Science

My computer is back online. It has been for awhile, but a large number of high profile events have occurred in life, the least being the National Ostrich Riding Competition. Anyways, today I bring you another opinionated installment of my blog. A number of recent conversations have caused me to question my path in life, i.e. a scientist. Having mulled this topic over, I have finally come to somewhat of an opinion on the matter, one that is contrary to say the least. So let us begin...

We begin with the simple question: What is science? In my opinion, science is the study of life and the natural world. Science has a number of offshoots, from biology to physics, all building upon one another. Science studies everything around us, from the quark to the blue whale. And to put my background on the subject into light, well, I am studying to be an ecologist.

So we ask: Why? Why does the natural world need to broken down into its component parts? I asked myself the same question and came to two possible solutions. The first being the nicest, highlighting the simple answer "because I want to." This is acceptable, but I am not sure it is entirely the complete answer, thus my second solution: "because I want to be smarter than the next guy." Now before all my fellow scientists decide to use me as a cadaver in their next dissection, let me explain.

Science is a way of perceiving the natural world, simply put. As my friend said, "I want a better understanding of the world." Hmmmm... "better". What makes science this "better" understanding of the world? After all, "a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet". A rose can still be just as beautiful, without knowing that it is composed of a number of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Why break it down? As much as one would like to say "because I want to know", I think another reason may still be lurking, a need for dominance. Society is structured to reward those who can "perceive" an object better than someone else.

After looking at it that way, I am unsure how to feel. I, for one, will admit I love winning an argument and often knowing more ensures my victory (that or confusing my opponent). Knowledge is power, and science gives more than enough knowledge to its practitioners. So is science a way to exert dominance over another?

As I let that sink in, I will continue with another concept that has been bugging me. That topic is on science's practical applications, or lack thereof. Yet again, give me a word before the scalpels come out. In this current society, science does have some applications, though I do not believe that it was ever necessary to have them originate. Native Americans thrived for years with little knowledge of today's science quite fine. They impacted the Earth very little and science just was not necessary. Knowledge was learned from experiences, for example if that berry made you vomit, you did not eat it again. Much like how when a young child burns their hand on the stove, they do not do that again. Science did not need to arise and in my opinion, should not have needed to at all. You see, science perpetuates science and once it starts, it just does not stop. There is always something more to discover, and as intriguing as that sounds, its implications can be quite horrific.

So are we better without science? Another tough question to answer. Let me first say that science has a way of destroying itself. A couple examples might be necessary to explain that point.

Firstly, let's examine natural selection. Natural selection boils down to survival of the fittest, which definitely no longer applies to a grand majority of the Earth now. Humans exist almost everywhere, but are by no means the pinnacle of evolution. I can name several animals that are much more fit than the average human. Humans have lost the ability to be selected against, with all our medicine and such. Diseases that should be killing off the less fit of the population just do not have the same effect they used too. Not to mention the rampant obesity in parts of the world, demonstrating further just how unfit humans really are. Darwin's natural selection is getting destroyed by the very category it falls under.

Secondly, an examination of nutritional science. It should not exist. Period. If all science was like nutritional science, I would be switching to Arts immediately. Its history shows a litany of stupid people trying to change people diets in the name of science. The silliest thing is, they actually think they are making a difference. Having lost the knowledge we would have gained from our elders, humans are now trying to explain things that are blatantly obvious. Breaking down foods into their component parts just does not work, for a number of reasons. The most obvious being the interactions between the different parts of the food. Sure you can isolate a certain antioxidant and say what is supposedly does, but once it enters the food, its interactions with other antioxidants/vitamins/minerals can change exactly what it does. Secondly, the other foods that it is eaten with can change the speed at which its properties are released, or like the previous example change exactly what it does. Nutritional science is useless and self-destroying, constantly changing what one should and should not eat and switching its positions on certain vitamins/minerals almost daily.

Despite all that, science has permeated modern society and is there to stay. It is a necessity now, despite its results and/or failings. So what is my opinion on it? Hard to say, but I think it harks back to the first question's answer: "because I want to." I like ecology and it interests me, so that is more than enough to keep me in the sciences. Will I use my knowledge to further my arguments? Probably, just as almost anyone would. Will I focus on analyzing things relentlessly? No. I want to use science to fix the impacts humans are having on the world. Because as much as science is self-destroying, science can be self-healing (except for nutritional science). And while I do not agree with everything science does, at least I can use it to change the world for the better.

-AFR

My Quest Has Failed

Well, some interesting events happened yesterday, and one ultimately ended up destroying my quest. My computer was incapacitated by a virus. So, despite my attempts to get online with my phone, I could not post a blog yesterday.

And for that, I am sorry. But with some luck and a little bit of juice from a mountain yak's spleen, I am hoping to get my computer back up and running shortly. So that I do not have to post from our school's ancient computers (I think we honestly got them back in the first Ice Age).

-AFR

Math

Watch First!

Now, I was never a huge fan of math, despite being fairly good at it, but this video sends a fairly disturbing message to me. Let me give a little background quickly.

As a kid, I was taught math using those standard algorithms and multiplication tables, so most of those methods on the video are new to me. I found this to be a great learning tool and a easy way to show the fundamentals of math. This fantastic foundation I have built up has allowed me to be both quick and efficient at my math work, as well as understanding the basic fundamentals of math.

This "new" math scares me in a variety of ways, the most prominent being the overwhelming message to rely on calculators. As many people know, I am not a huge fan of machines doing simple work a human can do, despite calculators being extremely useful for other purposes. Using calculators for basic multiplication is something that I am not usually a fan of, even though I am guilty of it at times. This reliance on calculators teaches kids nothing and actually detracts them from the fundamentals they are learning. I know if I were a kid, and handed a very simple solution to a problem, I might fall to the trap of simplicity in a calculator. From this video, it seems that young kids these days do not have the foundation to use a quick algorithm to solve a problem, which is quite scary in my mind.

Now, maybe I am slightly biased because math came somewhat easy to me when I was a kid, but I feel that a grand majority of people that I know have the necessary foundation to do a multiplication or division quickly and with little fuss. This new math books seem to be having quite the opposite effect. I was always taught K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) and I see no reason to muddy the waters with new, confusing algorithms. So in conclusion, I must agree with the author of this video and urge others to stray away from these books, no matter how glorified they may seem.

-AFR

Robot Unicorn Attack

Well, again not much has happened in my ever awe-inspiring life. Well, except for one thing. My brother introduced me to the game Robot Unicorn Attack.

For those of you who do not know, Robot Unicorn Attack is a game that was originally for the iPhone, but you can now play it online. Simple Google Search it and it should pop up quickly. The game involves a similar scheme to the oldie Helicopter. You play as a robot unicorn and you merely need two keys to play the full game.

Before you dismiss it because of the name, let me tell you one last thing. It is fairly addictive and quickly becomes a large timewaster. And the song rocks.

Oh, and my high single score is 16980. Beat that!

-AFR

Thumbtacks and the Resulting Annoyance

I have this thumbtack. It is white. It almost stabbed me in the elbow today, but that is an entirely different story. For about a half an hour now, I have been trying to flatten the edge on this thumbtack and it has availed not. This particular thumbtack has a metal wrapping which is still very loose, despite my attempts to conform it to my desired shape. It has served to be a very annoying thorn in my side and will most likely prove to be more troublesome in the future.

In other news, November seems to be quite the month for astrology. Normally, I think of horoscopes as just a bunch of buzz words intended to be applicable to a large number of people. This month is different. So far, nearly all of my horoscopes seem to apply to me, even though my way of interpreting them could be a tad different. Regardless, they have all offered at least some insight into my life and the current problems I face.

Well, enough about me and my petty troubles. I would like to hear from you, the readers. Is there a specific topic you want me to talk about? Are my blogs entertaining and interesting? Or am I just another blog in the exceeding large sea of internet writers? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

-AFR

Relaxation Weekend

So this weekend I took a breather and relaxed. My school work is mostly done, and I have very little studying left to do until finals. My conclusion: a trip was necessary. And boy did it help a lot.

Oftentimes I feel I do not have the time to do much outside of school because of the massive amount of work I have to do for it. But I think it is necessary to take a break every once in a while to relax the body. It gives the mind and the body a time to rest and creates a peace of mind for oneself. I do not really have much more to say about this, as the point I am trying to get across should be fairly self-explanatory. Just take that time to relax yourself.

And drink tea.

-AFR

The Irrelevant Post

Today I am going to discuss what the world will be like in 1842. In 1842, humans will have invented a way to communicate with animals, specifically those of the large bovine variety. These discussions with bovines will be aired throughout the world, being the single most popular video in all the newspapers. Newspapers with small televisions in them are impossible some might say. But in the year 1842, every newspaper comes equipped with that. Writing becomes almost a thing of the past, because as everyone knows, if you add two trouts to a mango, you get the square root of a kumquat.

Additionally, the year 1842 will involve a large number of invasions of neighbouring planets, the most important one being the army's attack on the planet Xelion, in the system Holeo. The acquisition of this planet leads to the necessary pacifist treaty signed with the newly-formed denizens of Mars, keeping us from destroying them entirely in our attempts to fire a interspacial laser through their planet towards Selea, one of Xelion's thousand moons.

On Earth, the Communist Republic of Yugorussiamany (a country that occurred when Yugoslavia decided to annex both Russia and Germany), nearly gets overthrown by a violent coup, where the Emperor of All Time almost getting assassinated by an over-zealous, suicide kiwi from Australia. Nearby, in the Soviet Republic of Canada, the world's scientists have gathered to seek refuge from a huge number of coconut-laden swallows, intent on destroying the new energy generator that runs on children's farts. This in turn causes the Bird War I, in which the laden swallows end up getting overpowered with Canadian geese armed with tissue paper in the shape of forks.

Mutations in the human genome in 1842 are fairly common and cause a high number of superhuman humans with dorky powers. The most significance of these new SuperDorks is Toaster Man, whose amazing ability allows him to turn the mucus of any human being into multiple pieces of toast. These new crime fighters take on a huge number of criminals, who have resorted to using lasers of highly concentrated Lady Gaga music to fend off the multiple SuperDorks coming their way. This fight wages in many abandoned cities, with the citizens of these beautiful cities leaving because of the all-to-horrible stench that is emitted from these wars between the two parties.

And how do I know all this? Because I am a time-travelling space monkey.

The Sweatshirt Fascination

I need a hoodie. Why? Well, with all my enlightened knowledge, I still failed to actually bring one with me when I went to university. And hoodies are nice. They cover your head when it rains, make a great tool to block throwing stars with, and can be used as a bartering tool in a cinch. Needless to say, I absolutely have to have one.

While I discussed this forlorn fact with a friend, a thought popped into my mind. Why do girls feel the need to request their boyfriend to hand over their sweatshirt for the women's use. What is this fascination with all things hooded and warm? Is it because they are cold? I do not think so. I think it is a conspiracy. Let me tell you why.

There is an aphid species that can essentially poop out clones of itself. Why? To breed quickly and efficiently to fill the world with a high number of females. Are women trying to do this to? Is their motive to weaken males to allow females to slowly take over the world? It is possible, and actually highly probable. By weakening the males, their mind control devices will have an easier access to the male brain, thus enabling them to take over the male population and make it easier to eliminate any unnecessary males. Well I have news for you girls. It will not work. You would reduce your genetic variation within the species until it would become nearly nonexistent and all humans would be incredibly similar.

And I think the narrator sums that fact up quite well: "Having sex with your own clone is the most useless sex imaginable."

And if you understood my logic for this, you are either a superhuman, or just as crazy as I am.

-AFR

Why I am a Jedi

I believe in the Force. Pineapple.

-AFR

Microwaves

It seems that in North America, there is one unspoken rule: everyone uses microwaves. Well except for my family. We are firm believers in home-cooked meals and we use the oven for everything. I am not here to hate on you microwave users, but merely explain my view on the matter.

My experiences with microwaves have been less than cordial. One of them involved me trying to successfully heat a wrap to a proper temperature. It ended with me eating a boiling hot outside and a still-frozen inside. Not too pleasant. Despite swearing off microwaves, I still ended up using one quite recently. The situation pretty much called for it. Darn my human emotions forcing me to be polite. Well, once I pulled my defrosted bread out of the microwave, I proceeded to make a sandwich and hope for the best. Alas, it would not be. The crust of the bread was unusually tough, and the sandwich just did not taste right. So again I am trying to swear off microwaves. Again.

And why do I not like microwaves? Well really it boils down to about two reasons.

1. The microwaves that bombard the food when placed into the microwave disrupt chemical bonds and change the function and viability of the nutrients in the food. Such a sudden increase in temperature cannot be good for the food or the health benefits they would offer.

2. No one truly knows exactly how much microwaves due due to our lack of knowledge of them. Their impact could be a lot worse than possibly thought. And that is scary. Just like cellphones may prove to cause an increase in susceptibility to cancer, microwaves could do something similar.

Not that I expect to convert any of you to my ways, just a little of a spiel on the implications of microwaves. And because today I hatd to use the danged contraption.

/rant

-AFR

Forgiving Headphones Kid

A couple of events have transpired recently that have got me thinking about holding on to things. Some are a little personal, others not so much. Recently, I talked to with my friends about holding grudges, a thing I can do extremely well when it comes to certain things. I want to reverse that concept of holding on to things, whether it be grudges, feelings, or something along those lines, and discuss a little bit about letting go.

Let me begin with a story. About a year ago, my residence held an "Olympics", where the various residence houses competed to determine who was the best house. On the fateful day, we played a number of games, the most significant being dodgeball. Now there was a kid, dubbed hereafter as "headphones kid" and for whatever reason that day, I decided to release whatever amount of anger or bitterness out on him. Now, moving back a bit to the dodgeball came, everyone was having a good time, and me, my usual nimble self, was managing to stay in the game. Well, I saw a golden opportunity present itself, in the way of an incoming dodgeball. I picked it up, ran forward, and whipped it at the nearest opponent, who just so happened to be headphones kid. Well, he did not go out. And that is what began my long, bitter hatred of headphones kid.

I would see headphones kid around campus that year, and each time I laid eyes on him, I felt that bitterness stir. To make a long story short, I have held that grudge for a little over a year now, and I feel that it is time to finally get rid of it. I feel I have been relatively judgmental in general lately, not on purpose, but judgmental nonetheless. So in my eyes, it is time to let bygones by bygones, and let go of all those emotions that I have been withholding.

So watch out world because here I come, new and improved!

-AFR

The Beginning of a Quest

Hello all!

Recently I have been bogged down by a number of things, such as wrestling clowns, holding charity auctions for fallen coconuts victims and the like. I am now announcing my quest: to blog every day in November. Or for short, BEDIN. I realize that my readers are most lacking my sharp wit and stunning intellect and are in need of some intellectual and humorous nourishment. So for this month, all your wishes will be granted!

And so, the topic of my blog today. I have decided to talk about the alleviation of stress today, due to the past month's extreme workload. Here are a couple of tricks that I find very useful.

1. Drink tea. Tea is awesome. Enough said.

2. Get some sleep. I have always noticed my significant decrease in work productivity when I do not get enough sleep the night before. And those extra hours of rest are by far more useful than the cram session that your fevered brain would otherwise have to undergo.

3. Did I say sleep? Yes? Good.

4. Give yourself a little "me" time. To really relax, just take a quick hour break to read or engage in an activity to your liking. If you do not give yourself time for yourself, who will?

Well, hope that helps you a little. I realize this blog post is about as interesting as watching grass grow, but I thought I would just let you know my plan, and about the fact that I do indeed still exist.

-AFR

A Little Update!

Hi loyal readers!

Just an little update from me, letting you know that I do indeed still exist and I have not been sucked up into space because I forgot my towel, or something like that. I have been unable to update my blog for a number of reasons, however, the great majority of them are just excuses. So an apology to my loyal readers, who have been drooling for an update, and a new post to stop that salivating.

My life has been busy with the new school year starting, bringing classes, homework, and above all midterms. I have a exam every day this week, so you can kind of imagine how much work I have been doing (even though I have time to write this blog post). I have entered a Warhammer tournament, of which I am now in the finals for, I have joined an environmental group of campus devoted to sustainability, and a myriad of other time-consuming activities.

So my topic today is of course something of dire ecological significance: alcoholic monkeys of course! Recently, I have discovered that in St. Kitts in the Caribbean, there is a species of vervet monkey that actually consumes alcohol on a regular basis. Yes, these monkeys get drunk. And they seem to prefer leaders that actually get drunk. So as the commentator put it in his dry, monotone voice, "It seems they prefer leaders who like monkeying around."

So what does this say about humans? Well, one would think that monkey leaders could hold their alcohol better than humans. That is not the case. There have actually been more than a couple world disputes solved when humans have been drunk. So it would probably be safe to say that humans are closer to monkeys that we would care to admit.

-AFR

The Little Things in Life

Today was a good day. Not great, at least not until I walked on the bus, but pretty good. School has kept me fairly occupied for the last week, so I was still a little frazzled from it all. Sometimes a small thing in life changes that, and makes your day go from good to great in an instant. This is a post highlighting on of those things for me and illustrating why it is always better to dwell on the little things in life.

Bus rides are usually ordeals. Waiting for the bus, listening to a couple pedophiles discuss life, riding home, dealing with drunks, etc. all make the experience somewhat unpleasant after the initial excitement of commuting. Today seemed no different as I got on the bus, but rather than see the dour expression that usually greets me, I got a nice smile and a 'hello'. This alone surprised me because usually bus drivers are relatively distant and seemingly unhappy. I mumbled a reply as I sat down, still shocked by the happy greeting I got. This feeling intensified in the coming moments because today I experienced an event that changed my day completely.

As I sat down, I heard the unmistakable static that comes when an announcement is being made. Expecting delays or some such nonsense, I was pleasantly surprised when the bus driver stated: "This is your captain speaking. Thank you for choosing the super duper duper number four with service to downtown Vancouver." Uncontrollably, I began to feel a smile creep onto my face. I could not stop it and the smile grew as the bus driver continued: "Our estimated arrival time to downtown Vancouver is approximately thirty minutes, not accounting for unexpected stops because sometimes other motorists like to test my reflexes." A small laugh came out at the following statement, and my smile grew even larger and I was completely unable to erase it from my face. My bus driver finished with this: "We have reached our cruising altitude of one foot off the ground. I would like to remind passengers to either be seated or hanging on to something firmly or hanging on to someone who is hanging on to something firmly. Have a great ride!" The smile stayed for the rest of the bus ride as he continued to make comments on various stops we were making, keeping in form with the airplane comments he had previously been making. I would have loved to stay longer and keep listening to him, but my stop came all to soon and I heartily thanked him as I stepped off.

The morale of the story: No matter how crappy your day has been going always make sure to focus on the brighter side of life. Because if you do not, you may miss a bus driver flying an "airplane".

-AFR

Summer Reflections

Work is done, school soon approaching, and the final days of my summer break are drawing to a close. The number of emotions I feel right now cover the full spectrum of possible emotion, from happiness to sadness, speculation to resolution, and many more.

With the termination of work, the main emotions I feel are relief and sadness. Sure, five o'clock wakeups get really tough on the body after a while with the last couple of weeks really draining my energy, but there are a lot of people I will most definitely miss. The people were probably the most interesting part of the job, and might have been the only thing keeping me sane after four months of relatively monotonous work. The bunker crew is definitely a group of people I will miss. The random conversation and camaraderie of the bunkers were possibly the best part of work, and they definitely cheered me up when I was feeling down. We were a quirky bunch, but definitely the most fun people on the course (with the exception of a couple of other select few members). The outdoors is another aspect of work that I will definitely miss, that time allowing me to keep fit and healthy and enjoy all that nature had to offer (including the rainstorms). The relief comes from mainly the end of early wakeups, but it also includes relief from just work in general. These last couple days before I fly out to school will be used to relax me, something that is probably necessary.

These final days of summer are the cause of much conflicting emotions in me. They spell my return to university and British Columbia, so definitely herald happiness. However, they also bring in sadness because I will be leaving my family again. Disagreements aside, my family is always there for me and definitely allow me to grow to be as great as I can be.

So my point in all this is mainly what summer represents to me. It represents the beginning of the end. Or the end of the beginning. Either way, it marks the end of my home life and the beginning of my life as an independent person. Additionally, summer shapes me and shows me what exactly I need to do to survive and thrive.

-AFR

Seagull Racing and the Ensuing Hilarity

I love seagulls. They are possibly one of the coolest, funniest birds in the universe and they truly add something great to this Earth. So I have a little experience to share with the community at large, but first, a small information session on seagulls and their relationship with me.

To begin with, seagulls are a white bird that is found basically everywhere and originated from outer space, invading the Earth in a vast and overtaking colonization process that the humans could do nothing to stop. Seagull growth rates are different, with the seagulls in Vancouver greatly outstripping the size of the seagulls in most of Ontario. Seagulls and I go way back, probably all the way to the day I was born. I learnt their language and immediately used in to great effect, by getting one of my feathered friends to fetch me a sammich. (My friends just thought it was flying away. Little did they know, a sandwich was waiting in my room when I returned.) So all my time spent with the beautiful seagull has resulted in an amicable friendship we share, each being able to laugh at the other for their mistakes and comedic moments.

So I saw my friend, Alistar the seagull, by the bunkers the other day, ambling around the edge. I watched him for a while, his little legs swishing back and forth frantically, while he zapped up grubs with his beak. I always make fun of my seagull friends because of how they run, it is just too hilarious to stifle my laughter. Anyways, as Alistar wandered around the edge of the bunker, I noticed Sally, a bitter enemy of Alistar's, rounding the other side of the bunker. Their eyes locked and suddenly the ambling became a race for the best time and the most food. (Much like the Delibird game in Pokemon Stadium 2. Yeah, I am a nerd.) Sally immediately pulled ahead, but Alistar was having none of it. Nabbing a grub, he raced ahead to top Sally in the race.

Watching them, I was in stitches. A pair of seagulls running through the grass in a race, pumping their spindly, skinny, stumpy legs is just too hilarious of a sight. I think Alistar did eventually win the race though, and was quite unhappy with the lack of support I gave. I will have to go apologize next time I see him.

-AFR

Mature Sandwiches

So an interesting experience happened about a week ago, that got me thinking about what exactly I expected about growing up.

I was at work, in the bunkers this time, and someone posed a question to a fellow member (an adult) of the grounds crew. They asked him what type of sandwich he was eating to which he replied: peanut butter and honey. A normal question, a normal answer, yet the gears in my brain were turning. For some reason, I did not expect him, an adult to answer like that. See I had this illusion, an illusion that as you grew older your sandwich choice grew more mature. A silly notion, but I figured like other things, one would outgrow peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Well I was wrong, dead wrong.

I realized then that one does not need to change as he or she grows older. As much as I loved feeling like a kid, I too had become a hypocrite (yet again). I had always told people that I am still a kid, yet here I am, drawing assumptions on other's food choices. So that scenario changed me and made me realize what maturity is.

In my opinion, maturity is the ability to grow up and still be a kid. The ability to turn from an adult, back to a kid, even if you are too "old" to be a kid anymore. And so my assumptions about maturity have stopped, because in the end, even I have been taking maturity too seriously.

Oh, and I would definitely advocate for the consummation of peanut butter and honey sandwiches. They are great!

-AFR

Coming Out of the Basement

Game On!

I have something to say: I am a gamer. Not a really hardcore gamer, just a casual gamer, but as the video says I think many people get some derogatory remarks thrown at them because they game. I know I have (mainly from the parental units).

I think many people do not understand the implication of gaming. It is an activity, like any sport or hobby that many people enjoy. People seem to think that many gamers do not game for that reason. Really gaming is not that different from checking Facebook constantly, which is becoming more and more accepted as normal. Many people generally view gaming as a waste of time, but it really is nothing more than an enjoyable activity. Gaming is becoming a much more social activity, regardless of the fact that you do not know many of your fellow gamers.

I know gaming does not actively contributing to helping out the world, but at least it is not harming it. In most cases, many of the gamers I have met actually care very deeply about the world and take some steps to counteract their minimal influence. And most of us do not live in our parent's basements, actually the general population of gamers are probably quite active members of the community.

Finally, I am going to try to prove that gaming can be similar to reading a book. I have been told many times to read a book instead of gaming, but I view gaming as something akin to reading one (not that I do not read books). To prove this I am starting a new blog: Memoirs of a Witch Hunter. This blog will illustrate the similarities of gaming and reading, by creating a book out of a gaming character's experiences.

And for those who have not tried gaming and snub gamers: try it yourself, you may like it!

-AFR

Black Guy Syndrome

I will be the first to admit it, I have black guy syndrome.

I think some sort of explanation is necessary. To start with, I came to this realization when I was driving home after work. As I was valiantly flipping through radio channels in an attempt to find some good music, I noticed something. The songs that I preferred to listen to were mainly done by black males. When I heard a song done by a white singer, I found myself immediately switching to another station. Not that I do not like white singers, in fact I enjoy some of them, but all the popular radio songs done by the are just boring to listen to now.

So what does that say about the current music industry? Is it catered towards black people? I think most likely. Since many people are becoming very familiarized with listening to black singers, and thus they are more likely to prefer a black singer to a white one. With this accustomed ear, it is easier to make a name for yourself if you are black. Honestly, this is probably not a bad thing, except for one thing: the apparent lack of white talent. With everyone's ears used to hearing black voices, white people become a minority and this shadows any possible talent they may have.

So in conclusion, if a black person and white person have equal singing talent, in my opinion, the black guy might have a slightly better chance of becoming more popular than the white one. But this is pure speculation, disagree if you would like.

-AFR

How Controversial Can I Be?

Today, I have a grievance to report. The water bottle that I so admirably won at my cottage last weekend, through my hard work at the Marathon, was stolen. My sister borrowed it and it was stolen from her rowing club. A possible culprit: the fat kid with bling. He was seen walking around the area when her rowing was going on so it is quite possible he took it. Which brings me to my next point: the world could do with a few less thieves.

This is where the controversy comes in. I am not advocating the death penalty, but I am advocating for the extermination of a few human beings. Not necessarily criminals, just some humans. Why you might ask? Overpopulation. The Earth cannot support the number of people currently residing it, and we are causing too many drastic impacts on the ecosystems of the world. So I raise the point, is now a good time to lessen the population of humans a slight bit?

Now killing people seems to be a little draconian, albeit effective. I vote for the good old one child, one household policy, despite the backlash it might have in China. Or at least a set of laws that is similar to that. Unfortunately, even that may not work. With the current health care, people are living much longer and my generation is already predicted to live until we are 130. That is a big number, and adds to the already huge problem of overpopulation. If we do not control it now, something is going to go out of whack and quickly.

Me, I would be fine with a random assortment of humans being transported away, or otherwise disappearing, even if that portion included me. I believe that for the Earth to become a better, cleaner place, some measures need to be taken. And I think if some are not taken, a crisis may break out, possibly worse than some amount of humans just disappearing.

Oh, and if you see the fat kid with bling, give him a good old kidney shot from me.

-AFR

The End of a Hiatus

To begin, I apoligize. I know many of you cannot live without a daily blog post from me. To those people, sorry. To all of the rest of you people who wondered what happened to me and if my blog would continue, your worrying stops here.

I took a hiatus, albeit not a long one. Since my last blog post, I have been trying to avoid using the internet very often. Many days I failed that, the wiles of the internet drawing me in again. But a couple of things happened that would change my outlook on that and make me want to use my computer a lot less. And a warning now: this blog will contain lots of pictures. Normally I am not one to have lots of pictures in my blog, but I felt the need to include more today.

A little background is definitely in order. That picture you see above is a picture of my grandparent's cottage, a place of childhood memories, and an escape from the vices of life. Since I got a job and started university, I have visited that cottage a lot less than I have wanted. A LOT. I love it there. It offers an escape from the technology of the modern world. Usually, the highest class technology we have up there is a black and white TV, which probably has about three channels. (Not that I watch any of them. It is more there for decoration.) Because of this, the cottage is a refuge from all the thingamabobs and doohickeys from the modern civilization.

This picture is the steps leading up to the cottage, the sight that reminds me most of the sacred place of which I am entering. There are so many places that hold fantastic memories, but that is one sight that I always love to see. (Especially after heaving up heavy water jugs all the way from the dock.) The Great Outdoors is what keeps on bringing me back to the cottage and what keeps me fascinated in all the aspects of the cottage life. It is a blast to the past, a sign of a beautiful era that does not need computers, or phones, or pineapples to be awesome. It just needs to be itself and allow others to explore its hidden secrets. I can never be bored at the cottage, there is always time for a canoe or a row, or a game of Chinese checkers.

But lately, with the arrival of my cousins, technology has reared its ugly head. I guess to each their own, and as long as I am not influenced by their new-fangled gadgets, the cottage retains its beauty. I find the need for this technology, even with other people's cottages disturbing. The need to be amused by some pixel on a screen is frankly disgusting, especially when the beauty of nature surrounds you.

To some, these barren rocks and sparse trees probably seem ugly. But to me, these just show the survival and beauty of Mother Nature. The apparent "ugliness" of barren rocks probably does drive some to require technology to keep themselves amused, but it is a unhealthy obsession. When surrounded by such a landscape, with soothing water and a blank canvas for fun, I find technology quite unnecessary. But one man's rock is another man's sanctum I guess you could say.

But enough of these awful tidings of the degradation of human society. This blog post is meant to force you to question how you spend your time on technology, just like I have mine. It also serves another purpose: for me to brag about my awesome cottage. And call me a hypocrite if you want, after all I am typing this from a computer, but keep in mind I have at least made a slight effort to become less dependent on technology by even visiting my cottage (with no internet access).

So I leave you with a parting thought and a parting photo. This may not be the end of my inner struggle against the pull of technology, but I feel I have won a small victory. What can you say? (Feel free to beat me, I do know how much time I spend on the computer, despite what my `rents might think.) So is this the end of a journey, or the beginning?



-AFR

I Have Had it With These Mothertrucking Earwigs in My Mothertrucking Tent!

As some of you may know, I have been living out of a tent for the past two months. I have access to a house, but do not sleep there because in all honesty, sleeping in a tent is much easier than sleeping in the house. It is cooler and more refreshing to sleep in the outside air, and I never have any problems with loud noises when people are moving around the house (except when my neighbours are partying). This is quite important because I go to sleep at around nine every night, well before the rest of my family, and wake up at five in the morning to go to work (I know, barf!).

But there is one thing that does bother me: earwigs. I HATE earwigs. But perhaps, hate is too strong a word, and abhor or detest might work slightly better in this instance. Normally, I do not mind bugs, but earwigs are the exception to that rule. Just their name rings of grossness. Who likes a bug that associates itself with ears and wigs? Probably only a snobby, old British man. Their name also has another meaning for me, being once told that earwigs like to crawl into your ears when you sleep. *Shiver*.

Anyways, there are many earwigs that inhabit the outside of my tent, but thankfully very few that inhabit the inside. They seem to have formed a breeding ground between the window flap and the outside of the tent. Every night before I go to sleep, and every morning when I wake up, I see these earwig clumps, just a mass of gross, crunchy bugs in the aforementioned area. I take a lot of delight in knocking on the tent walls and making them all fall down, but to my chagrin, they always come back.

Their anatomy is another thing that makes them so disgusting. The pair of pincer-like appendages coming out of their rear, screams of something they would use to torture small children with. And I can imagine that they can usually use that to bury deep inside one's ear, searching for the gray matter that they will lay their eggs in. *Queue shiver*. The problem is, those appendages are really the only really gross thing about them. The rest of the body is very similar to other insects, save the tumor that is coming out of their butt.

So there you have it. My opinion on the disgusting creature that is the earwig. And if you did not find earwigs too disturbing before, you probably will now! No need to thank me.

-AFR

Have You Seen Kyle?

On a scale of one to ten, what is the awesome level of this blog?

IT'S OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I thought that I would do a quick discussion about Internet memes and memes in general. For those of you who do not know what a meme is:

A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream") is a unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.

I was in the bunkers today, and began discussing what memes actually are. And I wondered, how are memes started so quickly and why do they catch on?

For example, in the bunkers we have a bunker meme: "I heard seven is pretty bad." This was started by yours truly, when I was asked which hole had the worst bunkers in terms of weeds. I replied with that statement, and it quickly turned into a meme. So why did it catch on? And why do Internet memes catch on?

I think it is because of repetition. Internet memes spread like wildfire and before you know it, they become commonplace. I think this is because the Internet is so widely used and so easy to pass on ideas with, that funny sayings quickly become popular and widely used.

However, speech memes, such as the aforementioned bunker meme, are a different story. They are not so easily translated and are not as widespread, so they become more of "inside" jokes. They catch on in the same way though, through repetition.

So I propose an idea. Let us create a meme, and pass that on. If everyone uses it often and posts it around the interwebs, we might be able to create our own meme. And that would make us as cool as penguins. And penguins, they are cool.

So proposals for memes are very much welcome. Comment on what you think should be our meme, and if I get no comments I will just make one up myself.

-AFR

A Little Shoutout!

Okay, so instead of ranting or opining, I thought I would just give a little shoutout and thank you to all my readers.

First of all, a special thank you to everyone from California. I really have no idea how you found my blog, but thanks for taking the time to read it. For some reason, despite the fact I live in Canada, you guys are the most numerous in terms of readers. I have two theories on that: one, my one or two of my friends that live in California told all of you and you decided to come visit the site, or two, that in an attempt to study Canadian behaviour more thoroughly, you have been required to read many Canadian blogs. The latter is probably more probable, as the first delves into science fiction. So Californians, I am on to you!

Second, a equally special thank you to the rest of my American readers. Suprisingly, there have been more unique Californian viewers than all of you combined, but I expect that is because the American government believes that the Californians are more suited to the task of reconnaissance, whatever the reason for that being. Thanks for tuning in for a Canadian blog, despite the fact that Canada has been standing on top of you for a long time.

Thirdly, a slightly less special thank you to my Canadian readers. It is great that you guys are reading my thoughts, but the Americans are beating you. This is a 100% Canadian blog, yet you guys are losing in number of readers. Step it up a little guys!

Lastly, a slightly more special thank you to my readers from Hong Kong and the Bahamas. I know that I do not know that many people out there, so thanks for paying attention!

But jests aside, I really thank everyone that has spent some time out of their busy schedules to read my opinions. I do enjoy blogging, but it is nice to know that other people are getting something out of it too.

-AFR

A Critical Analysis of the Last Airbender

SPOILER ALERT!

So I just went to see the Last Airbender tonight and to be frank, I was very disappointed. The casting was terrible, the acting stunk, the bending took way too long in some places, and there was very little character development.

To start with, the fact that a lot of the movie was narrated by a voice over of Katara, made the acting seem repitious and unnecessary in parts. However, with that being said, the acting and the speaking parts followed that narrative style very well. For example:

"Katara, don't hit that with my boomerang," says Sokka in the opening scene. Was that necessary? It was quite obvious that she was running with his boomerang to go hit a big chunk of ice. Not in my opinion. Everything was given away before it happened, which lead to a very, very dry movie.

The pronounciation of Aang, Sokka, Avatar, and probably a couple more names were horrendous. The TV series quite clearly states exactly how each of those should be said, and the movie strays from that quite a bit. On the subject of names, every character's name appeared pretty far into the movie, after we had already met the character. And I believe, Momo's name was not mentioned at all.

The bending in many parts was very flourishy for what it accomplished. The biggest one was when about seven Earthbenders had this big "dance" routine to throw a single small stone. Now, the flourishy aspect of it was cool until the scenes that is took them five minutes to bend one small thing. However, when the bending was quick it really was quite cool to watch.

The last part I will talk about is the plot. I know condensing about seven hours of TV into a two hour movie is quite a daunting task, but they took a little too many liberties. Kyoshi Island and the Earthbenders mining on a ship was combined into one, with no mention of the Kyoshi warriors. They completely skip the part about King Bumi at the city of Omashu which is quite a critical character and part. Avatar Roku was never mentioned, only the blue dragon, who seems to end up becoming Avatar Roku for all intents and purposes. Basically most of the plot is just chopped up then stuck back together in a random order, not good for those who have seen the original series.

My review: a very subpar movie. The only thing that saved it was the bending scenes, which on a whole were absolutely fantastic. The messed up the character's personalities and races and almost completely disregarded the plot, even the main points.

So I leave you with one of the most contreversial quotes in the movie: "Waterbending teaches acceptance," Master Pakku says. Yeah, because in the original series Master Pakku is the one that does not allow Katara to learn Waterbending because he only teaches males. Way to go, M. Night.

2/5 for those who have watched the TV series.
3.5/5 for those who have not.

-AFR

How Texting is Making the Teens Stupider

Might I say, before starting my rant, that I absolutely love Korean music. Even if I cannot understand it much. Anyways, back on topic.

Texting. It has become a worldwide phenomenon. So many people text now, that I would say it is the most used form of communication, mayhaps besides email. So why did I think it is making people stupider? Do not get me started. Oh wait, you want to hear my opinion. Here goes.

Texting itself is not the problem. I find it an extremely useful tool in contacting my friends that I would otherwise have to spend long-distance fees upon. (Not that they are not worth it.) Texting is actually a pretty great form of communication. It is the way people text that is the biggest problem.

Me, I usually do not use contractions and always use correct punctuation, capitalization, and grammar when texting. Most other people do not. And that is what the problem is. When I see a text message like this: i totaly wnt ppl 2 eat mre lnch cz it is awsme, I vomit. Literally. That is possibly the hardest thing in the world to read, and it makes my eyes bleed. Almost all the vowels are omitted, so the message is just merely a shell of its possible glory.

Now why are these shortened phrases so bad? To begin with, they lose the distinction between very similar words. For example, "there", "their", and "they're" are often shortened or just intermeshed regardless of actual grammatical meaning. So a phrase like "I eat there " could easily be misinterpreted. This creates all kinds of confusion and just furthers the possible wrong applications of the word.

Grammar saves lives. To show you why, here is another example:

"Let's eat, grandpa."
"Let's eat grandpa."

One implies consuming food with a grandfather, the other implies consuming a grandfather. So people miss this fact, and I know that I have, for one, started eating someone because of not understanding the meaning of a text.

So all these misinterpretations and errors lead to young adults misunderstanding the meaning of a word. And these shortforms are allowing teens to almost form their own language. They end of using some words differently then they should and create a set of rules that goes against the current laws of correct writing. So if I end up seeing a student's essay when I am a professor, and it contains any shortforms, I will instantly fail them.

I am sure my thoughts are somewhat all over the place in the post, but if any grammar Nazis come and correct me, I will find you and that comment may be the last you ever make.

-AFR

The Degradation of Music?

So among the many topics I thought of today, this one stood out the most. As I was cutting greens, (yet again) I had a mini argument with myself on this topic. (By the way, I won the argument). So I thought I would pose the question immediately: has music degraded over the years?

The reason I bring this up is because with all the new songs and artists coming out, there is a striking similarity in their music. Not the lyrics per say, but more of the way the songs are presented. So within the answer to my question, I have constructed a list of important things to do to become a one hit wonder.

1. Have a catchy, easy pronounceable title. For example, Justine Bieber's "Baby". This is the most important step in the marketing of your song. To help you conceptualize this, I will name my song "Bananas for Love".

2. Get a repetitive, annoying background beat. This will allow the listener to get the beat stuck in their head, even though the beat is somewhat irritating. This will bring the listener into the song and force them to pay attention.

3. Repeat the title in the chorus. This is the most important step. It ensures that your listener will "learn" the title, even if they did not hear it or know it before. This repetition will unconsciously give the reader an assumption of what the title of the song is and makes it so if they search those trigger words, they will easily find your song. To continue my example, the chorus to "Bananas for Love" would go something like this:

I'm going bananas for love, darling
I'll give you bananas for love, baby.
Have some bananas for love, honey.
Bananas for love!

4. Fill in the rest of your song with lyrics that center around love or some such stuff. Make sure that they are not as catchy as the chorus, but speak to the listener so that the listener can relate. An example of lyrics for our song would be:

Have you ever eaten a banana?
The ones that you love.
Well I give those bananas to you,
In hopes that you may return some love to me.

Note the usage of the world love and bananas and the feelings that the giving of the "love" to a nameless girl invoke. I am sure most of you guys (and lesbians) have felt some of the feelings before, correct?

So there you have it. A beautiful song that would hit top ten in a week. And it is about bananas. Sad, is it not?

So the crux of the issue is this: music has become a repetition of the title of the song, and of a relate-able theme. Take "Bad Romance", "Baby", and "Tik Tok" as examples. All repeat the title and all take about some theme to do with teens and young adults. (Don't believe about Justine Bieber's "Baby. Well she says "baby", 55 times during the song. 55 times.)

But ultimately, has this caused the degradation of music? No. Music has almost always been like this. Think about "Rock Lobster" and "Whip It". They were all repetitious. However, I believe that those songs were not all about love, alcohol, and partying. So ultimately, probably better songs.

And if rappers say anything about how they have brought about a new, popular genre, well I have two words for you: Justine Bieber. Yeah, you got beat by a 16-year old girl.

And to all those people that listen to World and Alternative music, I commend you. Most of that is pretty good stuff. Personally, I prefer it most of the time.

-AFR

New Projects

Currently, I am beginning to start a new project. This one is a very large project, but I hope to finish this by the end of the summer. What exactly is this project? Well, I am assembling, converting, basing, and painting a new Warhammer army.

The reason: I am not very good at any of those things. We have some old models lying around, so I thought that I would improve my talent on those, rather than improve my talent on models that I care more about. Because this project is using spare models, this will be a very intense and trying project, but it will better my skills considerably as a gamer and as a hobbyist.

Why am I telling you, my readers, about this? Frankly, I am sure most of you do not care or even know exactly what Warhammer is, and wished that I would take about something more contreversial or humourous, like seal hunting in Saskatchewan or the eventual brunches of a manatee. Well, to answer that question, I thought I would allow you a brief look into my life, to help you understand me a little better.

Regardless of whether you care or not, I figure you need to get something informative out of this blog post. So here you go: the sunbeam snake's Latin name Xenopeltis means "strange covering".

The 3 Types of Golfers

When you work at a golf course, you usually find many different personalities amongst the golfers you meet. I have generalized them into these three categories.

1. The Silent. The name says it all. These golfers are silent as they pass you or just barely acknowledge you with a nod of their head. These golfers are the easiest to tolerate because they do not attempt to engage you in any way and you do not need to engage them in any way in return.

2. The Witty. These golfers seem to feel the need to make a quick joke as they drive by. You must laugh, otherwise the golfer may become offended and then they become dissatisfied and grumpy. This can in turn lead to the termination of your work. Because of this, a simple laugh is the easiest thing to do and it will fulfill their desperate need to be acknowledged. A word of warning: golfers are NEVER funny, so the laugh has to be very fake.

3. The Conversation Starters. These golfers attempt to engage you in a full length conversation, inquiring such menial things as how you are doing, where their ball landed, the weather conditions, etc. In all likelihood, these golfers are the hardest to deal with because it requires conscious effort on your part to keep them satisfied.

So there you have it, the three types of golfers. And even though it seems that golfers are the hardest thing in the world to deal with, they probably are not. Herpes is most definitely harder to deal with.

-AFR

How Many Degrees of Freedom are Necessary?

Well, lately I have found myself wondering what responsibilities/privileges come with becoming an adult. Since I recently reached that magic age in Canada, I really have not noticed too many things different from my life. I never thought too much about this until today.

On my way to a golf outing with my dad, I heard a song about reaching adulthood on the radio. It was somewhat vulgar, but got me thinking. How much freedom comes with turning nineteen and when do I get complete freedom?

And I came to the conclusion: it sure as heck ain't now.

I have been reminded of this fact by my parents very recently and very often. As long as I am under their roof, I follow their rules. Which leads to a fair number of arguements, the most prolonged and frequent one being computer usage.

Now, I will admit, I probably spend much more time on the computer than necessary, but, really how I spend my time, in my opinion, should be up to me. Sure, the intensity at which they profess their anti-computer feelings is good because it gets me off of it, but it gets tiresome after hearing it a thousand times. And many times in the past few months, I have really been wishing that I was back in Vancouver.

So all this arguing and such gets me thinking about just how much freedom I have as opposed to earlier years. Sure, I probably have more than when I was younger, but with the imposed dictatorship of my parents, I still lack complete freedom.

But on that note, I will probably realize the importance of the dictatorship when I start to own my own place. Those rules will definitely be necessary then, even though I will have near-complete freedom. So I guess a thanks is in order for the parents, even though I am sure we will have an argument very shortly about the reason that all the ice cream is always gone.

-AFR

The Benefits of Being a Twin

Just to clear everything up, being a twin is not all sprinkle party cake ice cream (yes, that is actually a flavour). There are a lot of times I wish I was not a twin. See as a twin, you are constantly referred to as an entity. You become the "twins". Sometimes it is good, sometimes bad. The main problem is though, you never know whether your friends are friends with your twin or with you. And my twin and I are quite opposite in our personalities, so we tend to fight or disagree on things a lot.

But when your twin pretends to be you when the Church of Latter Day Saints comes to your door, and tells them that he is too busy conducting a ritual to talk, you really do enjoy the fact that you have someone who looks just like you.

The 4 D's of Twilight

Well, I thought that the time has come for me to throw out some of my opinions/thoughts on the Twilight series. (I refuse to call it Saga, that sounds too epic). Now I have read the first three books and I am going to show you the life cycle of the Twilight series in my mind.

1. Dubiousness. When I first picked up the first book I was unsure of whether I would like a romance novel between a vampire and a whiny human. As I read, I reflected on some of the aspects I liked and some of the aspects I definitely did not like. I reserved judgement until I had ultimately finished the first book. I then thought about how much I had really liked the book, which lead to the second stage.

2. Delight. I had found that I really liked the first book and immediately set about devouring the second and third. Luckily, they were both already on hand, my brother having rented all three to begin with. I read them both and again found myself enjoying them at that moment. Though I found some of the scenes dry, the stories were entertaining at at least kept me guessing and interested. Looking around for the last book I found, to my chagrin, that we were not in possession of the last book. This wait for the book led to the third stage.

3. Disinterest. As the wait seemed to become longer, I found myself becoming disinterested with series on a whole. What at first seemed like good books, slowly turned into just run-of-the-mill fantasy novels the longer I thought about them. After the initial suspense and rush to get my hands on the three books, the adrenaline died down and I found myself not liking the series anymore. This lead to my last stage.

4. Disgust. Perhaps that is too harsh a word. But having not partaken in the last book because of its probable similarities to the other three, I found myself not jumping on the Twilight bandwagon and entering the craze that surrounded the books by then. This craze was what brought on my disgust, I believe. The media attention, the fan girls, the Twihards, all contributed in ruining what started out as a somewhat decent series. Then when the movies started coming out, I was really sickened by way the books were being taken. They were becoming standards for choosing boyfriends, standards for living, and the messages they were sending out were horrifying when thought about in depth.

So, thus, the life cycle was complete. It went from enthused to indifferent to disgusted. And before all the Twihards come and bash me, well, it is your fault I do not like the books. Your obsession with a decent book has created many of the people who dislike Twilight today. So you have no one to blame, but yourselves.

Edward Cullen. (Those two words alone will probably get my site at least ten more views, if not more).

-AFR

On the Innocence of Frogs

Ask anyone I know and they will tell you one thing: that I love frogs. Frogs to me are one of the most awesome creatures to ever grace this beautiful planet. Which is why what I am about to say has really put me in a somewhat foul mood today.

I currently work at a golf course. I do many things there including greens cutting, bunker raking, irrigation, etc. and today was no different. I was string trimming with a weed whacker and we were almost done with all eighteen holes. Now, we had been told to trim the pond edges after the rest of the course was done, so once we had finished the last two holes we moved to trim them next. Now this is where my story starts.

I had forgotten about the frogs that happened to dwell upon the pond edge, their habitats right in the way of our trimming. And while we walked over to the edge I came to a horrible realization: we would probably be mowing down frogs in our quest for short grass. I was horrified to say the least. At that point though, there was no turning back. We had an hour until lunch and I decided that I would have to try to brave it out and talk to the managers after lunch to see if I could switch jobs.

I would like to think that all the frogs in my trimming area escaped unharmed, but I know for a fact I hit at least one. When I saw that frog's dead body floating in the pond, honestly, I almost cried. To inflict such suffering on a creature I loved so dearly was very hard for me to bear.

We were sent home at lunch, so I will not have to do that job again today, and you can bet your buckets that I will be not doing that job ever again.

But there is a point to my story, a question I would like to pose to readers. Why are humans probably one of the only animals on Earth that kill other animals needlessly? And to follow up on that, are humans really that advanced from other animals, so advanced that they look down on other animals and feel nothing in taking their lives?

Now, I am not advocating for animal rights, far from it. Personally, there should not even need to be something like "animal rights". There should be no need to have to institute a set of rights that should be inherent in our existence. Other animals do not need them, so why do humans need to create them? For one reason: because we treat other animals like crap.

Before I go pointing fingers at everyone, note that statement applies to the human race as a whole, not as an individual. Some might say "survival of the fittest" is the reason why humans are so powerful or advanced and thus need advanced terminology like rights, but I say the opposite. Humans are the least advanced species on the Earth in my opinion. Before you say, "I am superior, I have a gun," take a minute to think about that. Are humans advanced because they can use tools? I say no. A frog can jump thirty times its body length, a cat has claws and built-in night vision, even mosquitoes have wings. Humans have none of these advantages. Humans are weak, cannot jump high, cannot run fast, and most nowadays cannot even survive in the wilderness for a couple days without processed food or television. Is that advanced? No.

Anyways, if you managed to read this far, I commend you. You survived one of my rants! Now give yourself a pat on the back and watch the television for a little longer, while your food cooks itself in the microwave.

-AFR

A Problem About PST

PST or Provincial Sales Tax for those non-Canadians out there, is a tax that is applied to all non-basic and non-essential groceries. I have no problem with that at all. Tax is normal and applied to almost everything. It essentially has just become a slight increase in price to everything.

Here lies the problem: the items PST is applied to. Since when did granola bars become a basic or essential grocery. Now don't get me wrong, I really do not mind paying less for some of my groceries. But I think this makes a statement on how food culture has changed in Canada, and probably throughout the United States also. When I think of basic or essential groceries, I think of lettuce or eggs or flour. But not granola bars. Granola bars are not essential or basic, they are a snack. That fact that food culture is so changed from twenty years ago is disturbing.

So instead of conforming to an unhealthy foot culture, eat a stinking apple!

-AFR

5 Reasons Not to Invite a Bear to a Tea Party

1. They eat all the crumpets. Bears are omnivores, which means they are more than happy to eat the crumpets. And they do. Their huge bellies mean that they can consume large quantities of crumpets and will do so, before anyone has a chance to enjoy their crumpety-goodness.

2. They use way too much honey with their tea. A bear will always make a grab for the honey first, and they always spend at least two minutes getting the "right" amount. They always have to have their tea just right, not too sweet, not too bitter. And bears like their tea sweet. Very sweet.

3. They will not drink anything but berry teas. Even though they are omnivores, bears are very picky about their tea choice. They hate jasmine, oolong, chamomile, etc. and refuse to drink any teas with any of those flavours. Even green tea is bearly bearable, and they will only drink that if it is heavily infused with a berry flavour.

4. Bears have very poor table manners. No napkins ever fit on their laps, so they feel like there is no reason to have one. That would be fine for a casual tea party, except for one thing: bears are sloppy eaters/drinkers. They are too used to just mauling something and eating it, or lapping water straight from a stream, that they have a problem fixing those manners when they are at a tea party.

5. They always bring up the elephant in the room. Bears hate elephants. Elephants are bigger, eat more, have a trunk, and are just generally more awesome than bears, and bears detest that fact. They always pick on the elephant, and make the elephant uncomfortable about being at the tea party. This creates a very awkward situation, because elephants are generally very docile, and try not to fight back.

If you do not believe me, I welcome you to invite a bear to a tea party. But heed my warnings, because if shit hits the fan, it may be your last tea party.

-AFR

Hypocrisy: Are We All Guilty?

I will be the first to admit it, I am a hypocrite. Honestly, I think most people are. It is hard to not to be one. The truth is, hypocrisy is hard to escape because of one thing: viewpoint. Let me explain that quickly.

Your viewpoint is much different than your peers. The way you perceive your actions is very, very biased. I think it is hard for humans to find fault in themselves, which is exactly what creates hypocrisy. Humans refuse to acknowledge that they may have a fault they find in others, specifically one they do not like.

Which brings me to my second point about hypocrisy. You ever notice that things that you are hypocritcal about are traits or actions that you do not like. For example, someone who hates lying, yet lie themselves. Yet hypocrites do not acknowledge that, they only find fault in others. Is this a problem? In my opinion, yes. Finding faults in others is exactly what creates hostility. And from hostility, so many things are born.

The solution: realize that you have flaws. That way at least when you are accused of being hypocritcal, you can realize that they are probably right. Then you can strive to become less hypocritcal, by at least not expressing beliefs that you do not follow.

And for those of you who say you are not hypocrites, I urge you, look a little closer. It is quite possible that you are just refusing to see your own faults and only those in others.

-AFR

A Little About Me!

Hello fellow bloggers and readers!

I thought I would introduce myself a little.

Let us start with the formalities. My name is AFR. My real name may become revealed later, once your community manages to ensure my trust and approval. I am a citizen of Canada and live in Ontario currently. I have two cats and a dog, set fire to pumpkins on a daily basis*, play tag with bears, etc.

My hobbies are varied and many. They include Warhammer, language study, gaming, reading, advocating for water preservation, science, martial arts, writing, etc. The list could go on for a while, but I tried to keep it to the most common ones.

So on to the purpose of this blog. This blog has one main purpose: for me to opine. The topics I will be opining on are varied. They will include serious topics, but more often then not they will be somewhat humorous topics or anecdotes on life.

So I welcome you to read them, comment, and argue with me. Because if there is one thing I like more than ice cream, it's arguing. And I like ice cream. A lot.

*No pumpkins were harmed in the creation of this blog.

-AFR