we’ll be on our way.” HJ nodded to Haas to recall the drones. “As for the ransom… I am not going to pay it. You’re in empire space; you really want to tangle with Concord by firing on me?”

Vexia turned to talk to someone else on her bridge, HJ turned to Benson and had him mute the channel, “How many in their corporation?” Benson looked up, “according to their current charter, 9, this is the whole corporation!”

“Not for long. Unmute. Well Vexia… what’s it going to be?”

She turned back to the screen in anger, restrained herself, “Fine, but jettison everything in your cargo hold too.”

“You mean the ore in my hold? How much is there Mr. Argyle?” “7k plag” “You mean the 7k plag waiting for a can?”

“Yes and whatever is in those small secure containers too”

“There are only two of them, let us at least keep the toys…”

“No, turn them over or damned be Concord, I will vaporize you.”

“One moment…” Benson muted the channel again, “Sean, load it all up, empty the holds, get the screens up and start moving us away with all possible speed. All hands, get to the life pods, this may be a bit rough.” The sound of the Jettison Can being launched shook the ship.

Turning back to address the pirate, “It’s all yours Captain Vexia… you’ll get no problems from us. We’re moving out.”

Captain Vexia laughed. “You carebears are all too predictable… work, work, work and give it all up at the least sign of trouble. You make this job just too easy.”

“Well captain, sounds like we are done then. End transmission.” The last sounds over the channel were the laughs of the crews on the Paradise Pirates ships.

“Sean, we got to get 15km away before they open up one of those toys… move it move it move it. Mr. Axelrod… distance?

“We’re at 9 kilometers. 63 seconds to 15 click mark. Their Badgers are transferring the ore now. They have good ships, each is taking in a whole can or so. They must be rigged.”

“Where’s the Helios?”

“Dead Center, scanning. 12 clicks out.”

“Are they still tightly grouped?”

“All of them within about a 5 click radius. Sir, 15 kilometers out.”

Captain Harshaw let out a big sigh of relief. “Yes Ensign Benson, the ordinance. We were Fat Men, the 109th Stealth Bomber Wing were nicknamed ‘Little Boys’, terms whos origins are lost in antiquity. You see, today most Stealth Bombers are relegated to launching Cruise Missiles. Back in the Caldari War our stealth bombers delivered something with a bit more kick, real bombs. We could only carry three at a time, but we would approach cloaked, target and fly the bombs and get the hell out. Hit and run tactics. That’s why they took people who survived suicide runs, because every run in a Stealth Bomber was potentially a suicide run. But the bombs do a bit more damage than the missiles… what the nick names refer to are really big bombs… Like our toys.”

“Sir, 21 clicks out.”

“Benson, inner-ship… Attention, stand down from pods but be ready for shock waves.”

Goggles grabbed his console, “Number 5 was cracked, 7 seconds, 6, 5, 4…”

“Hold on Ensign, this is libel to throw you…”

“2”

“1”

The forward screen lit up, pure white as a massive explosion engulfed the Paradise Pirates. Every hauler was shredded, the Helios was shattered like so much straw in a tornado. The Myrmidons survived and the comm system blared to life, it was Vexia… “Harshaw…. What the hell have you …” but she never finished the sentence as the remaining bombs made quick work of everything within the 15 kilometer blast radius. There weren’t even asteroids to mine by the time the last bomb popped.

The Arkenstone shook and bucked as the shockwaves moved past it, and while it sustained a fair amount of damage, the structure remained intact. The emergency power and life support kicked in as the bridge crew recovered.

“Activate emergency pressure seals, launch all nanite reppers and internal repair systems. Open sickbay and get anyone who needs it attention. Ok boys, this ain’t over yet. Let’s prey for a Concord Captain with a level head.”

Axelrod chimed in, “Radar and Ladar are down, but I am getting strong Gravametric readings… yes incoming, looks like 4 battleships, 6 battlecruisers, and a mess of smaller ships. They’re all targeting! Damn, in our condition we’ll instapop!”

“Benson, open a channel now, fast.”

“Done, barely.”

“This is Colonel Jay Harshaw, Gallente Militia, retired. Hold you fire, HOLD YOUR FIRE!”

The stern face of a Concord Major appeared on screen. “What in the Blue Blazes of Balthazar’s Binary Nebulas happened here and why the hell shouldn’t I blow you to kingdom come for all the hell you’re going to cause me?”

“Because we didn’t do anything wrong! And to whom am I talking?” Captain Harshaw stood, crossed his arms and managed to look smug. That put the Concord Major off his game; he looked down at his overview.

“I’m Major Dalton, CC4457AKR8331. Let’s see, ambient radiation is 8.2, falling fast thankfully, two battle cruisers, 6 haulers and 5 frigate class ships all destroyed. I also see the wrecks of over 80 escape pods, all empty, all shattered. Incredible. And here you are alive. Care to explain this ‘natural disaster’? Because if it isn’t some freak natural disaster I would surely like to know how one exhumer can cause all this damage.”

“Not so natural Major…” and Captain HJ went on to tell the tale of the last 30 minutes.

By the time HJ finished talking, using his best fast talk and diplomacy, he had Major Dalton convinced that we had single handedly saved the whole system right under his nose. “So no Major, there were no smart bombs used, just good old fashioned bombs, perfectly legal. And in fact you can see by the logs we didn’t even pop them off, they stole them from us first. Check the agro. Then they must have mishandled the bombs and blew themselves up. It just goes to show you the intelligence of some of these pirates.”

“And you did nothing to help it along?”

“Would it matter if I had?”

Major Dalton having just about all he could take just shook his head. “OK, ok. Harshaw, you and your crew would do well to not hang around this system… find somewhere else to “mine”. I am going to call this one a wash. Now get going and don’t let me see you again.”

“Major, your wisdom is immense. You will not see us here again. Arkenstone out.”

Captain Harshaw settled again into the captain’s chair, getting as comfortable as possible. “Mr. Axelrod, take us home to Villore, we need more toys. And you Ensign Benson, don’t disturb my cogitating again.”

So, I went trick or treating last night… me, 43 years old, went trick or treating. No, I did not take my daughter, at 15 she says she’s too old for it. I just grabbed a pillow case, put on my Renne Faire costume and went door to door to collect the sweet bounty. Did you know that other adults don’t like to see well clad, over weight, cane assisted, 43 year old males? Yep… it was a surprise to me too.

But it was not all for nothing… when I X-rayed the booty I did take in I found 8 brand new razor blades, enough pins and needles for a sewing kit, and I swear I think I found a plutonium nuclear power rod, just what I needed to run my old Mattel hand held football game. So the night wasn’t a total waste… a bunch of candy coated presents to enjoy.

Speaking of presents; can we really say there is a present. If time is granular at about 10^-44 second intervals, do we even have the means to perceive the present, even with all the best equipment in the world? Thus there is no present, just the immediate past and the immediate future. And without the present, birthdays and holidays are a real drag.

Just a thought for you as you read this and realize that 90^44 (that’s 9,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 units to you and me) time slices have passed you by and you can never get them back. When you put it that way, time is either very precious or very cheap, depending on your world view.

Also, according to the the department of health, the average white male Nevadan’s life span is 71.26 years. That means we only get:

2,248,794,576,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
(2.248^54)

time slices in life. Life is short, isn’t it. 

Did I call it or did I call it? The hard right wing of the Republican Party wants to change the Vice Presidential Nominee from Sarah Palin to… well… anyone other than Sarah Palin. Seriously, she is good at delivering a line and reading from a script, or even memorizing lines for a debate, but she is not at all who you want in a spin room talking to reporters who may ask a question like, oh say… “Do you know ANY other Supreme Court decisions?” How about we give you a clue, “The State of Alaska versus The Exxon Corporation” that you just commented about a few months ago.

It is bad enough the Republicans have gone from issues to mud, but she is just an embarrassment and she was the first decision of a possible Republican President. I think that alone should have every voter out there running to the Democratic side of the ballot, but what do I know. I just can’t believe there are so many people out there still buying the rhetoric that Mrs. Palin and Mr. McCain are slinging.

I think it really got scary for me to day when in the audience of a Republican Campaign stop, with Sarah doing her doom and gloom bit, someone called out that Obama was a terrorist. The absurdity and ferocity of the shout out and agreement from the crowd should scare the living shit out of people. What are they (the Republicans) after, a lynch mob? But it did not stop there. Elsewhere on the road in a McCain crowd, when McCain asked what we should do about Obama, someone else yelled out “Kill him”. Again there were cheers of agreement.

I am truly scared for this country right now.

Maybe it is the strain of the economy that is leading people to cheer such violent suggestions, but you got to know talk like this will stick in some sicko’s mind and he (or she) will take it upon him/herself to be the right hand of God and the Republican Party. Seriously, I can see it happening. (Maybe I am sick.)

Do John McCain and Sarah Palin not understand the incredible power of their positions and that from that lofty perch they can make things happen? No, they did not call Obama a terrorist, and no they did not suggest killing him, but they between the rhetoric and NOT condemning the sediments, some may see it as a tacit affirmation of terrible action. They (McCain/Palin) will not be held responsible, it will be the fault of the deluded perpetrator, but there will always be the question of if they (McCain/Palin) didn’t egg it on to some extent.

Now of course the Republican Campaign is nothing but lies and smear with John McCain himself saying he endorses every one of the ads. I have to wonder if he really believes all the crap he is putting on the airways and if he is proud of his behavior. After all if was just this past April that he said he abhorred this type of campaigning, but here he is doing it. I find myself turning down the sound every time I see one of those commercials come on.

The one thing I can say if that the Democratic Party is not as bad in regards to negative advertising. Sure, they still have their moments of taking things out of context, but it just is not as slimy as what the Republican are putting out. Oddly enough I think I know the reason… naïveté. Barack is still kinda new to big politics and campaigns. While he understands it all from a mental standpoint he is of the opinion that he can succeed with a campaign that is not just another campaign. Since he hasn’t been taught that it is not correct campaigning he does it anyways, and for me that is ok. Why should we expect our candidates to campaign in the same manner as all that preceded? How do we know that his new approach to campaigning is not more correct for the times or for his personality. Certainly he is being successful so far… and more power to him.

All I know is that there are 27 days left until it is all over and we can all take a deep breath and relax until it starts again on January 21, 2009.

Something has to change though, the only people being kept in coin for all this are the pundits and spin doctors. Maybe we should pass a few laws…

So, what would I do to make the next campaign better? Well, let’s see…

First off I would force spin doctors only to talk about their candidate. Now if they want to slam their own candidate that is fine by me, it will be the last time we see the witless fool, but no talking about the other guy. Seriously, when you ask these guys anything about their guy, they can’t answer or change the subject. I truly love it when Chris Mathews corners one these guys till he has to answer and in the end he simply can’t because he hasn’t a clue… that’s fun but I would give it up in a heartbeat for straight forward spin that doesn’t stink of mud and slime.

Second would be to do something about campaign advertising. Once again we come into the territory of spin so the same rules apply. Ads should only highlight the virtues and accomplishments and plans and visions of the candidate. That should remove a lot of the stink from the campaigns.

Three: smear and trash talk can be limited to the stump speeches. Why? Will if you want to rile your base, go ahead, but we as viewers are not generally your base and for our sakes you can keep that talk to a live venue. The stuff that does make it on the news we can deal with, but if the spin doctors are tamed, and the ads are pacified I would bet the stump speeches will not be as bad either because then the speeches will be out of context with the rest of the message. Sure it may go over well in the Convention Speeches, but then again, those speeches are meant to be different anyway.

Four… Want to sling mud, fine, do it in press releases. However (and you knoew there had to be a however) all claims must be accompanied by the triple veried sources that can in turn be veried by independent journalist. If a press release does not conform or the information is deemed to be wrong or unverifiable there should be a fine… say $1000. For each success inaccuracy the fine is doubled. The fine can go to a charity of the opposing candidate’s choice. In the case of multiple candidates, it is split and funds distributed. Fines come from the candidate’s general fund.

Five: No government sponsored campaigning. All candidates must raise their own funds. I know that sounds unfair to the third party candidates, but if you are serious as a third party candidate you would have to eat into their (the Dems and Reps) base anyway, thus garnering their funds. See, it is fair after all. Basically I do not want to pay for supporting failed candidates and campaigns. I don’t want to pay for any of these leaches dinners, much less their beach houses. If they want the job, they need to do it on their own without my help. Personally I think these campaigns are a huge waste of time. I would love to see several televised debates, articles in the paper and web, and of course the old whistle stop tours would be good. As long as we are not spending money on something that does not pay for itself. I do not see the value gained by having huge campaigns, not in a land that has information so freely available.

So there you have it… 5 suggestions to make our lives less stressful and more successful. You think they will do any of them?

I am stunned, truly. Until it happened and I realized that he was gone, I never thought of a world with without him. In my life, one in which the movies are an important aspect being the way that my grandfather an I explored the world, I have never known a time where Paul Newman was not a part. His roles and personality were greatly admired my myself and my grandfather. I am truly stunned.

Joanne, my thought and condolences are with you and all the fans that have lost a friend today, even if we were never blessed to meet him in person.

I am warning anyone reading this right now, this could be a long post. I am watching MSNBC (I know, that’s a mistake right there) and I am watching all the political spin amidst the Wall Street Meltdown reports, and there are things and people and all sorts of crap getting under my skin… time to scratch it.

Spin Doctors
I want to see the spin mavens come on and talk about their candidates, and only their candidates. I would love to hear them extol the virtues of their guys and ignore the crap about the other guy. How refreshing it would be if you could go even one conversation without hearing “but that son of a bitch other guy,” add whatever topic you want in the most horrid light you can think of. I will say that the Obama people seem to not be playing the game as much as the McCain surrogates, but they both play this game and it is annoying.

Worst of all is when the moderator locks in on a Spin Man (or Woman) and they simply do not know the answer to a question and just go on to spew talking points and vitriol at their appointed opponent. It can get humorous when, say, Chris Mathews is the interviewer and he gets into bulldog mode and refuses to continue on till the campaign rep answers his questions. I love that. I just wish more moderators would grow a couple and not allow the negative spin on their shows.

On the other hand, I am not at all upset about when a candidate rep lies about their own candidate. These fun gaffs make the elections fun in a sort of “what kind of stupid are you?” sort of way. I think it is great that John McCain invented the Blackberry. At least now Al Gore can die knowing someone said a bigger boner than him.

Lies, More Lies, and Damned Lies
Is it possible to have an interview or such without someone saying a lie about something? I mean really, how stupid do these people think the viewers of these continuous talk shows are? If the lies were subtle, if they were based on some sort of reality, or if they only had a shred of truth embedded in them maybe I could buy it… sort of. Really, you all insult my intelligence and the intelligence of most of the people watching you. And you how that make you look? STUPID.

Exaggerations are lies. Sure, they are lies like the last fish I caught was a 120 pound guppy, but they are lies. Want an example? McCain saying Obama is going to raise taxes on the middle class. How often are we hearing that one? I don’t know, but yesterday I hear it a grand total of 17 times. I know because every time I heard it I put a hash mark in a little note book I carry. And since when is the middle class 250k a year? I though it was like $20k to about $100k. Maybe I am wrong, maybe the numbers are EXAGERATED.

The worst of the lot (this is like the third worst or something, but truly the baddest of the bad) are the outright lies. For the last time… Obama was born in Hawaii, he is Christian, and yes he did father two black children, by his wife and your point is???, and NO he is not coming after white women except in wanting their vote. This scurrilous type of reporting and spin is disgusting. Everyone, leave it alone.

On the other hand, ok, so McCain was a soldier, so he was a POW, but he never commanded troops, so really why does this make him more ready to be President? And why is that fact that he was a POW make him better at anything? Why is this an excuse for anything, other than maybe he was a screw up and got caught? Personally, if I were a POW and I were give the opportunity to leave because daddy was someone important, I would. Why? Simply because who the hell knows what will happen in the future and that may be my last chance of escape. There is nothing honorable about dying for a principle, contrary to popular belief; certainly the one who died will not know any better. Besides, better to assure you live to fight another day.

On the third hand, there is stuff about Obama we still do not know. We are still sketchy about his finances, we know almost nothing about his medical history, and to be honest, we know only about his family what he has let become public. Not that any of this has much if any bearing on the race for President, it is just curiosity about the man we are about to appoint to the most powerful position in the country (if not the world.)

“Do the DC Filp”
This one is mostly the purview of McCain… If you don’t get support from the public on your current point of view, flip flop on the issue and tell the big lie that you were for it the whole time. Hilary Clinton showed us the way on this tactic, and it almost worked against Obama, but in the end, the public has a memory. Also, THE PUBLIC IS NOT STUPID! Lie to us if you want, but we remember what you were in favor of or not in favor of, flip flop (or Floip) at your own risk.

McCain, Mr, Deregulator; Now FLOIP!
Obama, No Surge; FLOIP!

You get the point? I am sure you can name another 20 FLOIPs but it is 6am for me right now and my memory is not running right now for lack of coffee. Reminds me of some lyrics…

Undecided

You say it’s yes, and then it’s no;
You say you’ll stay, and then you go -
You’re undecided now, so what are you gonna do?

(Song repeats…)

So here we are in the land of the undecided candidates and we are all just waiting to figure out where everyone will really stand. The thing is, even after we elect and put into office one of these guys, we still will not know where they stand until they actually do something. I wonder how many of their promises they will live up to? I wonder if it really matters at all who we elect and if the Washington machine will just keep chugging along “same as it ever was, same as it ever was.”

Golden Parachutes
OK guys… here is a truism for you… Government cannot control the upper limits of salaries for any company. People are free to negotiate any deal they can make with a company and it is all kosher as long as that is the normal practice for that company. That is the American way, the dream of all Americans. If the government could regulate salaries in this way it would not be a Democracy, if would be a Fascist State. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for a good Fascist Dictator as long as it doesn’t go to his head, but hey, what are the chances of that? (That last line was sarcasm folks, I use a lot of it.)

Got Cash?
With Wall Street getting ready to collapse and in need of a transfusion, there are a few things that we can do immediately to help out. In no particular order:

• Pull our troop from Iraq and free up Billions and Billions of dollars for use in other sectors of the U.S. economy.

• Time for a little isolationism. Up all import tariffs to historic high levels, especially cars, appliances and other durable goods. Eliminate most export tariffs.

• Forget drilling for oil. Create jobs and business in high tech, especially green tech. Shoot for 4 years to have 10% of all cars on the road be either electric, CNG or hydrogen fuel cell. This will start the trend to better and cleaner cars and we get to keep the cash we are sending to the Arabs who are terrorizing us anyway.

• Raise Taxes: (Personal taxes x1 earnings, Corporate taxes x10 earnings)
  
  • $0 - $11,999 up 1%
  • $12,000 - $47,999 up 2%
  • $48,000 – $119,999 up 3%
  • $120,000 - $249,999 up 4%
  • $250,000 - $999,999 up 5%
  • $1,000,000 + up 7%

• We got to bite the bullet and do it. This may not be the best solution nor the only one, and it may not be permanent, just until the book look balanced. I know inflation will be a problem, but we can cross that road when we get to it.

• Socialized Medical Insurance: This will cost to start up, but in the long run after the initial cost and restructuring fall into place, the costs will be lower and the cost to business will be lower and productivity will rise. Good all the way around.

• Cap foreign investment in our country. I know we may loose some income, but we are loosing our identity by selling it off a bit at a time. Create ways to re-buy our holdings at a discount. In short, invest in US.

So I am going to wrap this up now, I have gotten several pet peeves off my chest and feel better, especially since the coffee is good this morning.

Today the market lost 500 point and half a TRILLION dollars. Who ya gonna vote for?

The McCain spin doctors say that you can’t vote for Obama because you can’t put a community organizer in charge of an economy like this. Oh yeah? Who ya gonna vote for?

Then again McCain has admitted that he doesn’t know much about the economy. So, who ya gonna vote for?

The price of gas was $1.50 a gallon 8 years ago; unemployment was below 4%. Today you are lucky to get a gallon of petrol for under $3.90 and unemployment is over 6%. Bush didn’t know much about the economy either, so he listened to a lot of experts and relied on Greenspan to hold it all together. Greenspan went and the economy sort of drifted… so who ya gonna vote for?

If McCain wins, who do you think he is going to listen to for his admittedly lack of knowledge of the economy? Why, the same people who are giving Bush his advice on the economy, of course. So, who ya gonna vote for?

If it comes down to a choice between McCain and more of the same advice on the economy, I think I got to vote for Obama, if for only to change the people supplying the bad economic advice. Maybe, just maybe someone else at the helm of the economy will implement enough change to correct the economy before it really does go into a free fall.

So, who ya gonna vote for?