Writings of the Cripple Extraordinaire

Quantum Computers

2009-06-06T18:22:57Z

Yesterday I was trying to tell some folks about something I remembered that my dad told me, but I couldn't remember the name, or much else. What its called is the Quantum Computer and the technology is still very much in its infancy (though they have built some). Here is what my dad sent to me about the Quantum Computer.

"But there are many strange (in the realm of Fantasy strange) effects in
the quantum world. Did you know for instance that they have succeded in
Transporting (as in Beam me down Scotty) material. Admittly only a few
Molcules but that's how it starts. Also there is a charastic of Quantum
entangled mateial that defies Time and Speed of light limitations...

To understand how the quantum Computer can answer questions before its
asked (or exactly at the same time its asked with 0 (zero) computing
time) is that a quantum computer does not "number Crunch" like a typical
computer. A typical computer can only exist in one state at one moment
(though it changes states very very fast). Say in a memory location
where the calculations are done there might exist the binary number
10001101010100, than the next clock time this will change. It only
exists in one state at one time. A quantum computer exists in an
undefined state. It exists in ALL possible states at one time.

You've heard it said that given unlimited time 100 monkeys banging on
typewriters will eventually write Shakespere, just thru random
combinations occuring in an almost infinite amount. The probability of
this is very very low though... But not zero.

A quantum Computer does not calculate/number crunch what it does is
break down the probability function (yes it minipulates probability (or
fate as you would have it). So the probability of it "Guessing" the
right answer increases from almost impossible to 100% certain. This
isn't theory. It works. Its somehow linked to human interaction also
which is what really blows scientists mind.... Its exists in an
undefined state till its asked a question... There are some indications
that simply thinking the question triggers the answer..... Somehow
humans react with and influence reality much more significantly than
previously thought

They are not quite sure how yet though"

Here's an article from 2007 in New Scientist Magazine:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325971.500-outside-of-time-the-quantum-gravity-computer.html?full=true

and here's a really good Wiki on it:

http://www.quantiki.org/wiki/index.php/What_is_Quantum_Computation%3F

chromiuml @ 2009-06-04T11:16:00

2009-06-04T18:18:39Z

This is freekin' crazy... Before we know it, we will have holodecks!!

Uggh--getting older...

2009-03-31T17:13:39Z

So, my birthday is in a few weeks (no b-day party scheduled yet), and I figured that it might be nice to give people hints about what to give me.

Anything off either of my Amazon wishlists will work:

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/31UGE1L2GBBI9

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/2ZRYY7T40NOE4

Any sort of fun game is also good--I've heard good things about powergrid--and its 6 players (I think?), so thats always a plus. Of course, who knows if we will ever get tired of battlestar!

For the PS3--I want to play Eternal Sonata, and could Gamefly it, but it usually takes me longer to beat a RPG.

For nintendo DS--Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride... I just love Dragon Quest

Otherwise, iTunes gift cards never hurt, because I can buy games for my Ipod Touch with them...

chromiuml @ 2009-01-16T23:17:00

2009-01-17T21:25:21Z

As most of you know, I have been seriously reconsidering career choices lately. I have been making a list of 'criteria' for what I want from a job. One of these criteria was that the job needed to be in Seattle. I've been thinking about that a bit lately... why the desire to stay in Seattle? It isn't like I enjoy the freezing cold weather!

I could definitely say that I enjoy the fact that most people here have similar political views, but that can sometimes tend towards uncomfortable political correctness and other weird hypocriticalness. There is also the fact that I think Seattle probably has one of the highest concentrations of geeky people possible, which is totally cool, but not a reason to be stuck on staying.

Then I realized that something has snuck up on me... I have made a lot of really good friends here. Because of a whole host of issues in the past, I really haven't had any close friends who haven't backstabbed me (because they didn't enjoy being around me and were only using me for my car/money or to be nice). Opening up to people and accepting the fact that they might actually enjoy my company really hasn't even been something I have allowed myself to consider; I didn't want to get hurt again. I generally just assume people hang out with me to be nice to the cripple. But that protective barrier of self-deceit really hasn't been functioning properly, and so I am finding that I have to accept the fact that people might not 'dislike' hanging out with me... in fact, they might even enjoy it, despite my many faults.

And, I think perhaps that is why I am so reluctant to consider a career that would take me away from Seattle. I feel like I belong here... I've never had much luck with friends, but perhaps I have broken that bad luck and have found a group of people who are just as (if not more) geeky than me and who are truly and sincerly good people.

This really doesn't require any response--I just wanted to let people know (at least the ones on livejournal) that I appreciate their friendship.

Happy Days!

2008-12-29T19:17:27Z

Well... I did it...

I've been talking about it and saving up for it for a long time...

I bought a PS3... and its awesome! I was a little upset that the newer PS3s aren't backwards compatible, but I didn't want to buy a used for the same price as a new one off Ebay. Its not like I don't already have all the PS systems, and by having them all out I get to show off my super gamer geekyness!

I bought two games, Assassins Creed (which unfortunately makes me very motion sick--I need to see if I can take pills to fix that), and Valkyrie of the Battelfield. Valkyrie is a really amazing game... its a mix of RPG, Strategy (both real time and turn based) and FPS.

I am also excited that I can 'rent' movies from the playstation network--which will be interesting to experiment with.

Anyways, thanks to all out there who helped make this wonderful day possible!

Christmas...

2008-12-26T05:20:58Z

I can't believe today was Christmas... my brain just hasn't fully processed that yet. Perhaps that is because I got my largest gifts prior to Christmas day.

Some cool octopi stuff (my fave is the ornament with the octopi hugging a santa and a little tree)...

Some fancy pots and pans (there are more too...finding a place to fit all 7 of them wasn't easy!)...

A 1910 St. Gaudens $20 gold coin (from my dad...incase of the apocalypse!)... seen here with my other cool silver stuff I got last Christmas:

I also got some shirts for layering and a bunch of cool little kitcheny things.

Now I am looking forward to the big New Years bash... should be extra fun since we will all have tons of presents to give (and open!). And, of course, there is the chocolate fountain! I know I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm off to play a little more Mount and Blade before bed...

Christmas Party ALERT

2008-12-20T19:26:52Z

Its looking like the Christmas Party is going to be delayed, and will probably end up getting mixed in with our New-years party at tavelorn's house.

There are lots of people who can't even leave their homes, and its only going to get worse after the big storm tonight and tomorrow!

Sorry all... if things change I will let you all know, but don't count on having a party tomorrow night!

On a side note with all this bad weather, my 'prepared for anything' parents are very upset that they haven't already forced me to get a kerosene heater for my house incase the power goes out. They also want me to get tire chains... *sigh* Parents...

Christmas Party

2008-12-06T21:13:11Z

Well, another year has passed and its Christmas Party time. Here are the details:

My place (if you don't know where it is, e-mail me).

Sunday, December 21st. Starting around 5:00 PM.

Food is sorta up in the air. tavelorn and I were thinking about doing a pot-luck style thing, but we could always order pizza or maybe go out to dinner someplace instead. Let me know what y'all are thinking.

There will, as usual, be a gift exchange.

Please let me know if you will be able to make it.

On a side note, here are gift ideas for me, I would recommend either games (or gift cards) from Gary's, or something off my Amazon wishlists:

Random stuff and more academic books wishlist (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/31UGE1L2GBBI9/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go)

Historical fiction wishlist (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2ZRYY7T40NOE4/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go)

There is no specific rhyme or reason to items or order of items on either of these lists--but I want everything on them, so you really can't go wrong :).

chromiuml @ 2008-11-29T10:22:00

2008-11-29T18:52:58Z

My Thanksgiving went well--got to spend time with my caregiver/friend Brenda and her two kids (6 and 4). We had a ton of good food and definitely enjoyed the day. I even cooked up some pecan pie and stuffing, though since both were new recipes, neither really turned out as planned.

I cracked open a 'can' of dog food and split it between Hesse and Biggles--they absolutely loved it. I sure do hope my cat doesn't expect that sort of meal from now on!!

I got an add in the mail for this:

I thought about getting it for tavelorn , but I think its sorta a waste of money when the other option is a sweet sword.

**Caution--Rambling ahead**

On the day after black friday, I feel a need to write about the insanity of it all.

For those who haven't heard, a Wal-Mart worker in New York was trampled to death after a waiting crowd busted through the doors 5 minutes before opening time. A woman who was 8 months pregnant was also hurt. At other stores, there were reports of people stealing others shopping carts, people being elbowed, punched, kicked. Rampant violence and pandamonium as people desperately saught out the best deals.

For the last few years I have taken notice that shopping seemed to be getting more and more violent--but this year topped everything from previous years.

I feel like a lot of this may be a sign of the times. There is more to this than the ecomony being bad right now--though that certainly doesn't help. I think it has more to do with the fact that our expectations for standard of living are high, but our incomes just don't allow us to keep up. So, people wait for mega-sales and line up at doors at ungodly hours of the morning then fight over the limited availablity of items. Everyone should have a flat screen tv by now--right? So if you don't have one, that makes you poor... In previous years, people were able to just charge all of those things to their credit cards, but unfortunately most Americans are just tapped out. So now, madness happens at Wal-marts (and other discount stores) where you could save $200 on a 32" flat screen.

We (and I) need to face the hard facts... our standard of living is just unrealistic. Part of globalization is that over time, pay between poor countries and rich countries will balance out--and that doesn't just mean that poor people in other countries get richer--it also means that relatively we get poorer. The current economic downturn has been in the making for the last decade, as people lived off credit cards and refinanced mortgages in order to keep up with the Jonses. Unfortunately, that isn't going to work anymore.

We have to learn what has been lost to the younger generations (and the older ones as well!)--the idea of saving the money for something, and then buying it. The younger generations are the generations of instant gratification. We want this and we want it now! Credit cards, store credit, 0% interest rates! What a deal! Why wait when you can get what you want now? That time is passed, and companies are becoming progressively stingier about who they offer credit to. But how do you save when you are living pay check to pay check (as most young people do)? We have to learn about sacrifice, and make hard choices that we haven't had to make in the past. Snap back to the reality that perhaps I just don't have the money to buy the things I want. Perhaps I need to lower my standards. None of this is easy--but its happening. And in the end its for the best... at least thats what I keep telling myself!

Hmm, I should really be working on my final rather than writing about this :-p!

Vote McCain!

2008-11-03T06:02:39Z

Today I realized that a vote for Barack Obama is a horrible mistake.

Why?

Well, I was thinking of an Obama cheer for election night--and made a horrible discovery.

Did you know that Barack Obama's initials are B.O., the same initials that are commonly used to refer to the Body Odor?

Every teenager, and even some grown adults live in constant fear of the ever menacing B.O.

The fight against B.O. is vital for the freedom of American noses. Every day brave Americans sacrifice their time to shower or bathe (or at least wipe their underarms with a washcloth) in order to prevent the spread of B.O.

Today we live in a relatively stink free world, thanks to the tough policies of the past... the teasing classmates and the scrunched noses of our co-workers. But a vote for Barack Obama could mean all of that hard work would be undone.

Heres a little known secret about Barack Obama's past that was uncovered by a Fox News detective. When he was in high school he refused to wear deoderant. He said that the smell of our bodies is natural and we should accept the B.O. as normal.

Do we want a president who is soft on B.O.... a president who would surrender to B.O. and accept defeat? He might even sit down with the proponents of B.O., like 'the hippies', without preconditions!!

If we elect Barack Obama, who knows what he might do. He might outlaw deodorant. And God only knows what would happen to all of those bachelors out there if he were to outlaw febreze!!

That is why I am calling all of you to vote for John McCain ... Strong on deodorant, strong for America

Oh god... I can't wait until this thing is over... 2 more days...

'Eye' see... Maybe?

2008-10-29T20:32:17Z

Yesterday morning I had eye surgery to fix a scar on my eye that developed while I was in the ICU recovering. Most of you know that it had become bad enough that I need(ed) to wear glasses. It also made my eye feel scratchy, because the tear glands were blocked in that section of the eye. Hopefully this surgery has corrected my vision and the scratchy-ness, though I won't probably know the full results for a few weeks.

Well anyways, the eye surgery went well--big thanks to tavelorn for giving me a ride home so that I didn't have to take a taxi while I was still drugged up. Fortunately, it turned out that the meds they gave didn't have too much of an after effect. Still, most of yesterday and today I have been feeling exhausted and just kinda blech... but at least I am mostly functional!

The post-op checkup said that there was no infection and everything looked good! Hopefully I will start feeling better soon so that I can finish up my midterms (though it has been convenient for the procrastinator in me to have an excuse to postpone working on them)!!

I'm Verbose....and Male...Wee!!

2008-10-15T17:43:32Z

The Blogalyser reveals...

Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 13.

This suggests that your writing style is conventional
(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).Your blog has 27 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by verbosity
(writing for the web should be concise).

CHARACTER MATRIX

male		female
self		world
past		future

Your text shows characteristics which are 57% male and 43% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then the world in general and finally your social circle. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.
</small>
Find out what your blogging style is like!

Odds on the election!

2008-10-10T16:59:11Z

Stephen Colbert interviewed a guy who does baseball statistics stuff (trying to predict how people will do next season) and is now using those skills to put odds on the election!

www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Odds of Obama winning? 90.7% and rising!

chromiuml @ 2008-09-27T13:33:00

2008-09-27T20:37:28Z

Well I decided to go ahead and post my results to this test. Go ahead and laugh at my 'goody two shoes'-ness...

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Moderate
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Its the Economy Stupid...

2008-09-23T19:28:38Z

Well, given the fact that the economy is collapsing around us, I thought it might not be a bad idea to review the candidates positions on the economy.

Because everything is happening so quickly right now, I am having a hard time finding a neutral third party source of information. I guess we will just have to do our best to be the judge ourselves!

Also, it appears that neither candidate has a whole lot on their website about the economic crisis in the last week...

McCain:

McCain has eight big talking points for how he plans to strengthen the economy:

--Create a commission to figure out how to make it easier for people (especially the elderly and parents) to work from home.

--Reduce the cost of health care... we went over his plan on this a few days ago so I won't go into detail here.

--Keep Taxes Low. This includes:

--Keep the "Bush" tax cuts
--Cut corporate taxes from 35% to 25%

--Give tax breaks to businesses for research and development and buying new equipment/technology
--Ban internet and cell phone taxes

--Reduce barriers to trade, and make it easier for those who lose their jobs to retrain for new ones.

--Relief for Families. This includes:

--Strengthen the dollar (though he doesn't explain how he plans to do this)
--Gas tax holidays
--Repeal tax on Ethanol and also roll back the Ethanol mandates that are causing food prices to increase.
--Hmm, apparently his website still says that there should be no tax payer bailout of business who have done poorly. After this he says that any money that is given should be paired with reforms that will 'increase accountability'
--Create a relief plan that allows those with adjustable rate mortgages to refinance to a fixed rate mortgage.
--Insure that third party lenders continue to give out Student Loans even when the economy is shaky.

--Reform Washington. This includes:

--Balance the budget by 2013. A large portion of this will be done by 'reforming' social security, Medicare and Medicaid.
--I have to quote this, from McCain's website, just so you can get a chuckle out of it:

"The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction. "

Last I checked, we weren't going to get any 'savings' from victory. The only 'savings' we might get is when the war ends--and then it just means we don't have to pay for it anymore. Geez!!

--Get rid of earmarks.
--Bi-Partisan fiscal reform lower spending.
--Reform Social Security by allowing 'personal accounts' (this is a code word that means privatizing).

--Support small businesses by lowering energy costs, health care costs, and lowering taxes.

--Encourage clean energy sources such as nuclear power, supporting clean coal technologies, encouraging market for renewable resources, and encouraging new buildings to be built in a more energy efficient way. He also plans on encouraging companies to make cleaner cars--mostly by holding competitions with prize money? Oh yeah, and Drill baby, Drill!!

Obama:

Obama has a 10 point plan, but he starts by saying there are two major problems: stagnant wages with increasing prices, and tax cuts for the wealthy.

--Jumpstart the economy.

--Give an immediate $1000 tax rebate to pay for higher costs of energy (this would be paid for by enacting a windfall profit tax on oil companies).
--Provide $50 billion to help keep jobs and assistance programs--$25 billion would go to help prevent states from cutting assistance in housing/schooling/health care, etc. The other $25 billion would go to help keep the jobs and fund projects to repair bridges, roads and schools.

--Provide middle class tax relief.

--Tax cuts for working Americans--$500 for individual or $1000 for a family.
--Eliminate taxes for seniors making less that $50,000
--Simplify tax filings by using information the IRS already has from jobs and banks to pre-fill out tax forms so that all you have to do is sign and return it.

--Trade

--Fight for fair trade by setting labor and environmental benchmarks for trade.
--Amend NAFTA (no real details here--they say they would have to talk it out with world leaders)
--Help displaced workers retrain.
--End tax breaks for companies who send jobs overseas.
--Reward companies who stay in the US and treat their workers well (living wage, health ins, retirement accounts, etc).

--Invest in new manufacturing jobs. This would include support for new 'green jobs' and 'green industry'.

--Create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that would be funded by government and help pay for some of the more pressing infrastructure projects across the US, as well as providing new jobs.

--Invest in science, R&D tax cuts, and getting broadband internet to every person in the US

--Tax credits for new businesses as well as creating support networks that would provide money for new businesses in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

--Labor:

--Protect every workers right to unionize and strike
--Raise minimum wage to a living wage.

--Homeownership and Mortgage Fraud:

--Give a tax credit to all middle class homeowners.
--Prevent mortgage fraud as well as ensuring full disclosure to home buyers.

--Deal with predatory credit card practices:

--Create a credit card ranking system which will allow consumers to easily identify the practices of credit card companies.
--Create a credit card bill of rights to protect those who use credit cards.

--Reform Bankruptcy Laws:

--Cap Interest on payday loans at 36% and require lenders to improve disclosure.
--Encourage banks to provide small short term loans to drive predatory lenders out of business.
--Provide assistance to those who declare bankruptcy because of medical bills and forgive medical debt.

--Work/Family balance:

--Expand the Family and Medical leave act to include smaller businesses, as well as allowing it to cover elder care needs and providing 24 hours a year for parents to participate in their children’s educational activities.
--Encourage states to adopt paid leave by providing funding for those states to start up their programs and help offset costs to employees and employeers.
--Expand high-quality after school programs
--Expand the child and dependent care tax credit by allowing low income families to receive up to a 50% tax credit for child care expenses.
--Expand flexible work arrangements with federal incentives for those that allow telecommuting. He plans to make the Federal Government an example by leading the way with flexible work arrangements.

That is it for their positions. I got all of this information directly from their websites. How do I feel about all this? Well I think that Obama's programs are very ambitious, but if he can get them done, we will be in good shape as a nation. The big things in my mind are his desires to create jobs and increase the minimum wage to a living wage. McCain just wants to cut taxes everywhere and let the market take care of itself. It really worries me how much McCain wants to cut taxes on businesses--this will mean that in order to balance the budget like he pledges, he is going to have to cut a TON of government programs. Obama gives tax breaks mostly to the middle class, small businesses, and those businesses that stay in the US and create jobs and treat their workers fairly. I actually came up with a similar plan in a class I had a few quarters ago. It seems to me like if you motivate businesses to treat workers right, then they will do so. Also, in my mind, one of the biggest issues in America today is the fact that many workers aren't paid a living wage. If workers get paid more, they buy more things, and that helps businesses. It is trickle up economics (and it will definitely work, since people with more money are definitely going to buy more things). It seems like Obama is going to encourage this as much as he can... my question is how he is going to pay for all of his programs. It will be expensive, but it may be what our economy needs to get back on its feet. McCain just seems like he wants to ignore the problems in the economy and let the market manage itself. This didn't work in the Great Depression, and I don't believe it will work now.

chromiuml @ 2008-09-22T12:19:00

2008-09-22T19:25:48Z

You are a
Social Liberal
(71% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(3% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Socialist

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

</center>

Which Star Trek Character are you?

2008-09-19T18:18:55Z

In order to post your results, be sure to click the "HTML" tab in LJ before copy/pasting!

Your results:
You are Data

Data		61%
Jean-Luc Picard		60%
Beverly Crusher		50%
Geordi LaForge		50%
Will Riker		45%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		40%
Mr. Scott		30%
Chekov		25%
Uhura		25%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		25%
Spock		20%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		20%
Deanna Troi		20%
Mr. Sulu		15%
Worf		15%

Even though you are a genius
you are always striving to be better.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

Politics...

2008-09-17T22:03:18Z

As we all know, this year its time to vote for a new president! Health care, the economy, education, the Iraq war: all of these things (along with many others) are of vitally important to consider when you are thinking of who you want to vote for.

I know that some of you probably aren't all that interested in politics, or find it sorta overwhelming, which is understandable. However, as American citizens, it is really important for us to vote on election day as that is the only way we can keep our Democracy strong. And in order to vote it is important to be informed... at least in an ideal world where the issues matter.

I will be the first to tell you that I am much less informed about the issues than I would like to be. I generally just skim a bunch of articles and only get a basic idea of what is happening. So, I thought that by posting brief summaries of issues here, I could both inform myself and those of you who are interested in reading along. I hope by doing this I will be better informed so that I can do a better job of explaining why I think Obama is the better candidate. I will do my best to keep them brief, and to be neutral (though that is tough for me because I am pretty progressive/liberal).

BTW--LJ Cut sucks. I have been trying to make it work for 30 minutes and just can't figure it out. Copying what I want to cut, then selecting to cut it doesn't work. I made it work once (by manually putting in the tags), then saw a typo and went in to fix it and it screwed up again. So, sorry if the cut isn't working...

I have to thank tangletowngames for sending me an Op-Ed article about this to let me know what was going on. I found a non-partisan critique from Health Affairs of both candidates health care plans, which is what I am getting most of my information from.

Here is the basic idea behind McCain's health care policy (A link to his webpage on the issue):

Increasing access to health insurance:

Currently any health insurance that is provided through your employer is tax exempt. John McCain plans on changing that. He is going to make you pay taxes on the estimated cost of the health care your employer is providing for you. To balance that, individuals will get a refundable tax credit of $2500 for individuals and $5000 for families. I am not quite sure how this will work, but John McCain's webpage says that the money will "be sent directly to the insurance provider" (assuming you have individual coverage). If you get cheap individual coverage, any leftover will be put in a Health Savings Account for you. For people who have a hard time getting coverage, McCain plans on using a guaranteed access plan (GAP), through non-profits who will contract with insurance agencies to provide coverage for a 'reasonable price'. These plans will cost about 1.4 trillion over 10 years.

What does this mean? It seems that McCain wants to encourage people to get health isurance outside of their employers health care plan. Let me take a quote from the cirtique that the non-partisan Health Affairs organization provides...

"Middle-range estimates suggest that initially this change will have little impact on the number of uninsured people, although within five years this number will likely grow as the value of the tax credit falls relative to rising health care costs. Moving toward a relatively unregulated nongroup market will tend to raise costs, reduce the generosity of benefits, and leave people with fewer consumer protections. "

The Health Affairs Org report also says that though individual plans my seem less expensive, they are acutally more expensive to administer (so if more people get these plans prices will go up) and that they generally provide significantly less coverage. To get the same coverage that you get with a group plan, the average family will end up paying about $2000 more a year. McCain's plan also does little to ensure that those who are in poor health will be able to get affordable health insurance (according to Health Affairs).

Lowering Health Care Costs:

I don't want to get into this too much, because he has a lot of ideas. Those that I believe are of note:

-- Lowering costs of perscription drugs by allowing generics to be produced earlie
--Encouraging preventative medicine and healthy lifestyles (though he offers no suggestions of how he plans on doing this)
--Refusing to pay doctors who screw up the treatments of medicare/medicate patients (umm, what control does the patient have over this--this policy will just leave them with a huge bill!)

Now lets talk about Obama (a link to his webpage on the issue):

Increasing access to health insurance:

As president, Obama would provide a plan--the National Health Plan (NHP)--for individuals, the self-employed and small businesses that is similar to the coverage that Federal employees get. Those who can't afford the NHP will be provided with subsidies to help pay for it. Health insurance would be required for all children--apparently there will be more government programs and subsidies, but there aren't many details on that. Obama also plans to create a National Health Insurance Exchange (NHIC) which would act as a 'watch-dog' group for those who seek individual coverage. The NHIC would require that all individual plans provide better coverage than what is provided by his NHP, at a reasonable rate, and ensure that those with a history of health problems aren't subject to increased premiums. Obama would require any employer (except for small-businesses which would receive a tax credit) that does not provide health insurance for their employees pay a tax that would go into helping provide subsidies for those who have trouble affording the NHP. Obama's plan would cost 1.1 trillion over 10 years.

In my mind, this is all a bit more confusing than McCain's plan because there is more substance to it. Health Affairs says that Obama's plan will greatly increase the amount of regulation over the health insurance market. Health Affaris also states that the plan may be difficult to sustain economically. The Federal Health Benefits Program (FHBP) which the NHP is based on provides excellent coverage, and costs about $1000 a month for a family (the government/employer pays $700 of this and leaves the rest for the employee to pay). This is quite costly and apparently there are few details given by Obama on who will qualify for subsidies and how he will pay for those subsidies. However, it may be the case that Obama plans to use the Mail Handlers Benefits plan (which is much less costly--but with fewer benefits) as the baseline for the NHP rather than the more costly FHBP. The decision hasn't yet been made on this, so it is hard to estimate the cost of the program.

Lowering Health Care Costs:

Obama plans on trying to modernize the health care system to lower costs. There are a TON of details on his website and it is sorta tough to sift through them all, but here are a few key points:

--Reinbursing employeers for any costs added to their group plan because of employees who have catastrophic illnesses
--Support disease management programs that help doctors manage and coordinate care of patients who have one or more chronic conditions (These patients take up 75% of health care dollars spent in the US).
--For providers--rather than basing how much is paid by insurance by the quantity of patients, base pay on quality of service (you get paid less if you do a bad job). Obama also plans to make it easier for patients to access information on the quality of providers in order to make it easier for them to choose someone.
--Promote preventative care (especially among the disadvantaged).
--Lower costs of Perscription drugs by making generics available earlier. Obama will also allow Americans to buy drugs from other countries if they are deemed as safe.

My overall opinion is that allowing private markets to have free reign as is suggested in McCain's plan is bad news. I am concerned that many who seek low cost individual insurance under McCain's plan (so that more of the tax credit goes into a health savings account) may get scammed, or have little or no real coverage. Both candidates seem to want to shift insurance away from employers so that individuals who are between jobs will still have coverage. Ideally this is a good thing, except that I am sure people won't get a raise just because their employer doesn't have to pay for their health care anymore. Obama's plan is confusing, but by my understanding, his plan would do more to help people get and afford quality insurance (depending on how his subsidies will work).

Oh Craigslist...

2008-08-30T05:37:52Z

Some of us had talked a few weeks back about 'relationships' and 'marriage' on WoW... and thought y'all would get a kick out of this! *taken from: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/clg/774488152.html

Hot girl for hot guy!

Date: 2008-07-29, 8:22AM MDT

Hi! I'm a level 44 female blood elf (will be 50 this weekend) seeking my true love. Long dark red hair, sexy red lips, and I can bust a move like you've never seen. Must be from Duskwood server, where I am. Specifically looking for a male blood elf or undead to rock my world (of warcraft). Bonus points if you're a 70 and have any of your epics above teir 4. No trolls!!! Send me an email with your name and we can go on a date. There is a cute little spot in the Barrens I would love to bring a date. Maybe set up a fire and drink some volatile rum? See where things go from there. See you soon!

Location: Azeroth
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 774488152

World Mapper

2008-07-18T17:17:42Z

I just found out about this cool website that distorts the world map based on different facts. So, for example, this is the map of world wealth in 2002:

Or, here is a map of military spending:

Or, how about this map of quality of Health care?

There are a lot of cool categories on WorldMap. Sorta opens your eyes a bit looking at some of this stuff.

Birthday Madness!

2008-04-22T22:16:02Z

Yesterday I had one of the greatest birthday parties ever! In fact, I dare say it was one of my favorites in my whopping 25 years of life.

chubling gave a great description of everything, but I feel a need to give my own interpretation.

Ali, Tim, Lizzy and Charley all arrived at the same time, around 12ish. The first order of business was for Ali and Lizzy to make me and wonderful alfredo pasta/cajun fries lunch (which was sooo tasty!). I also got the coolest birthday cake EVER from Tim's family:

When I told my mom that I had octopus cake, she thought I meant a cake made of octopus--not a cake shaped like one. Of course, I haven't had a chance to eat any yet, because we ran out of time--so who knows, maybe they slipped some octopus in there!! Anyways, while Ali and Lizzy were cooking, Charley and I played a two player game called Cathedral while the others were cooking. It seems like abstract strategy games are really hit or miss for me... some I really like, others I dislike. Cathedral was one that I did like, and would definitely enjoy playing again.

After everyone had finished eating (for the most part) we pulled out Fire and Axe, the current game of choice among the usuals at the game store. It was a lot of fun to play, and everyone seemed to enjoy it, which was nice. There is a lot going on in that game, and I have yet to organize any sort of strategy other than just take advantage of what you can. But, maybe that is sorta the point--we are replicating vikings after all, and they definitely took advantage of every opportunity they could. Afterwards we discussed a few modifications to the game that we all agreed we would want to try out the next time we played.

We then pulled out a game that only Tim had played (and that was apparently a long time ago) called something like Dego (unfortunately I can't remember the exact name or find it anywhere online). The game was essentially a bidding game based in Vienna with the 'theme' of building houses/palaces in different districts to increase your support from that district. Anyways--the game was a blast. Even though I did poorly, I had a super fun time trying to predict what everyone else was going to do. I usually don't enjoy games like this, but for some reason it just really grabbed my attention. I definitely want to play this game again soon!

We still had a little bit of time, so everyone except for myself and Tim went to play Parcheesi, while Tim and I played a two player game called Fjords. I really like tile laying games were you end up creating a little world, so Fjords was right up my alley. The tiles are both detailed and have cute little additions like houses and ships and such, but aren't cluttered with stuff, making them very attractive to look at. We didn't quite have the time to finish the game, but that was ok, because I was in the lead when we quit :). This is another one I want to play again.

Todd arrived about a half hour before we left for dinner, and we met up with Kayce and her boyfriend at Outback. We could have gone to another restaurant that was more vegetarian friendly, but going somewhere really close was definitely nice. My second choice probably would have been Olive Garden, but the closest one is way far north, which would have been more inconvenient for myself and some of my guests. Going somewhere close also meant that I could have a drink with dinner :).

Everyone then went their own ways, as it was getting late--but not before I got to open all of my lovely presents--

I got a game called EkeTorp from Todd. It looks like a resource management viking themed game. Tim gave me a game called Saint Petersburg which looks like a card based resource management type game. After I mentioned last week that maybe I should try out the current 'in' CCG at the game store - UFS - Charley got me two starter decks so that I can try it out without having to invest a bunch of money. I am excited to try both of the games, and learn how to play UFS... so many games, so little time... In the non-gaming realm, I got two movies from Kayce and Lizzy, the Fifth Element and Time Bandits--both of which are classics that I had forgotten about (because I rarely keep up with movies and my dad only buys me crude movies for my collection), but I have great movie critic friends who can remind me of the best movies, and these two definitely top the list of coolness. I definitely want to watch both again soon (like maybe tonight!). Finally, I got a super-sweet octopus t-shirt from Ali, which was way cool. I plan to wear it on Thursday so that I can show it off with my awesome octopus cake!!

Anyways, I think that covers everything. When I got back to my place, I went through all my gifts and checked out the games in more detail. As soon as I finish this post, I am going to pull out the directions to one of my new games and try to learn how to play. Maybe I will stick in one of my new movies while I am doing that :).

I want to thank everyone who came. The games were awesome. The food was awesome. The presents were awesome. Dinner was awesome. And most of all, the company was awesome. All in all, it was one totally awesome birthday. Thank you everyone for everything... you really made my 25th one to remember.

Thoughts on Games...

2008-04-17T05:01:44Z

So tavelorn kindly loaned me this book called "Playing to Win" by David Sirlin. I have started reading it during this last week, and have wrote down a few thoughts I have had so far...

The author of this book uses the term ‘scrub’ to describe players who aren’t playing a game to win. I believe that it is accurate that there are many players who set up their own personal boundaries about winning. I won't go into depth about how his view was totally male-centric and assumed a lot about these so-called 'scrubs', but I feel it does deserve mention. Anyways... This made me think about how I define winning, and whether or not I do this sort of thing. I realized that since I started gaming at Gary’s I have transformed my perception of winning and loosing quite a bit. I don’t take loosing personally anymore, and rather prefer to find out what I did wrong so that I can improve on my next game. I n00b farm with the best of them now (you all know who I am talking about)!

But, more importantly, it made me think about the differences between a longer lasting board game (or turn based strategy game like Civ IV) type setting as opposed to shorter type games. In a game that lasts 5 minutes, you can constantly improve your ‘game’, which generally means having the chance to change tactics very frequently. This is very different from a board game where strategies are developed over a much longer period of time. I would argue that the longer game offers many more chances for your strategy to have its holes/weaknesses exposed and allows the opportunity to adjust for those problems. I guess if your response time in your brain is fast enough, you could do something like that in a short live action type game, but I can’t. Some people who I have had this discussion with, believe that the short type game setup is better as it means you don’t end up wasting time playing a game that you know you are going to loose. I am beginning to believe that longer lasting games such as board games or strategy type computer games (Civ IV) are just in a totally different category from shorter games and that they just can’t be compared to each other. Being in a loosing position in a longer lasting game (either board or computer), while admittedly frustrating, allows you the opportunity to take much more time trying strategies that you normally wouldn’t use. Last chance strategies--strategies that don’t get as developed in a short game because the match is going to be over so quickly. I would argue that getting a chance to try out these different strategies is how I most improve my ‘game’. If I am winning, I am afraid to try something new. I am comfortable with the status quo and I just want to keep things going like they are. But, if I am loosing, I am willing to try just about any random strategy or take some kind of risk to come back from behind. Maybe they would be better described, on some level, as kamikaze strategies—what do I have to lose if I am already loosing? I frequently find that these strategies are very useful in becoming more competitive in the game the next time I play. It helps me push the boundaries of what I know is possible as far as taking risks. Maybe some people are able to do these sorts of things in shorter lasting games--but I tend to lose focus if something is over too quickly. I suppose all of us are different in that.

Anyways--thats my big rant (second of the week--woah!).

Yay!!

2008-04-16T21:25:43Z

I usually try to think of some witty subject for my LJ posts--but today Yay is all I can think of. I testified this morning against Haq, and boy am I glad its over. I wasn't exactly 'dreading' having to testify, it was more just not knowing how I would react or what sort of questions I would be asked. But, it was really just more of the same old thing, the same questions over and over again, so it was easy to come up with my answers. I also realized last night that I really don't care if he is declared innocent by reason of insanity or not. Either way he is going to be put away for a long time. That also helped because it meant that I didn't have to try to worry about what implications my answers would have when taken into the hands of the defense. The biggest thing I had to deal with was the defense repeatedly asking me if I was in shock or not. I just told them--I am not a doctor, and I didn't have a blood pressure monitor on at the time... Well, maybe I didn't say it quite like that, I didn't think of that until afterwards... bah humbug. I also had to see Haq for the first time since the shooting, but honestly I just felt even more sorry for him after seeing him all hunched over in his chair the whole time I was talking. I guess now it has come out that his medication was changed a month or so before the shooting and that when he realized he was having problems he tried to get admitted to a hospital, but they didn't have enough beds for him, so he didn't get the help he needed. Yay for our crappy health care system! But, anyways, there were also a lot of people from the Federation offices in the courtroom being supportive so that was really nice. It was also cool that the courtroom was relatively small and looked like it hadn't been remodeled since like the 30's or 40's. I am just glad its all done... yay!!

I wanna thank all of my friends who have been supportive and such since I started finding out about the trial. I means a lot to me to know that people are concerned... thank you!

Torrents and cons and other stuff...

2008-03-30T21:10:23Z

Well, its my last day of freedom and I am using it to veg out as much as possible. I hope that everyone who went to cons this weekend had a fun time! I can't wait to hear stories!

raffenshiv kindly invited me and others who weren't going to a con over to his house to play some games. We played Risk and I got my butt totally kicked. But thats ok, it was fun!! It was nice to still have the chance to play some games, even if I didn't get to go to a con.

I was just fiddling around on the internet and realized that since I reformatted my computer, I no longer have a torrent downloader. In the past I used Bit Torrent, but its just so mainstream now and I don't know if that is good or bad. Is there something better out there? What do y'all use?

Sad Times... (warning--whiny post ahead!)

2008-03-24T16:53:30Z

Well, I had to make a really tough decision this week...I decided not to go to Gamestorm.

Everything was cool until a few weeks ago when the person who was supposed to watch Hesse decided to go on vacation instead. That started the frantic hunt for someone to watch Hesse. Ali generously volunteered her dad, but now that Lamont is there, I don't think thats a good idea. Everything else was surprisingly expensive unless I wanted Hesse to live in a cement cage for 4 days. Not to mention that I already had spent half of my break stressing about and working on visiting places that Hesse could stay.

Unfortunately, cost was also an issue. Boarding Hesse and getting her shots, would cost over $300. That doesn't even include the cost of gas/food/hotel...

I have also been just feeling super stressed and pressured to get all of my other stuff done that I have to do in time to go to Gamestorm. I really have to catch up before I start class again.

Anyways, that is a long rant just to say that I am pissed that I won't be able to go, I was really really looking forward to hanging out with Tim and Becca and Megan and playing board games... but at the same time, I feel a lot less stressed having made the decision to stay home.