I MISS Berkeley time

I MISS Berkeley time. I had gotten so used to it, now that I have to switch, I see UCLA time as just "leave apt 10 mins earlier" which is no fun at all. =( oh shit i have to go right now! see? 3:20, i woulda left at 3:30. UCLA time... sucking away my extra tokes

My comment to the NYT

In response to this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/us/politics/obama-israel-policies-may-cost-democrats-votes.html

Let's have the 1.7% of the U.S. population that is Jewish carry the tab for our military interventions in the Middle-East, then. In the words of the epic Battlestar Galactica, what the frak do I, a standard non-religious American, care about the security of some country across the planet? Why should my tax dollars go to violently stirring up the big bucket of religious sh*t that is the Middle-East? As George Washington warned us about foreign countries, like Israel, in his farewell address:

\"Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.\"

We should stop letting dual-citizenship Jews dictate our foreign policy. If they want to wage war in the Middle-East, let them vote for war in their own, exclusive country. Leave the rest of us to rebuild our nation.

Sigh, Why do i even check?

I spent all day today having fun with an old friend. But for some reason I decided to come home and look up an ex girlfriend. And then I find out she's together with someone again =( I wonder how I will take it. Moreover, she's with one of my old apt mates (or in relational terms he is my college friend's highschool friend. lol) I think I should be fine. I have lots to look forward to. Or I may just kill myself. Wouldn't be the first time I've thought of it. Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back? Probably not. Keep drinking, Alvin. Keep smoking.

Tiger Moms

Right now, I'm watching this Netflix video called Wild China about Chinese wildlife. The video showed these herons feeding their kids. The first scene was a mother feeding her young by mouth. I've seen that before, pretty normal. The second scene was a heron giving her young solid food. The narrator goes, "These chicks have just had an eel delivered by their mum (british mom)... quite a challenge for little beaks." Damn... There are tiger moms even in the Chinese bird population.

Lords of the Lily Pad

Since my pond doesn't have any frogs, the spiders rule the lily pads. Today, I sat down and watched a spider building its web. From what I could tell, it was an octagon circumscribed in a triangle, though I'm not sure if that's possible. As I watched, I thought, Spider, how do you know what to do? Sometimes it goes back and forth, fixing lines it had recently passed over. If only I could watch them do it in a better setting, examine their actions. Maybe there's a way to tell a smarter spider from a dumber one.

As the spider was finishing its web, another spider popped out. The weaving spider stopped and faced the approaching spider. The approaching spider stopped, too, but then scurried down one of the peripheral threads to the lily pad below. I later saw that spider do something really interesting. It bolted across the water; I reckon it wanted to find some solid footing. But then as it started sinking, it saved itself with a lifeline it left on the lily pad.

I did get to see the spider catch a gnat, which it ate immediately. I counted total 5 of these spiders living in less than 3 sq ft. Close neighbors!

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Update!
My Recent Google Search:
Search Query 1: "Afghanistan Withdrawal Date"
1st Result: "Petraeus backs July 2011 Afghan withdrawal date - CNN" (Jun 2010)
Search Query 2: "Troops in Afghanistan"
1st News Result: "U.S. official: Killed forces were reinforcing troops in Afghanistan - CNN" (Aug 2011)
They weren't supposed to be there, right? Those soldiers went AWOL? I mean, c'mon, who refuses an order from the President to withdraw, right?

OH my god: Youtube Poop!

I cracked up watching this twice! So ridiculous. Everything up to 1:30 is golden, but everything after is DaRevengeofHentaiBoi =P

C-Span archives Gary Johnson at the National Press Club

Finally Gary Johnson gets his soapbox! And it's all captured on the super crappy C-Span server. This was worth watching just to see the video skip around wildly while the audio kept going. You get to really clearly see the facial expressions on Gov. Johnson's face. From what I remember from my psychology class, I would say he genuinely feels passionate about his solutions to what he sees as the U.S.'s problems. Overall, though, I would say that he got a chance to present ALL of his views on the major topics, mainly due to a nice MC who asked all the right questions.

I love his comment on global warming during the Q&A period. He basically says, the long term view on global warming is that the Sun will grow to encompass the Earth, so global warming is in our future.... LOL He must also be for funding fusion power for makin space engines, so we can GTFO of the solar system.

Gary Johnson Debates the Debate... the sequel!

He explains how state independence will help pull the federal government into solvency, how military force should be used and respected, and also how he'll confront all the issues, without fear of how unapproachable those issues are.

Gary Johnson Grassroots Blog: We Need Another Declaration Of Independence

Gary Johnson Grassroots Blog: We Need Another Declaration Of Independence: "By Gary Johnson As I’ve traveled the country over the past many months, I have been known on occasion to ask crowds, given what’s going on..."

I laav Tango

Today I went back to see Tango. He was lying down in his cage, with his front legs tucked in again. When I walked by the door, he recognized me and looked up right away. He even maintained eye contact with me as I opened the door to the building and went inside. He backed away when I went up to the cage, though. So I said "okay, i'll be back for you. Let me get someone to let you out" and I left to go find someone. Even after I left, though, he was still alert and looked around at me/for me quizzically. (good sign!)

Tango was so afraid of the handler that I found that he urinated himself when his cage was opened to let him out. He actually wouldn't come out with the handler around, but he came out just fine when it was just me. He understand "come", but it's not every time that I can get his attention. I still cannot get over how calm this dog is, though he does get freaked out by sudden sounds/movements. He went over to play with other dogs, but even when the other dog tried to attack him (growling -> neck bite) he held his composure. Good dog.

Today, I tried to get him to climb up on a rock, just for shits and giggles. But he made it half way up, then wouldn't come down! So we was just posted up with his front legs on the rock looking way out at everything, but refused to budge. So I freaked him out by JUMPING onto the rock, which obviously freaked him out. Then he wouldn't move from his new spot! I actually got him to come to me, though, with gentle tension on the leash as I said come. TRUST!

Sadly, even though there is so much progress with Tango, I'm not sure if I'll be able to adopt him. My parents have made it a very big deal about having a dog, even though I told them that I HAVE to train the dog now in order for me to live a productive lifestyle in Grad school. But they say not under their house, and they are not dog people. I brought up how my dad bought our first dog for us, and how he himself introduced us to dogs. He said it was a mistake and that the rules have changed. They're not willing to sacrifice a bit of their lifestyle even for 6 days, let alone 6 months.

If I wait the 6 months, Tango may be adopted by someone else, or possibly be euthanized. (It was ironic they called it the "euth" list) Not only that, I'll have to wait to train the dog in college, where I'll be hard pressed for time and unable to properly supervise him in the beginning stages. If I get the dog now, I'll have to move out.

Edit: If I get the dog now, I'll "ruin the relationship with my parents"

My doggie experience!

For the longest time, I have wanted to get a dog to fill the gaping hole in my life, really ever since I stopped taking care of Lexi, Tommy's Siberian Husky puppy. I went onto the internets and found the website for an animal shelter here in vegas, and I found two that were really what I was looking for! They were both older (less freakin' out) and furry (in case I move somewhere cold).

Today, I figured I would go and meet the dogs, just to get to know their personality. The adoption center has like, 22 buildings of dogs! Each building has maybe, 15 cells? That is a lot of doggies! To help me search for the dog, I'm supposed to copy down their ID number. I wrote them down, but then forgot them at home!! Luckily the nice employees there helped me look up Tango and Akamaru, the doggies I was looking for. I found Tango first, and he's a ~2yr old border collie male, with all three colors! (yes!) But he took little liking to me, and didn't even rise up to greet me. He just sat there, and stared at the reflection of the dog in the next cell barking. (I knew this because I stuck my head in front of his head and followed his gaze)

When I found that out, I went and put my hands in the way of his line of sight to the other dog. FINALLY he looks at me, like, "woah! I was so lost in that other dog. Now I can stop staring at him and hide in the corner" and then withdraws a little bit from the edge of the cage and tucks his front legs in.

Akamaru is a 3yr old white welsh-corgi (mix) female. When I got to her cage, she was shivering, and she seemed to spasm a little more every time a dog barked. She did come up to the edge of the cage and see what I was all about though. I took her out to play and she was ALL OVER THE PLACE! But she did obey me a little, and she totally responded to her name and some commands like sit and come. =) She does NOT know how to play catch though. I'm kind of not too into the body shape of the corgi, though.

I took Akamaru (lol dunno why they named a white dog "red fur" ) back and went to take Tango out to play. But right when I told the staff about which dog I was looking for, they knew him right away. Apparently he is very shy, and reacts very badly to men. Even getting him out of his cell was hard, and I had to coax him out with jokes about it being quieter outside. (he seemed to understand) Walking him was easy, but if I turned to quickly, he mistook my fast motion for aggression and tried to bolt (but was tied to me by the leash) One time I took him into some unpaved area to pee, and he jumped on a big boulder like "WTF YOU GONNA DO TO ME?!" After I walked him though, a staff member was like "wow i am so impressed with you, because Tango does not like men at all!" Later on I found out how true that was! Playing was a bust (not interested in balls whatsoever) and twice I couldn't get him to move. He did sit close to me, behind me, and on my left side though, while we were in the play area.

IN FACT! I noticed that was a trend, Tango going around me to my left side. My best guess is that he used to get harassed/beaten by a right-handed male. The dog SURE IS SMART though, and I love the breed. So I'm going to go again tomorrow and visit him, and if he doesn't warm up to me in 5 days, I'm not too sure what I can do.

One thing is for sure, I have to get him to trust me before I take him home. My mom already doesn't want a dog, and she especially doesn't want a freaked out, peeing/pooing dog tearing up the house. So once I can be sure that he'll react in a predictable manner, I'll bring a crate with me and i'll show it to him and hopefully he'll be like WOW A CRATE? I'LL LIVE INSIDE!