October 2006 Archives

Warning - this is a rant. I know it will offend some of you, but I really don't care. It is time to wake up and smell the world burning. I was doing my morning reading of the news and ran across this article on CNN/Money entitled Investing in the online property boom. Stupid me, thinking it was about buying real estate on line or some other real thing. No, it is about yet another virtual world called Second Life. Yes, you too, for only $9.95 a month, can build a fake world with fake trees and fake houses and meet with you fake friends and talk about fake reality. You can even give it as a gift (you need real money to do that) so you can bring your family and friends into this virtual fake reality! From their description...

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 1,068,022 people from around the globe.

• From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.
• You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.
• The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world currency, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online currency exchanges.

Welcome to Second Life. We look forward to seeing you in-world.

Hello? Anyone out there? In the article, they talk about making money in this fantasy game world.

Fleck says that as Second Life grows in markets with robust gaming industries like China, Korea and India, users will have to decide whether to spend their time playing World of Warcraft or creating in SL. "They can spend that time in Second Life making anywhere from $5 to $25 a month. Thousands of people are doing that already," says Fleck. "When you have that amount of energy and time and $10 means a lot to your economic conditions, you might choose Second Life." For now, Linden dollars can only be converted to US dollars and distributed via PayPal or check for high amounts, but Second Life hopes to soon establish foreign payment systems.

Making $5 - $25 a month... let's do the math, kids (use a paper and pencil and save your calculator). If you are paying $10 a month to use the service, you will either be in the hole or making up to $15 a month. In their words, "$10 means a lot to your economic conditions." Sanity check - you need a computer and a high speed connection to get into this virtual world and that costs money, far more than $10 a month. I don't know about you, but my high speed connection costs a lot more than $10 a month. The "market" they are aiming at is East Asia where the annual income is far below Western standards, but also the living conditions. You don't come home to your split level house on a half-acre of land. You don't just pop open that $1500 laptop and jack into the high speed wireless network while sipping your Starbucks latte you just wrmed up in your microwave. Their perception of reality is just as fake as their Second Life. Hey, people, turn off the TV and the computer and try doing something in your First Life before it is gone. Remember, there is an election in the US in just two weeks, one that is very important. Remember, there are thousands of people dying every day around the world because wars, famines, and ignorance. Remember, our planet is dying from pollution and sprawl, and it is out of control. Instead of building your fake community online, why not take the same time and deal with the reality of the 21st Century world around you before it is too late. If you don't do it, who will? Oh, that's right, you don't have the time. You have to create a cute avatar and bury your head in the virtual sand. And you will have no one to blame but yourself when you can't climb into your virtual car and visit your virtual companions because the real world around you is dead.

MSNBC may be third in the rankings for cable/satellite news, behind Faux News and CNN, but they are the leader in being truthful, at least in the case of Keith Olbermann and his commentaries. He has been, in the tradition of Edward R. Morrow, responsible for speaking the truth (what a concept) especially when it relates to the Bush administration. I have never linked to YouTube (mostly since the vast majority of content there is trite), but if you missed the Keith's latest commentary, click and listen.

Only the village idiot could vote for the village idiot... before you mark a ballot for US Senator in Pennsylvania this election day, you need to consider the 51 Things Rick Santorum does not want you to know: 1. Rick was the only member of the entire U.S. Congress to go to Florida and intrude at Terri Schiavo's deathbed. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/30/05) 2. Rick voted against a minimum wage increase 13 times. (Vote 344, 7/31/95; Vote 519, 10/27/95; Vote 54, 3/27/96; Vote 183, 7/9/96; Vote 184, 7/9/96; Vote 278, 9/22/98; Vote 77, 3/25/99; Vote 94, 4/28/99; Vote 239, 7/30/99; Vote 356, 11/9/99; Vote 76, 4/7/00; Vote 26, 3/7/05; Vote 179, 6/21/06) 3. Rick has voted with President Bush 98% of the time.(Congressional Quarterly, Pres. Vote Support Analysis) 4. "Making people struggle a little bit is not necessarily the worst thing" was Rick's defense of his careless vote against increased child care funding. (Congressional Quarterly, 9/12/03) 5. Rick wants to allow states to outlaw all forms of birth control, even for married couples. (Newsweek, 12/27/04) 6. Rick on birth control: "I'm not a believer in birth control. . . I don't think it works. I think it's harmful to women." (Newsweek, 12/27/04; CN8, 7/28/05) 7. Santorum has repeatedly voted against increasing funding for Pell Grants that provide needed financial aid to lower-income students. (Vote 220, 5/25/95; Vote 68, 3/17/05; Vote 51, 3/11/04; Vote 331, 9/9/03; Vote 339, 9/10/03) 8. "Yes, I am something of a salesman for homeschooling and cyber-schooling" is Rick's description of his public education plan. (It Takes a Family; Patriot News, 7/31/05) 9. Pennsylvanians have paid $55,000 in local tax money to cyber-school Rick's children at their estate in Virginia. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/14/04) 10. Rick's thoughts on college education for women: "The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong." (It Takes A Family, p.138) 11. Rick's disrespect for two-paycheck families: "In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really take an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don't need to." (It Takes a Family, p.94) 12. Rick has repeatedly voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows Americans to take time off from their jobs and take care of their sick children or other family members. (Vote 393, 11/13/91; Vote 22, 2/3/93; Vote 443, 9/30/92) 13. Rick opposes the right to privacy: "The right to privacy doesn't exist, in my opinion, in the U.S. Constitution." (Associated Press, 4/22/03) 14. Fly Rod & Reel magazine has named Rick one of their "dirty dozen" senators for his votes against clean water, and he has supported Bush's lowering of standards for arsenic in water. (CNN, 4/25/01) 15. "Yes, there will be species that go extinct, but other species will come along and take their place" was Rick's response to his vote to end all enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/1/95; Vote 106, 3/16/95) 16. Rick founded a small "charity" organization, which is subsidizing his campaign staff and campaign activity with tax-exempt dollars. (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/21/06) 17. His reelection campaign is staffed in large part by his taxpayer-funded Senate and conference office employees. (Roll Call, 7/25/06) 18. Rick has accepted 15 corporate flights, allowing companies like Wal-Mart to funnel support to him since they can't legally make cash donations. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/3/06; Santorum FEC Reports, 04-06) 19. Since Rick has been in leadership, our national debt has ballooned to $8 trillion. (US Department of the Treasury, 7/14/06) 20. Big oil companies, due to Rick's support, will receive billions in tax breaks over the next five years, while the price of gas has doubled since he entered the Senate. Remember that when you fill up your tank. (Vote 213, 7/29/05; Vote 332, 11/17/05) 21. Santorum also raised more drug company money than any member of Congress - $298,327 this cycle alone. It's enough to give you a headache. (Campaign Finance Reports) 22. Rick voted against an amendment to negotiate better prescription drug prices under Medicare. (Vote 60, 3/17/05) 23. Rick has been dubbed the "King of the K Street Project" due to his intimate connections with special interest lobbyists. (Washington Post, 8/2/02) 24. Rick has pocketed more lobbyist, special-interest money than any other politician in the country. (Center for Responsive Politics) 25. Another piece of Rick's shady financial history: this year, he bought two apartments at $1 a piece and then sold one a few months later for over $100,000. (Centre County Property Records; The Times-Tribune, 6/15/06) 26. Rick helped pass CAFTA, a bill that will ship hundreds of thousands of American jobs overseas. Since 2001, Pennsylvania has lost 181,000 manufacturing jobs. (Vote 170, 6/30/05) 27. Santorum talks tough on immigration but has opposed tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants. (Vote #96, 4/30/96; Vote #40, 5/23/06) 28. Rick Santorum has voted against increased funding for first responders, port security, and other vital measures. The 9/11 Commission gave Bush and Congress five Fs and 12 Ds for their slow progress. (S Con Res 95, 3/11/04; HR 3338, 12/6/01; HR 4567, 9/9/04; HJ Res 2, 1/16/03) 29. Rick voted seven times against hiring more border patrol agents. (Vote #3, 1/16/03; Vote #119, 4/3/03; Vote #291, 7/22/03; Vote #169, 9/9/04; Vote #182, 9/14/04; Vote #64, 3/17/05; Vote #95, 4/26/06) 30. Rick doesn't think seniors should be allowed to buy cheaper medicine from Canada. He even voted to have border patrol agents confiscate prescription medicine bought in Canada for individual use. (The Hill, 7/12/06) 31. Rick has voted 14 times to cut Medicare. (Vote 69, 4/17/91; Vote 39, 3/4/92; Vote 609, 11/22/93; Vote 232, 5/25/95; Vote 296, 6/29/95; Vote 556, 10/28/95; Vote 156, 5/23/96; Vote 159, 6/13/96; Vote 92, 5/23/97; Vote 96, 6/5/97; Vote 130, 6/25/97; Vote 209, 7/31/97; Vote 303, 11/3/05; Vote 10, 2/2/06) 32. In 1990, Rick won his first election by attacking his opponent for living in Virginia. Today, Rick and his family live in a home valued at almost $1,000,000 in Leesburg, Virginia, even while he insists a two-bedroom home in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, is his primary residence. (American Prospect, 3/1/06) 33. Santorum has opposed billions in federal funding for Veterans Affairs and has voted down mandatory funding for veterans' health care. (Vote #90, 4/12/05; Vote #89, 4/12/05; Vote #145, 6/23/04) 34. Despite talking big on health care, 714,000 Pennsylvanians have lost their health insurance since Rick became a Senate leader. (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 35. Arguing about his $37,000 pay raise, Santorum said, "if the people of Pennsylvania saw my record on the pay raise, they would stand up and applaud, not complain that I voted for three pay increases...." (Pennsylvania Press Club, 8/28/06) 36, 37, and 38. Three times Rick has voted to raise his own pay, after he said in 1990, "Whatever the salary is when I walk into office. . . that's what I'll take. . . I won't take one additional penny. . . ." (Vote 360, 12/7/01; Vote 242, 11/13/02; Vote 406, 10/23/03; AP, 11/7/90) 39. Rick Santorum led efforts last spring to eliminate overtime pay protections. (Vote 27, 3/7/05) 40. Rick talks tough on lawsuit reform and supports a $250,000 cap on malpractice suits, yet he testified on behalf of his wife when she sued her chiropractor for $500,000. (AP, 12/15/99; ABC Primetime Live, 11/11/05) 41. After Hurricane Katrina, Rick called for penalties on many of the suffering victims who could not afford to evacuate. (WTAE-TV, 9/4/05) 42. Rick Santorum authored a bill to dismantle the National Weather Service. (Palm Beach Post, 4/21/05) 43. Rick is considered the #1 proponent of Bush's Social Security privatization scheme. "It's a very small amount of money skimmed off the top" was how Rick explained the plan to privatize your Social Security tax money. (National Journal Congress Daily, 2/22/05; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/20/05) 44. Rick's plan for Social Security would also raise the retirement age to at least 70, and he even said, "I'd go even farther if I could." (La Salle University, 10/18/94) 45. Rick has raised over $1,000,000 in donations from oil, gas, chemical, and mining industries. In fact, Rick has raised more money from gas companies than anyone in Washington other than Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. (Center for Responsive Politics; www.opensecrets.org/industries) 46. Rick appears to subsidize his lifestyle with campaign contributions. He pays for fancy hardware, ice cream, and groceries, plus has 66 charges to a Starbucks four miles from his Virginia estate. (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/21/06) 47. Rick on our local schools: "It's amazing that so many kids turn out to be fairly normal, considering the weird socialization they get in public schools." He has gone on to consistently oppose funding important initiatives like reducing class size. (It Takes a Family, p.386; Vote #148, 6/27/00; Vote #103, 5/15/01; Vote #379, 10/14/03) 48. Rick Santorum once told a group of young people to "not be afraid to be intolerant." (The Culture of Life World Youth Day, 7/22/02) 49. Rick was once an advocate for teaching "intelligent design" theory as an alternative to teaching evolution in schools. He has flip-flopped on the issue for this election. Maybe his position "evolved." (Scranton Times-Tribune, 12/23/05) 50. Rick Santorum is still fixated on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He ran to the media over chemicals no more toxic than "household pesticides" while the military, CIA, and White House acknowledged they were no longer useable. (Washington Post, 6/22/06; CNN, 6/29/2006) 51. Despite the world making North Korea a top priority, Rick discounted the threat and said Kim Jong Il "doesn't want to die. He wants to watch NBA basketball." Are you serious? This is how Rick makes threat assessments? (The Patriot-News, 7/11/06)

Now that the beginning of the semester workload is over, I actually have a minute to catch my breath. It seems like I have little time to post the goodies I find or the causes I think need to be supported with studying and home life at the head of the list of things to do and the items I rarely get past. So, today, I take a deep breath and get back to the blog. First, I have gone back to using FeedBurner to manage my RSS feeds. FeedBurner is nice because it handles a wide variety of feed readers and aggregators with ease. You (the reader) doesn't have to worry about RSS, XML, or Atom, but simply click and add it to your reader or aggregator of choice. FeedBurner will make sure that your software has the feed that it needs. It also give me the satisfaction of knowing that someone out there in cyberspace is actually reading the blog on a regular basis (ego-booster!). So, since most who read have little experience with feed readers and aggregators, here is a bit of a tutorial. Software Garden and Maricopa Community College have brief overviews about what RSS feeds are all about and an introduction to feed readers and aggregators. If you use the customized start pages for Yahoo and Google, you actually have a feed reader available to you by customizing the page. The important thing to remember is that thousands of web sites today use RSS feeds to inform their visitors of changes. By using a tool to check all of your favorite feeds in one click makes it easier for you to keep up-to-date. Here are some of the more popular ones (in no particular order - I use Google) that are web-based. My suggestion is to give them a try and see which one works best for you.

• My Yahoo!
• NewsGator Online
• Rojo
• Newsburst
• Google Customized Homepage
• Google Reader
• My AOL
• Netvibes
• Free Dictionary
• inclue!
• Bitty Browser
• Plusmo
• NewsAlloy

When you decide which one works best for you, come back to here and click the chicklet icon that corresponds to the service you chose under Subscribe and keep informed about what is going on here. By the way, those subscribe chicklets will probably move (will still be on this page) as I redesign the layout a bit today, too.