I would really like to know the story about that plane that crashed near Pittsburg. I can't imagine what heroism went down there, but I'm sure there will be several TV movies in the future to let me know.

There is this school next to me that is a school for troubled kids. One of them asked for a light when I walked by so I complied. I hung around for a few minutes to ask them about their institution. My reasons were not for their benefit, because they have been throwing bottles and standing out in the street stopping cars. I thought I might get some insight by trying to be friendly and mixing in to see what they were up to. Lo and behold, I discover that I am concidered an adult. They all started fidgeting and many walked away. When did I become an adult? Oh well, my intentions, like I said weren't for their benefit, so I suppose that scene played out for the best. I walked away without further questioning.

I've taken an unexpected break away from the blog, not just writing, but reading. I'll try to check back up on everyone today.
I am reading a very cool book. I mentioned it before, but I hadn't started reading it at that time. I didn't even need to read "Life on Mars" by Paul Chambers... what a piece of crap. Everything that was in that book by a real micropaleontologist was in this new book I'm reading in a few paragraphs. The new book I'm reading is by a spelunker. (Excuse my spelling on all this) He's not even a scientist, but he's really done his research and he actually has worked with many of the crucial scientists involved in all this. He makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and learn how to explore caves and work for scientists exploring life there. If anyone is interested in by far the largest group of life on earth and the oldest, one which lives deep beneath the earth's surface without oxygen or sunlight, I highly recommend this book.
"Dark Life" by Michael Ray Taylor.

The prospects of life in our solar system other than on Earth seem very good. The universe must be full of it.

On another view, he also goes into the life around us. Your body has ten times the amount of organisms living on you as you have actual human cells.

I've been watching this documentary that's been on T.V. on a weekly basis here called Blue Planet about Deep Sea exploration. God, it's amazing. Are they showing this in the States now? I wish I could post some of the pictures that they are showing, but I can't find them on the net anywhere.

Here's a link to the documentary site. I'm kind of bummed with the site because it is geared at kids only, but I did manage to steal a flash cartoonish animation of what I think is called a rat trap fish and put it on the main df page. They have two red glowing headlights under their eyes and a huge mouth that extends. I could not believe all the bio-illumination that is in the deep ocean. I am currently reading two books, one called Life on Mars (just finished it), which I can't recommend too much, but it did explore possible ways that life could exist on Mars and the other book is Dark Life which is about life that exists in deep caves that use chemosynthesis instead of photosynthesis. Anyway, this Blue Planet documentary went into the ocean ridges that pour out sufides from the Earth's mantle supporting a whole ecosystem at the bottom of lightless ocean. I knew about that already, but then it went into a whole ecosystem that survives off methane gas at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Never heard of that. It was complete with an underwater lake. Yes, that's right, an underwater lake. It looked so cool. It's saline content was more heavy than the surrounding water so a lake formed under the clear waters of the deep Gulf. Cool stuff, I highly recommend checking the documentary out. They are showing a great number of never before seen species. Supposedly, man has only explored about 1% of the ocean floor.

I don't feel that religion for the most part has a negative influence on World Peace. I think many wars have been waged in the name of religion throughout man's history, but that religion was not actually the cause. I feel that more likely it has been used as a tool by rulers of nations to unite it's masses and gain whatever they felt like gaining from other nations. Mainly I blame sheer ignorance, which with the resources of this modern age is hopefully becoming less of a factor. All major religions teach peace, tolerance, and love. I think the world of today is much more aware of the difference between the majority of people who adhere to their religious doctrines and the minority who alter the purpose of these doctrines by picking through details that do not reflect the larger message. I hope so, anyway.

Maybe this is insane, but I have the need to hear Beach Boys music. Call me crazy.

I get around

Good Vibrations

My friend Stinger sent me this PBS link. It's a good overall look at Osama bin Laden and his views towards the West. The interviews might be a refreshing source of information for those that are tired of speculation about the man.

I'm very relieved to know that we will not be at war with Pakistan. Sources: Pakistan OKs U.S. Demands

Is this all part of Osama bin Laden's plan? Here's one Afghan-American's point of view.

Hank? I know that's pointless to ask, because he is a Navy man, but .... hank?

I must say that my thoughts are with President Bush in traveling around the country to various venues. Even with all the extra security, I think I would be pretty damn scared to be making so many public appearances. At the same time, he seems to be maintaining his composure. Cheers, George. I hope that you are holding yourself together.

Last night I went out with Cousin Chris to see a movie that I would have never gone to see normally (Rush Hour 2). I can't say that it was a spectacular movie or anything, but I have to admit that the lightness of this movie is exactly what I needed. Before the movie I ate an entire plate of the hottest Chicken Vindaloo I have every eaten in my entire life. Tears were flowing out of eyes, sweat poured from my forehead, I used up my alloted amount of napkins quickly to contol my nose leakage, and the room shifted back and forth like in the peak of an acid trip, but I would not stop eating until it was gone. Anyway, if Chris is reading this, even though I looked and acted like a zombie from hell during the meal and before the movie, I am glad that we decided to go out and do something.

What I see here in England is amazing support for America. One big concern though, is that they feel the Prime Minister has given Bush a blank check to do what he wants without question from this country. Alot of focus has been brought to attention about how this needs to be a worldwide effort. Powell's comment today, "We will not be constrained by the fact that we are working with others as well", was somewhat understandable from my point of view as an American, but I believe it is very unnerving for most in Europe.
Another issue that I am sure is on the minds of those around me, but which I haven't heard a thing of from the newspapers, or on T.V., is racial relations in North England. The Pakistani's have been treated like second class citizens here, (e.g. There is a 5% unemployment rate overall and a 30% Muslim unemployment rate, and it is not that Muslims do not want to work), and as a result I'm sure most of you have heard of all the racial riots that have been taking place in the last few months. No riots or racially motivated crimes have hit the news since the big event on Tuesday and I hope this calm lasts as long as possible.
So many issues are connected to the upcoming events that I certainly feel unqualified to make predictions, make statements of belief, or even ask questions to the public at large that would fuel opinions based purely on emotion or contruibute to the chaos of misinformation. I hope this group understands that I live alone in a foreign country and it is only my comfort with this group that I have the nerve to express my ideas so openly and so untested. Most of me feels that I should shut up and just wait and watch, but that other part of me can't help poking and prodding in a search to define what is happening. I'm very thankful to have this forum to express myself and I'm very thankful that I get to read such thought provoking insights from the Drunkenfish and the Tanque.

I was quick to anger; couldn't help it. I understand that most of you may disagree with what I said yesterday, but I stand by it for the most part. The World War III stuff might have been pushing my envelop for prediction. Of course we need to gather information and proceed with knowledge and forethought. All of NATO should act on this together as a checks and balance system, to make sure we are pursuing a just course of action. Countries like Afghanastan and Pakistan who use their government and intellegence agencies to train terrorists must be stopped though. We cannot sit back and let this type of organized terrorism keep growing. We have been warned for years by the countries that are consistantly victimized by this, but understandably we could not comprehend the true urgency of their pleas. I am and will always be a pacifist and a supporter of human rights. Every measure should be taken to preserve these ideals, but I believe we have a responsibility to ourselves and the world to lead the way in ending these intolerable organizations of zealot murderers. I hope that we can use a surgical approach to this, but somehow we have to get the job done. Perhaps the best way to achieve this would be with the aid of those countries accused of harboring terrorists and even with those that are supporting and training these types of organizations. Ideally, those nations involved in these activities would work side by side with us to correct the situation. However, I don't believe that it will be that easy.

This whole thing sank in last night and this morning for me. My initial reaction was that bombing was entirely the wrong way to go, because it would just be killing innocent people and escalating American hatred throughout the middleeast. I didn't even comprehend going all the way with this to World War III. Now that I look at the options and the gravity of what has happened, I think we should prepare for war against all the nations that harbor our enemy. I'm absolutely stunned at what is happening here. This kind of terrorism absolutely cannot be allowed to happen. I believe as the only superpower that we have the ability to save ourselves and that the survival of our way of life is worth preserving. I believe we, the U.S., will have many allies in this war. We will not be alone. This isn't an angered child striking back from frustration. It's an entire civilization, incorporating most of the world's population, who will not allow our nations to be subjected to living in a constant state of fear.

Is it going to be Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan? I fear and loath that one of these places will be hit soon. I would much rather organized assasinations, rather than the usual response of bombing. Bombing is going to just result in the deaths of innocent people and multiply American hatred around the world.

wow...

Sean - Was that a dream? The virtual world people are real, aren't they?

Welcome back Jason! I started him out about a year ago, but things got sidetracked and I was a cruel dictator of the drunkenfish back then. I deleted everyone who hadn't posted in the last week or so. In any case, things are a bit more loose now, so have fun my friend.

I'm a little drunk, but maybe this is a valid question. Is the inner region of our galaxy older than than the outer? I just read the nytimes article about the black hole in the center of the Milky Way. I can't find anything on that subject. I'm thinking about whether the solar system was created by the friction of this black hole or if it was created before hand and then pulled in. A huge gap possibly in my astronomy knowledge, but maybe someone can clue me in. My thinking is that most solar systems had to result from the friction of this thing in the center of our galaxy. The black hole originating from a bunch of gas particles that just happen to be near each other to start the gravitation thing happening would seem to be rare enough of an event that the rest of all of this would have had to have been created by this original phenomenon. Yes JimS., there's that word again that clues you that I'm drunk. Actually, I'll say this theory, since all know I'm drunk, that dark matter is everywhere and that there are areas that gravitation pulls together large concentrations of this which forms mass and pulls things by the nature of the process of gravitation into it and what we see are the byproducts. (particles, light waves) These things are just reflections of the dark matter gathering together producing these energy responses. I'll shut up now, because I don't know what the hell I'm saying.

I found an article on the web by my fantasy wife, Deirdra Funcheon. That's who I lived with in Florida with John and Jen. She's dreamy. http://www.nypress.com/13/47/news&columns/feature.cfm

Ned again - I'm going to try to convince Chris Lea to start Geocaching with me. With winter coming up though, it might not happen until spring. It might be worth it to go ahead and do it in the cold. Who knows? By the way, I'm a vid-game junkie myself, looking for a fix. My ADSL connection is pretty good, although each leap to get to where you are might make things hairy. Don't know, but I'm willing to try. I'll go out and purchase Unreal Tournament soon. I have Unreal, but I'm assuming the Tournament is a separate thing. Another game that I have and find extremely fun to multiplay is BattleZone 2, if anyone is interested. I used to play Jimmy in the arcade play, but for some reason could never convince him to play me in my favorite part of the game which is the strategic game. He's probably just scared of my superior intellect.

Ned - I've never had a job long enough for it to define me. I'm not a good enough artist of any kind for that to define me either. When people ask me what I do, I generally either joke and say, "you mean today?" or "I watch T.V. generally," or I just say whatever my current job is as if I have had a career at it. It has become a big problem really. I've not built any skills. You may think your job is easy, but that's because you are surrounded by it everyday. Whether you feel you are an expert or not, you are. You've started a career, built on it, and now it seems like cake. You're paid for your knowledge, not your difficulties in performing the job. God, I'd be a millionaire if I could just be paid for the stress I create for myself. I honestly cannot think of a single profession that I would be comfortable doing for the rest of my life. Most people probably don't. The difference between me and most people though is that they are willing to stick with something long enough to make that thing comfortable. I think the key to this whole career thing is to pick something and stay with it for at least 10-15 years. After that you should be able to make safe financial moves towards things of interest instead of necessity. I'm not saying that there aren't those special people that love what they do, but to me that fits into the same catagory as finding that one person that is made for you. Either you are lucky enough to trip over that or you're not. I don't think either is something you can search for. Anyway, I'm starting to think on both of those issues that you should grab the best thing you can find and then work at staying with it. (Did I just do a plug for monogamy? ... and in that sense am I suggesting that you should give a relationship 10-15 years until you can make a safe emotional move towards something of interest instead of necessity... hurm...)

Good eye JimS. Yeah, I was drunk. Maybe I shouldn't have even mentioned that subject yesterday. I don't usually like deleting things, but I'm doing it this time.