I wish I lived in Canada

Let's make a comparison or two...

Canada US

Gun deaths per year about 68               over 22,000

Some news stories from news websites:

NBC 10 (my local):

45th Anniversary of JFK Assassination

School Aide's XXX Past

Accused Peeping Tom

Shot and Killed Burglar

Tech Exec Convicted of Murder

Husband Dies Two Days After Wife

Teacher Accused of Assaulting Student

CBC (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/)

Snowstorm restricts travel

Auto sector help could deepen deficit

Montreal museum head tapped to be National Museum curator

Hiking trail closed due to heavy rain

Haircuts, housing info on offer at Calgary homeless event

Students running underground junk food trade donate profits to charity

Enough about that, let's move to other stats...

Canada has 14.6% more renewable freshwater.

Canada has 4.2% more energy per capita.

US has a 4.8% higher death rate.

Canada has a 2.9% higher life expectancy.

Canada's lending represents0.68% of its GDP. US' borrowing represents 4.72%of its GDP. (canada has a surplus, us has a deficit)

US spends 3.7 times more money on military as expressed in % of GDP.

et cetera...

What I use

I thought the non-existent readers of this blog might be interested in learning about some of the software and hardware I use.
If I don't list a price, I didn't pay anything.
Hardware:
Desktop is an IBM Intellistation Z Pro Workstation with Windows Vista Ultimate, dual 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon processors, and a 128MB Demontek Nvidia GeForce 6200 graphics card and 2 GB of RAM
Laptop is an ASUS Eee PC 1000H with Windows XP, an Intel Atom processor at 1.6 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, and Intel Integrated Graphics GMA980 $479
HDTV ATSC USB TV tuner (acronyms ftw) $49
Dynex (Best Buy) USB 802.11g USB WiFi adapter $29
Canon Pixma iP1700 Photo Inkjet
Canon CanoScan N1220 LED Flatbed scanner
Logitech MX700 wireless mouse
Offbrand Chinese mousepad with speakers (I don't use them), microphone, blue light, and 4 USB $9.99
Dell harmon/kardon 2.1 channel PC speakers
iPod with video 5.5G 30GB $49
Router: Belkin N1 $99
Software:
Antivirus/antispam/antispyware/firewall: ESET Smart Security 3
Photo management and editing: Windows Digital Photo Suite 2006
Torrenting:uTorrent
Browsing:Firefox 3.1b2
Working:Microsoft Office 2007
Music:iTunes
Productivity:Google Desktop
Remote access:LogMeIn
Encyclopedia:Microsoft Encarta 2009 Premium Edition
Calculator: Microsoft Math 3.0
File compression: WinRAR
Videogaming:
Xbox 360 with 120GB HDD $199 for the Xbox with wireless controller, $120 for the HDD
PlayStation 3 with 80GB HDD $499 (with MGS4)
Nintendo Wii $249
Home (actually just in my room) Theatre
32" Vizio VP322 Plasma TV (from Walmart) $529
Blu-Ray and DVD are played on the PS3
5.1 channel Dolby Digital surround sound (System from MicroCenter) $24.99
Online:
Email: Gmail, of course.
Calendar: Google Calendar
RSS aggregator: Google Reader
Maps/directions: Google Maps
Search: Google
News: Digg or CNN or MSNBC or Reuters, any of those are good

hmm

I'm reading my Google Analytics results a lot. I'm getting most of my readers looking for "cell analogy" which just points out how lazy most of America must be. Most of the people looking for others to do their homework for them are from Texas. Hm. See, I am biased. That's why I'm moving to Toronto the first chance I get. Anyway. I'm currently reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead until I can acquire a bit more Pynchon...preferably Gravity's Rainbow. I'm currently reminding myself why Stephen Colbert is truly the funniest man who could possibly exist.

wow......

So. I just finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2. The latest game in a series of some of the best games possible to make. Valve has this art down to a science. Nobody can really match these games, and they are by far the best in the genre. This one is arguably the best in the series. There were some parts that felt a little too difficult, namely the final battle, but everyone expects the final battle to be difficult. Anyway, the end (major spoilers ahead. Major!) was incredibly done. Rarely do I cry openly, and even rarer is it that a video game or movie makes me cry. After you protect a missile silo from giant creatures, destroying them by lobbing a sticky bomb at each of about 7, I believe, the rocket is launched, and it closes a portal threatening the entire universe. You and your platonic companion in the story, Alyx Vance, are about to depart on a helicopter, while her father escorts you, and says his goodbye to her. As you are about to board, these creatures called Combine Advisors fly in, pinning you to the wall psychically, paralyzing you, while they pull in her father. She screams and cries, but it is no use, as he says, "I love you, baby!" and "Look away, Alyx" and they ruthlessly and violently kill him, as she sobs. Another comes, but her pet robot kills it before it attacks you or Alyx. She holds her father in her arms and quietly sobs, saying, "No..." over and over again. She whispers, "Please...don't leave me..." Fade to black.

360

i got an xbox 360 and i love it, end of story.

Five ways I tend to feel after speaking with Sprint’s Customer Service (by Merlin Mann) from 5ives.com

January 9th, 2004

1. Like I was just traded to another inmate for 2 packs of menthol cigarettes
2. Like I’ve been slapped repeatedly with a half-frozen sturgeon
3. Like I’ve accidentally just agreed to finish the homework of every kid in my middle school
4. Like somewhere in a big Sprint building, there’s a fat man with a monocle and a top hat smoking a cigar while dancing a jig and holding a fat bag of five-dollar bills with my bewildered face on it
5. Very, very unclean

SAT score

My SAT® Scores
Martin Greenberg
miquonranger03 att t t gmail.com
What's Next?Send an official score report, register for another test, and check out your starter list of colleges based on your SAT info.
Go to My Organizer
See how your scores compare to other student's scores in a college's entering class.
Find a college
Help
Your June Scores Are In!
Test Date
Test
Score

06/2008
SAT Subject Test



Mathematics Level 1
650





Check back on July 5 for your full score report, with detailed analysis! If you took the SAT Reasoning Test you'll also be able to view a copy of the actual essay you wrote.
sign out
NOTE:
A printout of this page will not be accepted by colleges as an official score report.
Back to top

countdown for my cruise

Read and post cruise reviews

wooooow....

i haven't actually...POSTED posted in a long time
and what's more amazing? i've actually got a readership, i believe. no actual comments that aren't from ads, but still.
google analytics is my loverr when it comes to blogs
because there isn't much of a chance i'll ever have a flesh and blood one.
anyway, although my life is currently la sabor de soledad (did you SEE that 30 rock episode?! <3 tina fey!)...idk.
this blog is currently devolving into some shit from myspace, so i'll write again later.
"blogs and kisses!"

read and repost

From Venus Envy, via Will Schneider, via Tamar Godel...

I am...

I am the guy who came out to the entire school in his senior speech
and got a standing ovation for his courage.

I am the girl who kisses her girlfriend on the sidewalk and laughs at
those who glare.

We are the couple who planned and studied and got a damn good lawyer
and BEAT the state that wanted to take our child away.

We are the ones who took martial arts classes and carry pepper spray
and are just too dangerous to gay bash.

I am the transgender person who uses the bathroom that suits me, and
demands that any complaining staff explain their complaint to my face
in front of the entire restaurant -- and shares with my other trans
friends which restaurants don't raise a stink.

I am the mother who told her lesbian daughter to invite her
girlfriend over for dinner.

I am the father who punished his son for calling you a fag.

I am the preacher who told my congregation that love, not hate, is
the definition of a true follower of God.

I am the girl who did not learn the meaning of "homosexual" until
high school but never thought to question why two men might be
kissing.

I am the woman who argues (quite loudly and vehemently) with the
bigots who insist that you do not have the right to marry or raise
children.

We are the high school class who agrees, unanimously, along with our
teacher, that love should be all that matters.

I am the legislator who, in spite of letters running 10:1 against it,
voted in favor of a measure that would legalize same-sex marriage,
because it was the right thing to do.

If you agree, repost this. Do it. You don't have to be afraid. You
can handle it. You're stronger than you think.

I am making a difference. Hate will not win.

This comes from Venusenvy. Please pass it on, and help the bravery of those who will stand up for themselves make a difference