Archived BLOG

9-17-04
Modern Arguments

Didn't these people in Ohio get the memo?  They already lost this battle in 1865.  We fought a war over this.  Do we really have to keep bringing it up? People are equal and they have equal protection under the law.  No really, i am not making this up.

Oh wait... Ohio. My bad. Yeah, you guys just got the 14th amendment a year ago. This may just be an honest mistake. I'll explain then: The government can't treat one group of people with one set of rules and another group with another set of rules.  As a result, one group of people can't tell another group of people how to live their lives. Ok, now run along and preach fire and brimstone somewhere else. 

Whew... so in other news, Ohio just became a state in 1953 and rattified the 14th amendment in Sept of 2003.  Brock brock brock?

9-15-04
Can't... go on.... describing symptoms...much...longer...

Let's see:
1. Assault weapons back on the street
2. Economy headed for another recession with 1 MILLION jobs lost since 2000.
3. Health care costs out of control
4. Nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran
5. No wmd found in the quagmire in Iraq
6. US environment in worst shape in 30 years
7. US prestige in toilet
8. Largest US deficits ever (btw, only republicans could possibly convince the idiot public that it could cut taxes and increase spending. No one else would have the balls.)
9. Most partisan atmosphere since we fought a civil war
10. Losing two real wars, a drug war, a war on poverty and a partgridge in a pear tree

Yep, I guess they deserve it.

What is the English word that is stronger than Asinine? Also, what word describes beyond Outrage.

I have set up a new poll. How should I vote this November:
1. Get rid of all incumbants regardless of Party
2. All democratic

9-14-04
Crazy Ivan?

Wow. Using terrorism for political gain.  Its almost as if a terrorist strike allowed for the very policy changes that were wanted before the terrorist strike. Convenient how that works, huh?

9-13-04
I Hope This is a Joke?

They're kidding right? No one wants to see Uzi's on the street, do they?

9-10-04
What would old Gil say?

Wowo, only took two weeks. But i thought it was a plan to 'strengthen and expand overtime pay for workers'? chuckle chuckle.

Ok, so its been a while. I have a lot more to say. Like this story. If anyone has any doubts about whether we are safer or not, ask yourself where our new role is in the world. Because I'm pretty sure this used to be our job. Oh, and there is genocide in Sudan, huh? Powell said so. Any countries rallying behind us (look at end of the above article)? Yep, we are powerful and influential. Oh yeah, and safe. Did i say safe? I just hope we stay safe. Bush has only overseen the largest terrorist event in the nation's history, so he must be the only person who can keep us safe, right? Hmm.

Source1 Source2

9-2-04
I Want to Believe

This story made every science fiction geek that participates in Seti@Home very happy today. One thing was never mentioned in Physics class though. If the big bang happened, there is one point in the sky (or the sky below our feet) that we could actually point to that was the origin of the universe, right? Where is it? What constellation is it near from our perspective? Anyone? Buehler?

Update: Seti signal now just as strong as the other hundreds of signals that are of interest. Dag nabit!

8-26-04
Will everyone just admit that people flip flop and its ok?

Now i'm not an educated man, but to me, a flip flop means that someone has one position, and then, for political reasons changes that opinion. BTW, too bad its only because he has a daughter with this 'affliction' that he has found compassion.

p.s. I know what Kerry is thinking right now: "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy?"

8-23-04
Yeaahh. I'm going to have to go ahead and a... disagree with you.

Yeahhh, remember this story in two months. That's all I will say.

8-19-04
And here comes the flop...

President Bush today flipped the flop on Health Care. Don't jump down his throat though, he may be a little sensitive about it. Did somebody say sensitive?

8-17-04
Hours of Fun

They are getting really good at this. Somebody should tell Stephen Hawking. Incidentally, if you want my advise, Audrey is the best. If you want her to swear, be sure to phonetically spell your swear words.

8-12-04
From the Mixed Up Files of Mr. Gnaw W Fish

Couple of random news stories that deserve comment:
1. Republicans: 'Business should not have any obstacles. Stop putting restraints on businesses. Free trade, free trade, free trade <under their breath> unless it means we lose money'.

2. I'm no tin-foil-on-the-head conspiracy theorist, but why is the government researching this? Makes you wonder.

3. Heh heh, Dumb ass. See old comment here.

8-9-04
Do it. Do it.

Sign up for the Gnawfish fantasy football league.
League ID#: 357036
Password: wedge

8-6-04
The World is Blowing Up and YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!

BIG news day today. Stuff that literally jumps off the page. First, if you read this blog occasionally, you will know that the fish's biggest pet peeve is hypocrisy. As long as you are consistently evil, you know what you are, we know what you are. Well today, our president came out AGAINST legacy based admissions at colleges. AGAINST. This coming from our second BUSH president in the last 15 years. This coming from the man with the 91 IQ who attended (and graduated <wink> <wink>) YALE and HARVARD!

Big day, right? I'm just getting started! Cheney was CEO of Haliburton during mind boggling financial 'cooking of books':

"The filing also said that from 1998 to 2001 about $3.1 billion "went missing" as the company generated $1 billion of profit and $2.1 billion from asset sales, yet ended the period with roughly the same amount of debt and cash as it started. " - CNN

Today the stock market continued its slide. What did you say? That's right, you would never know it from the lack of news coverage, but the stock market is WAY down year to date. But don't worry, we are turning a corner. To job growth, right? NOPE! The market today was looking for about a quarter of a million jobs created last month. There were 32,000. Oh my dear God.

To you and me 32,000 is a lot of jobs. But Market Analysts have been looking for a measure to confirm the fact that the economy is not improving. And this was a big measure. If job growth accelerates, the economy will pull itself out of this high oil priced, inflation laden, terrorist fearing, supply sided economic mess. But that didn't happen. So from this point, its a self sustaining thing. Companies are not going to hire more now because we are heading back into a recession. And we are heading back into a recession because companies are not going to hire.

Dubbya probably inherited this problem though. I leave you with a funny cartoon from the CS Monitor:





8-5-04
Terris'

Long a haven for terrorism, a plot was thwarted today in Albany, NY. Most of the asshats at my high school in Albany would probably fit into the modern day definition of 'Terrorist'. Incidentally, the Masjid As-Salam mosque is about a mile from the hospital where I was born and grew up.

8-3-04
Un-Intelligence

Ironical, huh? Source

"Since then, officials have acknowledged that the information came largely from a Pakistani computer engineer captured last month and that most of the information was amassed in 2000 and 2001. "
- Fox news

What? Was this author trying to say that the Pakistani computer engineer captured last month amassed information in 2000 and 2001 and that is why the alert has been issued this week? So last month we found out that in 2000 and 2001, al queda was targeting buildings in NYC and Washington DC? I knew that in September of 2001, didn't you?

Now this story is reporting that some of the information was updated in January of this year. I have no problem with this now.  I do have a problem with what Tom Ridge said though:

"But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the president's leadership in the war against terror, the reports that have led to this alert are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan."

At least they aren't politicizing a terror alert. I have never seen a more obvious play on fear. Sickening.

7-27-04
Extremist

"He lay motionless for a few moments. The reporter hoisted the bike off him just as medics arrived.
There were trees and a drop-off nearby and a road littered with rocks, but Bush was largely unscathed. "
- Guardian Unlimited

7-23-04
Iceberg HO!

In the name of King Hamlet, I claim thee for Denmark! Glad to see that the rest of the world is tackling the really tough foreign policy issues. 'Oh look, there is a floating chunk of ice, i'll take that thank you. And as such, any reindeer and/or jolly old men (real or imagined) will become citizens of our kingdom'.

7-22-04
Never showed it, but here it is!



7-21-04
Stupid Press...

Why does anyone care if the President's daughter stuck her tongue out at the press? The only people that care are the press. So isn't that story reported by the press really just about the press? Who cares?

7-15-04
Crazy to think...

I always find stories like this fascinating. Stories like this are actually more common then we would think. There were German U-Boats off the coast of New Jersey during WWII. There is also reports of the Japanese shelling the coast of Oregon. But this story is almost unbelievable.

7-13-04
We're Smart in North Cacalaca

Check out how we are coming around to support George Bush according to the latest polling numbers. Sweet.

7-12-04
I Feel Sorry for Them

The Reagans and Cheneys were the big news on this fine day. Why you may ask? Because of there complete and total lack of humanity (aka 'Liberalness') towards their fellow man EXCEPT their own elitist brew. What does that mean? Well, let's look at story number one from today.

Ron Reagan will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention later this month to discuss the benefits of stem cells to cure an entire array of diseases. His mother, Nancy, is expected to do much of the same at the Republican National Convention. Nancy Reagan, the queen of the conservatives, is FOR using the tissue of human embryos for research. Now I don't know the details (not a scientist) but all i know is that stem cells are incredibly important and I think that science should have carte blanc in terms of getting what it needs so that it can stop people from being killed by diseases (that could possibly be cured by using this technique). For some reason (not a right wing fundamentalist either) the conservatives have a problems with this. And we all know that while Ronald Reagan was dying of Alzeheimers, Mrs. Reagan's mind was changed on this issue.

Lynn Cheney let it be known that she felt as though states should be given the authority to allow for gays to be married. Lynn Cheney is Dick Cheney's wife. Needless to say, Lynn's view is not the view of the President, Dick Cheney, or any other conservative (why , I do not understand for reasons as stated above). Why this is significant is because Lynn and Dick have an openly gay daughter!

So gay rights and abortion. Those are two pretty divisive issues. I mean if you consider yourself liberal (aka sensitive to the needs of people who are not you) or conservative (indifferent to situations you do not relate to) you can pretty much figure out where you lie on these topics. But there is the rare conservative who has the courage to look outside of themselves and empathize with a loved one's blight. It's just too bad that they cannot be more liberal and see that everyone is someone's loved one.

7-9-04
It's the cover up that will get you...

Now if i were to say something like, 'inadvertent destruction of microfilm containing certain National Guard payroll records', you would naturally think, "Could happen to even the best of us. We all make mistakes". If I were to also mention that, included in these files were George W. Bush's records, you may think, "Well, I guess that is not necessarily sinister in nature. I know there has been some debate about those records and people are dying to get their hands on them. But hey, it was a long time ago, and they must have been destroyed accidentally. "

Finally, if I were to tell you that the organization that performed the 'inadvertent destruction of microfilm containing certain National Guard payroll records' is the Pentagon, what would you think? Remember, the Pentagon is part of the Executive Branch and is under the complete control of George Bush.

Now, I don't care if Bush tried to shirk his duty thirty years ago. It's just sad that the government has to pretend like we are all really stupid. If you are going to lie, lie big. The bigger the lie, the easier it is to believe.

"George Bush's military records were stolen today by a group of Chinese ninja samurai commandos. When reached for comment, the commandos assured Americans that while they did steal and subsequently destroy the microfilm, they wanted everyone to know that the president was in Louisiana for the entire year in 1973. In other news, the lovable alien Alf has a new talk show..."

7-8-04
What is this, 1994?

I am truly beginning to get a little uncomfortable. My first ever impression of George Bush was the day after the election. The vote was too close to call. He was sitting in an office, somewhere in Texas and stubbornly and shockingly declaring himself president of the Untied States. In fact, if memory serves, his tone was filled with frustration and annoyance. He honestly didn't know why people were not throwing him a big party. The reason was because the vote tally gave him a margin of victory about the size of a large Italian family. I remember, I actually said, "Uh oh." Basically thinking 'What have you done America'.

Since then, we have had lots of good times together. We have had bombings and war and economic downturn and the most bitterly divided nation in my lifetime. But something is beginning to happen. He is beginning to lose. What inevitably happens in every second term election is land-slide victory for incumbent or land-slide victory for challenger. What is really strange is, everyone is a democrat now, not dissimilar to the way everyone was a Republican in 1994.

The reason this is scary is because 'John Q Public' now shares the same view of the world as I do. That's kind of like your mom liking the music you listen to. Sure, you are glad you can blast it in your room, but the whole time you feel like maybe you like a bunch of crap music (i mean come on, she likes Natalie Merchant for the love of God!). Are my values so in tune with America? Maybe its time for this Bush apologist to become a Bush admirer.

7-7-04
Q and A with America's Favorite Person, HMC (mirror)

Adam: I understand that quite recently you had the privilege of meeting, nay working with Mr. Wil Wheaton. So i guess the question on everyone's mind is, did he where that Red Shirt™ he always wears?

Heather Maxwell Chandler: Yes, I had the pleasure of directing Wil during a voiceover session for Ghost Recon. Wil did not have his trademark red shirt, but was dressed very nicely in jeans and a t-shirt. He was reading "The Da Vinci Code" between takes and recommends it highly.

A: What (if anything) are you allowed to divulge regarding his role in Ghost Recon 2?

HMC: Wil is playing David Foster, one of the youngest members of the "the Ghosts." That's about all I can divulge right now.

A: If given one word to describe Mr. Wheaton, it would be ________.

HMC: Multi-talented.

A: Does he 'keep it real'

HMC: He certainly did! He came in ready to the do the job and was a complete professional. After the shoot was over, I told him what a fan I was and that many of my friends were fans as well. He was very pleased to hear that, and even recorded a special song to show his appreciation.

While he was at the sound studio, he told a few funny stories about Star Trek and some anecdotes about his family. Of course, we talked about running, since we have both run marathons. Wil is planning to run another marathon in the future, since he enjoyed running in the San Diego marathon a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed working with him and look forward to working with him in the future.

A: Do you think meeting with / talking to / working with / directing Wil Wheaton trumps the fact that I once got an email update from Wil regarding an overdue T-shirt I bought from him (if so why)

HMC: Well of course this trumps that! First, I have witnesses that it was really him, I got to shake his hand, and boss him around. For all we know, that email from Wil could have come from an imposter. In fact, when I mentioned to Wil that he had sent you an email, he was not able to recall if he had or not. Seems fishy..... However, he did confirm that he had T-shirts made and sold them on his website.

A: And finally, did Wil ever yell out or sing his love for you? And if not, whom did he shower with said thoughts of love? And if it was someone else, how did that make you feel?

HMC: Well, Wil did record a special song at the end of the session and told me how much he enjoyed working with me. While he did not profess his love to me, he did autograph something for me that said "To Heather, You are the best director, Evar!!11!1!". He did profess his love for one, Adam Burke, which made me feel kind of weird, because Wil is married and Adam has a girlfriend. However, I think it was a more platonic kind of love.

A: Indeed... platonic. I would like to thank Heather Maxwell Chandler for her time. And remember, Heather has a new book out as well, so check it out. Stay tuned tomorrow, when our guests will be actor Burt Ward and Joan Embery from the San Diego Zoo. Good Night!

7-6-04
I Know Not Yet What the Dawn May Bring

Images courtesy of nypost.com and navy.mil

7-3-04
Where there's a Wil, there's a story

Going to Elkin, NC for some good ol' fashion rubber duck racing. Big doings are coming. I know everyone is waiting for my much anticipated 'Wil Wheaton' story. Also on the horizon is my not so exclusive interview with a casual acquaintance of said Mr. Wheaton; the German Neo-Existential Motion Picture Writer Director slash Misunderstood Baroquial Cello Playing Producing author of 'How to Translate C++ code from English to Various Other Languages' <breath>Misses Heather Maxwell Chandler.

7-2-04
Forget the MCA. Y?

Now, I like Colin Powell. I mean anyone who had to grow up with the name 'Colon' should always be cut a fair amount of slack. But I think you will agree that this may be a step beyond what a normal American should have to endure from his or her leaders (you really have to see the slideshow for the full effect).

That's right, our Secretary of State put on a real show today in Jakarta (which is in like Hawaii or something). Oh no, wait...it's in Indonesia. Yep, that's the place you are thinking of. Another post for another day. So, the Secretary and some other diplomats yielded to tradition and performed a show, in this case YMCA by the Village People. Since this was a security meeting, they must have thought that this would be a good test because anyone in their right mind would try to blow the building up to stop that mess.

If confronted about singing, Powell would most likely say how Madeline Albright once sang Avita and how in 1984, George Schultz broke out with a killer rendition of 'Wake Me Up Before you Go Go'. Two things. One, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world (Muslims hate us for some reason right? Maybe singing an embarrassing disco tune as a gay construction worker is not the best way to bridge our differences). Two, we are fighting two wars (that we know about) let alone a war on drugs, poverty, AIDS, and school lunches or busing or something. Don't you think that maybe fighting a war would allow Powell to duck out of his 'hard hat' responsibilities? As America's head diplomat, maybe he could have shown the Muslims what America is REALLY about and done something more along the lines of 'Like a Virgin' fully equipped with a Blond Ambition Tour bustier with 15 inch cones for his supple breasts? I mean, that is more of what I would expect from a hero like Powell. Wake up America.

7-1-04
Ok, Sick days don't count.

Back again. So I have decided to become a Bush Apologist. I mean why not. At the very least, it gets some laughs. Besides, I always feel as though when everyone starts thinking something, maybe its time to rethink it. Ok, let's play.

Bush is compassionate. The guy is big with the conservative churches and the term 'compassionate' sounds religious, so let's just give it to him.

Bush is a leader. You gotta give him credit. No one thinks he is doing a good job and he's still not listening or making major changes.

Bush is intelligent. The man lost a popularity contest to Sadaam Hussein, but is somehow still ahead of John Kerry. The dumbed down, folksy shtick plays big in Tennessee and Wyoming. He knows if he gets enough crappily small states, he wins (forget about the popular vote and the coast lines).

Bush is good for the environment. He knows that he'll be long gone before Americans begin to see the effects of loosening environmental standards (see above paragraph).

Bush is conservative. He pulled off the greatest trick (even better than Reagan did). He got the country to believe that the word liberal is bad and conservative good. Here is where the apologism stops.

Liberal is a bad word? If its so bad, then which would you rather have, a liberal or conservative scoop of ice cream. I rest my case. But seriously people. Let's remember what Liberal actually means.

Someone who is liberal will take care of the down trodden; will protect and preserve rights; will fight for equality; will apply intellect and reason to problems and will be empirically driven. And why do conservatives want to keep throwing God into politics. They made it the very first sentence of the very first amendment. Shouldn't be too hard to find. So thus concludes my fair and balanced view.

6-29-04
Updated Daily

Hey,
Well, I have been informed that this is not truly a blog because i do not update it daily (or recently even weekly). So i am going to try and change that. So here we go.

I got word back from our local branch of the ACLU. We won the vote! Yay! Ok, for those who are not in the 'know', the thing that we won, was basic liberties already safeguarded in the US Constitution. WHAT?

That's right. The Raleigh City Council enacted a resolution that basically says that the Patriot Act must contort (pedantic word alert) to those pesky first 10 amendments in the US Constitution known as the Bill of Rights (I bet the founding fathers would be glad they enacted that after seeing some of the crap that has been tried). Real controversial, huh? Glad three brilliant councilors voted against it.

5-22-04
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

Dear Sir,
The Washington Post has released more images today. My outrage for these images is only matched by my outrage for your thoughtless, inhuman comments on May 11.
-Adam Burke, thankfully not a resident of Oklahoma

P.S. They are now releasing these prisoners.

5-20-04
Say What?
I'm sorry, did you say virtual church sponsored by the Methodist Church?

5-7-04
Hollow Nation
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Today in America, we sit alone in the shadow, between the emotion and the response. We sit exhausted and shaking from our sugar high. We are paralyzed. The news is breaking. Turn on the game.

Why don't we stop it from happening? We know its bad. We knew it was bad too. It was evil. He said so. It was clear. Black and white. There were weapons. It was a slam dunk.

But now it goes beyond. We cannot see how they see us. The eyes are not here. There are no eyes here.

We sit and watch. Stuffed full. More distant and more solemn than a fading star.

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

*Excerpt of The Hollow Men by T.S. Elliot in Italics

3-28-04

3-26-04
1942
My brother Michael just got pic-o-the-day at bf42.com. Man I love that game! Check it out!

3-21-04
Login Solution
Hey. Just implemented a login solution. Uses standard .htaccess login prompt. In other news, can't think of anything else for the site right now. Peace out.

3-12-04
Temperature issues
Adam: Is the jukebox waterproof? What temperatures will it operate under?
Dell Service Manager: It operates under normal temperatures.
Adam: Do you have any specific numbers? Are there any cases that will increase water protection?
Dell Service Manager: Why do you need to know that? It sounds like you are trying to use this device in extreme circumstances.
Adam: So if I am walking down the street with my jukebox and it starts to rain, is that an extreme circumstance? Are you saying that people are not using a portable music device outside of their homes?
Dell Service Manager: Well, I'll have to um... Let me just... hold on while i check... (never got a real answer btw).
FYI: http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

Gay Marriage
That's right! a two-for. I guess its been so long so i have one other thing to say. Gay marriage. Are they saying that we have to marry someone who is gay? I mean otherwise, I couldn't possibly see why someone else would care. Ok, so i kind of stole that from John Stewart. Here is my only argument. Here is a link to the 14th amendment.

That's the ball game right? I mean just read section 1. The first sentence re-defines what a citizen is. And by the way, its anyone born in the US just in case you didn't click on the link. The next sentence states that no state shall 'abridge the privileges or immunities. The final sentence (the nail in the coffin) states that states shall not deprive a citizen of life, liberty, or property (thank you John Locke) AND goes on to say that nor will any state deny any person equal protection under the law.

So lets sum up. A citizen is no longer a white male land holder, but rather any person born or naturalized in the US. And further, states cannot make laws that abridge rights and CANNOT deny equal protection under the law? So a state cannot take away the rights of one group that it may not like. Makes you wonder why we needed the 15th amendment, 19th amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and (eventually, you know it will happen some day) the equal marriage act of 20XX.

2-10-04
Gnawfish DIS-IMPROVEMENTS
In the "I Hate Microsoft Department" this week, no sooner had I fixed everything on my site did Microsoft decide to disallow xml based logins in Internet Explorer (which just so happens to be the way that my login works). Read about it here.

You see, Microsoft was patching their crap as usual, however they actually patched useful stuff. Blah blah blah, long story short, they release an update to the patch (or to put it another way, they needed to patch their patch). Normally, I would say saylavee and I would install the patches patch. Well, I did that and my login still doesn't work. UGH! So Alan Parsons is down for now until I create a new login technique.

2-8-04
Gnawfish Improvements!
I have finally done it! What have I done you ask? I have released the new POLL section of the site. Turns out a lot of this code is from college and is written in PERL. Weird the stuff you find when you look through old work. I have also done some other housekeeping on the site. For instance I have finally removed the unnecessary tags from this page (making it much smaller). And I have gone and done a little Search Engine Optimizing by changing the meta tags of the site. I got annoyed when google didn't have any reference to Gnawfish.

Anyway, so now i do not know what else I can do on this site. Open to suggestions. I may see about doing some of the stuff that I have done in ASP in PHP just for the experience of it. It may be a little late now that I use .Net (is there a PHP equivelent?) Anyway, check it!

I was even so bored today that I went and created an index page for all of my custom errors. ADAM, GET A LIFE!

1-21-04
Happy Time People
So what's new? Here's something. Check this list to see if the RIAA is suing your ass! That's right, the RIAA (Rich Idiots Against Anyone) has released another 500 names (well actually kazaa usernames), that are going to get sued. I wonder if I can get sued by making fun of the RIAA? That would be a really hard thing to admit to my bunkmate in jail.

That brings up a good point. What is slander and defamation? Why is it illegal to say something about someone. Well I guess in this case, it would be libel (because it's written --why that makes a difference, I don't understand either). So if i "negatively reflect on a living person's reputation", something bad could happen to me? How is that not abridging the freedom of speech? I guess in order to be characterized as defamation, you would need to have actual facts wrong. So if i said the RIAA is suing 500,000 people, that would seem to be libel. Not just a strong cultural more, but an actual law! What a world.

12-24-03
Happy Holidays
Wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season!

10-29-03
Marathon Whoas
So its not that I don't actively update this BLOG. Its just that nothing interesting ever happens to merit an entry. But this past weekend I ran the Marine Corp Marathon. I had been training for the past 12 months and was greatly looking forward to one of the most popular marathons in the world.

Everything that I have read about this race has been good. My expectations were quite high as the race began. I was standing about 400 meters from the starting line. In front of me stood the most elite runners of the race. The Kenyans and Nigerians that would eventually run the race in about fifteen minutes. Just behind them, there was a fork in the road. On one side of the fork, stood all of the runners hoping to finish between 2-4 hours (me included). The other side of the fork saw all the marathon runners/walkers who hoped to finish between 4+ hours. As far as I could tell, these runners were not behind us because that would extend the pre-race area to a solid mile long. Instead, the race directors opted to compact everyone together.

When the HOWITZER went off, the race began. We didn't really get very far very fast at first. I was not concerned. My time would not begin until i actually passed the start line. I stood next to the poor soul who volunteered to hold the corral flag. It read 3:20 (my secret goal for finishing). I had run a 3:32 the year before, but had been training at 7:30 pace all year. 3:20 was doable, but my stated goal was 3:25. As we stood for over four minutes, I began to wonder why it would take the Kenyans and 2:30 marathoners so long to start. They would be running 6 minute or less miles. 'Just a lot of people...' i thought.

When i crossed the start, it was ON! I was on a mission. Everything was perfect. The weather was overcast and 60 degrees. I knew what pace I needed to meet my goal. But within 200 meters of the race I knew that my goal was going to have to wait. Our 3:20 platoon ran smack into Charlie. Our platoon leader tried to swerve around our foe, but it was in vain. The surprise attack brought on was not by weather, volunteers, or spectators. It was other runners. Thousands of them. Thousands of VERY slow runners. Some walkers.I tried to understand my situation. I quickly realized that our 3:20 flag holding commander was right next to a 4:30 flag holding commander. The slow flank had started before us! Upon realizing this, I knew my goal and my whole race experience (a big deal if you are running for 3+ hours) was in jeopardy. I mounted a counter-assault with my 3:20 brethren. I bobbed and weaved past the walkers and guys wearing Huckleberry Hound costumes. I finagled, cajoled, and hurt many a foe. At the end of my first mile, I looked to my watch to see the fruits of my labor. 9:50 first mile, 2:20 slower than my desired pace. It was over. My 3:20 comrades had fallen. The leader had stopped to regroup his disillusioned platoon. I decided that if i was going down, I was taking some with me. I picked up the pace (wasting precious resources) and had a nice 17:40 2 mile time to show for it. Livid, I continued. A few miles later, my 3:20 comrades roared by me in a 15 man counter assault. What they lacked in numbers, they more than made up with in speed and brutality. They cut through the enemy like a knife through butter. I was already a forgotten statistic. Just another 3:20 man down and out. I didn't have the energy to mount the charge. My end time was 3:46 or 3:47. I came back from war. A war fought in vain. A forgotten hero of the 3:20 brigade.

9-21-03
WUP Fix
Reimplemented Web Usage Plots. All web files know being counted AND it actually works too. Check it out.

9-18-03
Hurricane
Wow. Its been a long time since my last update. Well, i've lived through my first hurricane. Isabel has come and gone and I'm still here. Other things going on, the login for the Alan Parsons Project is now up (at the login page). If you don't have a username and password, let me know. I know that the WUP is down. I know what the problem is, just got to schedule some time to fix it. Rock!

8-9-03
A Store?
Just opened up the Gnawfish.com official store. Buy lots of Gnawfish crap AT COST! Gnawfish goes commercial. Check it!

7-31-03
1, 2, 3, 4 - ROCK!
Hey. Going to Albany for a friend's wedding and a little R&R. Going to spend a little time in Little Otter, NY (where in the world???) and at my cabin up in the Adirondacks. Should be a good time out on the river. Haven't been in about five years or so.

Going to be hanging in Little Otter with a bunch of college friends. It should be interesting to note how we have all changed (from the drinking days to "responsible people"). Anyway, kind of in a rut of development on this site. Doing lots of development at work lately so haven't had any inspiration to work on this site. Nothing on my projects list strikes my fancy. Oh well, no worries. Peace!

7-16-03
'F' Metallica

7-22-03 Update
Turns out that the Metallica story (stating that they were suing a band for using a progression of chords) is not true. Gnawfish radio still not playing Metalica.

Metallica took the long over-due action of effectively trademarking the E and F chords today by filing suit against an unknown Canadian band. In a related story, I have filed suit against a little known Argentinian programmer who continues to use my '<html></html>' style of web programming. Developing...

You know, I could put the commentary fish up in the right hand corner, go on and on about how horrible our legal system is to even promote the idea that this is possible, or to go on and on about how I plan on creating elaborate, multi-layered E and F chord riffs using Acid 4.0, etc. But I am not going to do that. What I am going to do is talk about what happened to the cool in music?

Now let me say that I am not nor have I ever been a Metallica fan. The group that started out as the "alternative" rock band on Lolapoloza has ended up being a bunch of grumpy old men. And they are not the kind of grumpy old men that pine about how they missed out (like old time baseball players do). No, they are the worst kind of complainers. They are mega super duper quadillionaires and they are in your face about how they want more of your money and they are right and everyone else is wrong.

What the hell happened to the cool rock bands? What happened to the anti-establishment bands, the bands that were against something cool, or for something cool; were cutting edge and expanded your own ideas about self, society, and music? Has everybody just sold out and bought what society has been dishing out? God forbid we piss off corporate america. They may sue us! We're using Tivo and reading Adbusters (btw, i am in marketing) and they are spamming us and calling us at 6pm when we are dinner (not me though). Now Metallica is in our face about how we are costing them money and stepping on their rights. Shut up Metalica. And then your CD's may be more sought after than AOL 8.0 disks.

6-25-03
d 'Tocqueville's Paradox
When Alexis d'Tocqueville came to America, he was fascinated by the not-too-subtle differences between the Europe he knew and the America he was experiencing. But he ultimately concluded that the American experiment was doomed to fail. The reason for the failure was simple. American touted liberty and justice. d'Tocqueville reasoned that these concepts are completely antithetical. As you climb a mountain, you simultaneously get further away from the valley as you ascend to the peak. This is necessarily true.

This idea has stood out in my mind throughout the Bush presidency. There is a class war that would certainly be waged was it not for the principle I would amend to d'Tocqueville's. That is, that the rich require more liberty than justice and the poor require more justice than liberty.

What do the rich seek? They seek the ability to do as they want. That is, they want to be left alone from the strong hand of the government and want to give way to the invisible hand. After all, they have means now and they require the ability to be left to their riches. They certainly do not seek justice, or the kind of justice that the everyday man would seek. For is it not just the relative few who have vast majority of wealth in their possession? As a result, the rich require freedom more than they require justice. For justice would drive them away from wealth. Their riches would fall down the mountain to those below.

What do the poor seek? They seek their piece of the pie. They struggle their work-a-day lives scrimping and saving and living and dying. They do not require additional freedom. They have too much as it is. This freedom is what is causing their pains. This freedom causes the few to yield the most power and the few to control the most resources. And is this just? Is this a fair and equitable distribution of wealth? And if so, why? The poor seek justice. They are sick of their freedom. They want their money back. They wish to be free of their freedom which has driven them to where they are.

When Bush announced his tax cuts, he gave each party what they want (or the perception of what they want). To the rich, they were free to use "their" money as they see fit. Bush said that it was their money and wouldn't they want the freedom to spend it as they wished. Did the poor revolt? Did the poor raise arms? No, they were given what they so craved. They were sold on the equality of the tax cuts. "Why should only one group get tax cuts" was the mantra of Bush. Their justice was their for them to choke on.

5-24-03
I wont spend it all in one place
Big news this week is that we (Americans) are getting some of our hard earned money back from the government. That's right, the tax cut has passed the Senate (barely) and $350 billion is coming our way. But what to buy, what to buy, what to buy?

According to my math, each American would roughly receive $1,202 each. But unfortunately no one ever planned on giving everybody the same amount. In a stunning, but predictable lack of historical sense, the republicans have cut taxes for the rich to stimulate the economy. Although failing to ultimately trickle down to the rest of the economy in the past, the president is banking on his buddies pushing the gains to all Americans. But the thing that Hoover, Reagan, and Bush didn't realize is that the rich are ALREADY RICH! If they wanted to buy something or start a business, they probably already did so. Economics is not rocket science. Inventories are too high in a recession. We need to get people to buy crap. That gives us schmoes at the bottom jobs to create more stuff after inventory is gone. But if your're rich, you probably already have our crap. If you don't, its probably not because you didn't have the money (because you'd be rich already, remember?).

But if you give the money to the middle class (and none to the rich) these people are NOT rich. Therefore, chances are, there is still stuff that they want to buy and will be unable to unless they get more money. That's where the government would come in.

This could have been a really good opportunity to redistribute the wealth in this country. Its too bad George Bush had to listen to those people telling him that trickle down economics works. The funny thing is that these people are the ones who will be getting the money. And the REALLY funny thing is that they will not stimulate the economy as much as the middle class could have. The rich don't get rich by writing checks. And the rest of us don't get rich by spending every penny. Some stats of what we could do with $350 billion.

1. Pay 1 million people $35,000 per year for 10 years (that's staggering!).
2. Pay everyone is American (even children) $1202
3. Give 90% of the population on average 80 bucks and 10% of the population on average $11,305

I don't like my odds. Maybe I'll buy a pizza or something.

4-21-03
PEARL JAM Rocked!!!!!
Big happenings. Pearl Jam review and Web Usage Plots up. After months of waiting, WUP is up and working for Gnawfish 2.0. Its available here. Oh yeah, and there is an RCS concert this Sunday with guest composer Daniel Bernard Romain. Check it.

So, I took my sister Alison to the first show in Raleigh. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get the "best seats in the house". But they were within the pavilion and in the center. I don't know, they didn't seem into it. They were missing some solos and just not nailing it. There wasn't the electricity that I saw up in Buffalo in 1996.

The next night, it was Charlotte. I got their earlier this time and got kick-ass seats. I got into the pavilion early. About twenty minutes before the opening act came on, Eddie came out and did a pre-set. It was awesome. Then, out came out the opening band which rocked! When the band finally came out, they rocked hard and hit all the songs perfectly. Being so close, I could really feel the band's energy. They even admitted to having a better time in Charlotte. They came out for two encores and even rocked out with the opening band at the end. It was awesome!

3-23-03
Cat and Gnawfish Power
Gnawfish radio is back and in full effect. New super cool searching functionality is now available. Only thing not working yet is (for certain people) the ability to do some Alan Parsons type activity.

In other news I went to see Cat Power at a local venue this past weekend. If you are unfamiliar, she has this incredible, raspy voice. A velvety blue bitterness that is delivered in an intimate, and tender way. I have not heard a whole lot of her stuff, but what I have, I have enjoyed. From remakes to originals, it seems to me that she 'got it'. After struggling through the over amplified 'Bob Dylan meets Henry Rollins' first act, it was Cat's turn.

It became immediately clear that the songstress was given to the worst case of stage freight I've seen in a while. She refused any spotlight as well as repeated attempts to increase her vocal levels. You couldn't see her, you couldn't hear her. But that wasn't the worst part. She decided that instead of playing songs all the way through regardless of how they sounded, she would stop continuously and complain about how badly she was sounding. This was made worse when she forgot the very lyrics that she wrote. After four or five painful songs, I had to leave. I'm sorry Cat. From now on, I will have to admire you from afar (or more accurately via pre-recorded electronic media).

3-5-03
Liberty vs Obvious Oppression
Remember when liberty used to easily win out over mind numbingly obvious tyrannical threats to basic freedoms? Yeah, it doesn't anymore.

1. The Case of the EVIL Deer Lady
2. The Case of the Unoffensive T-Shirt

My reaction. Ok, one at a time. The Deer Lady. Are you kidding me? First of all, its against the law to feed deer? Is this what the politicians of Yreka, Ca are being paid to investigate? The argument is roughly, 'feeding the deer will make them more susceptible to being hunted or harmed.' So wait... just ban hunting then. If hunting deer is legal, then why is it illegal to help the process? Its legal to kill the deer, just do not under any circumstance feed the deer. WHY can't I get paid to be so out of touch with reality. Pete Knoll is dumber than the politicians for enforcing the law. Pete claims to be at a loss as to what to do. Here's a clue Pete: don't throw a woman in jail for feeding deer. Throw the politicians in jail for being so stupid. Speaking of stupid...

In order to see stupid first hand, you have to go up to my old stomping ground. Albany, NY. In the very mall where I had my very first job no less. A man is arrested for wearing a T-Shirt (well, technically arrested for refusing to leave because he was wearing the T-Shirt). Ok, we all know that T-Shirts cause major scandals and should not be looked upon lightly (I personally wore a "I'm Bart Simpson, who the Hell are You" T-shirt to school once but was told to put another shirt over it so I know what this kind of oppression is like). This guy's T-Shirt was much more raucous and likely to cause problems though. It read "Give Peace a Chance". I'm glad this nut got arrested. I hope they throw him in jail and feed the key to a deer.