I've got so much running around in the squishy thing in my head that I couldn't decide which one was worth talking about the most, so, I decided to talk about them all. Grab some popcorn, folks!
Have you ever heard of Alex Jones? He's a pundit of sorts who likes to talk about the various conspiracy theories he believes--you know, like how 9/11 was an inside job, the Sandy Hook shootings are a government ploy to take away guns, etc. Anyways, he posted to Youtube a video that he is convinced proves that the Obama administration is planning the wholesale imprisonment of Americans, martial law, that sort of thing. The video shows U.S. Marines engaging in riot control practice. Evidently, because some of the "rioters" are in casual attire common to us American folk, t-shirts and whatnot, that is proof positive of evil intentions coming from the White House. And worse, some of them were also in camouflage uniforms, suggesting that they might even use force against servicemembers who refuse to follow orders to enslave or even execute Americans! And all of this was going on RIGHT HERE IN THE STATES!
Except. . .Max Uriarte, the mad genius behind the Terminal Lance web comic that pokes fun at life in the Marine Corps (fitting, seeing as how Max served in the Corps) posted the video to the TL Facebook page. Folks commenting on the post rather quickly identified the video as one shot by the Defense Department and featuring riot control training that Marines assigned to Marine Security Guard units--embassy security forces-- and Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams (FAST), units that deploy to reinforce embassy security teams at a moment's notice, if not sooner, undergo on an annual basis. This training is held stateside, and usually involves Marines dressed as civilians, or Marines who rotate between the roles of responder and rioter. So much for the Alex Jones idea that they were training for martial law--riot control training is something the MSG and FAST units undergo annually, because a riot of some sort at an embassy is generally the biggest security threat they pose.
People speak of blind agreement with whatever the mainstream media reports. To be honest, I take what I hear in the media with a grain of salt, particularly after the whole Brian Williams thing of recent occurrence. Those who tend to follow less mainstream sources seem to think that their alternative is the "better" alternative, but is it really? It seems to me that these other sources of information are merely ideological platforms disguised as "media" or "journalism". I'm no huge fan of the biased mainstream options out there, but I'll take them over one of these other options any day. And as far as conspiracy theories go, I've got little use for them personally, but I do take delight in watching someone spout one off and get run through a wringer afterwards. I'll probably touch more on conspiracy theories soon.
Apparently Patrick Dempsey's Dr. McDreamy was killed off rather unceremoniously on Grey's Anatomy last night, and people all over are tore up about it. Let's be fair, I can't help but be stirred by the memorial scene in Star Trek 2--the ORIGINAL one--where James Doohan as Scotty plays Amazing Grace on bagpipes while Kirk stands there weeping and a torpedo tube carrying Spock's body is moved toward the launcher to be fired onto the Genesis Planet. But I know that the late Leonard Nimoy's best known character was exactly that--a character, a fictional participant in a fictional world created to give us a break from reality for 30 or 60 minutes a week, counting commercials, just the same as Dr. McDreamy was. I understand that he was a huge part of Grey's from day 1, and I know him and Meredith were married, and she's seen enough depressing crap over the years, and I'll admit, Patrick Dempsey's a handsome feller, but as you mourn Dr. McDreamy's passing, please keep in mind that he's not real.
A high school classmate whom I had my share of issues with in those days was among those displaced in a fire at a Jeffersonville apartment complex recently. He escaped with the clothes on his back and his cat, and he was understandably worried about kitty--his four-legged friend was given oxygen by the fire department (or was it EMS?) with one of those special animal oxygen masks, and taken to a local animal hospital where I understand Kitty was treated and released. I would never wish losing everything in a fire on my worst enemy, and I pray for him and all of those so affected by this fire. I've never been in one myself, but I've seen what can happen--my mother was property manager at a downtown Jeffersonville apartment building that burned just over 20 years ago, a fire believed to have been set to either kill someone, or cover up a murder, either way, someone died in that fire. My fiance's old house was damaged in a fire. Two houses I once lived in have caught fire, one accidentally and one intentionally; the accidental fire killed the significant other and month old son of a fellow we knew personally, and the intentional one burned out a co-worker. We also knew a family killed in a fire--an arson, no less--elsewhere in Jeffersonville, a fire my fiance's ex-husband and his family barely escaped from.
Now that I think of it, I WAS in a fire, sort of. We had a main space fire aboard USS Constellation in 2003, not far from Hawaii. It took a while, but they got it put out with no major damage. Pretty unnerving, standing roughly 100 feet above burning diesel marine fuel. Then again, I used to eat lunch in front of a nuclear accident locker on the Enterprise. . .
Also worth noting, speaking of kitty and the recent apartment fire--chalk one up to the Jeffersonville Fire Department, they found a kitten that survived the fire a day or so afterwards. Kitty was treated at the animal hospital and is at the city shelter, safe and sound. Hopefully the owner comes to claim Kitty, but if not, I'm sure there will be a line at the door of folks ready to take this kitten in.
And while I'm on the topic. . .have you ever heard of the "Internet of Things"? According to the Wikipedia device--which may or may not be as reliable as an Alex Jones video of Marines training for martial law, you've been a great crowd--the "Internet of Things" is basically where things, objects, can be connected to the Internet. One such device is the Nest Protect. It's a smoke detector that connects to the Internet, and can be monitored from your smartphone. It's also a CO2 detector, and if you have a Nest thermostat at home--itself connected to the 'Web--the Protect can turn the thermostat off if CO2 levels get too high.
Yep, we now have the Web-capable smoke detector, a real bargain at $99 a pop at Best Buy. You know, I ranted earlier about conspiracy theories, but I wonder sometimes if we're becoming TOO dependent on this thing called the Internet and its ability to connect people and things. Sure, it would be nice to find out about my smoke detector going off while I'm away BEFORE Fire Marshal Bill calls me, but isn't that was neighbors are for? We have Web-capable TV's, a Web-capable thermostat that can use the Web to connect to a smoke detector, my phone can connect to the Web. What's next, the online toilet? You can flush your toilet from your phone! It tracks water consumption, how long it takes to empty the tank, and even records the number and size of your turds! Hook it into the water company, and your doctor, and you can find out how much of your water bill is spent on flushing AND get diagnosed with dysentery, all without leaving home!
Or how about an Internet-connected fireplace? Out on a hot date? Wanna bring her--or him--home for some sweet, sweet love in front of the fireplace? No sweat! Simply click on the app, set the fireplace to "Baby Makin' Mode", and voila! You'll be brown chicken-brown cow in front of the fireplace in no time! And, since your stereo is also hooked to the Webs, you can set your Marvin Gaye CD to play as soon as that little black cocktail dress hits the floor!
Welcome to my mind. Twisted, eh?
Have you ever heard of Alex Jones? He's a pundit of sorts who likes to talk about the various conspiracy theories he believes--you know, like how 9/11 was an inside job, the Sandy Hook shootings are a government ploy to take away guns, etc. Anyways, he posted to Youtube a video that he is convinced proves that the Obama administration is planning the wholesale imprisonment of Americans, martial law, that sort of thing. The video shows U.S. Marines engaging in riot control practice. Evidently, because some of the "rioters" are in casual attire common to us American folk, t-shirts and whatnot, that is proof positive of evil intentions coming from the White House. And worse, some of them were also in camouflage uniforms, suggesting that they might even use force against servicemembers who refuse to follow orders to enslave or even execute Americans! And all of this was going on RIGHT HERE IN THE STATES!
Except. . .Max Uriarte, the mad genius behind the Terminal Lance web comic that pokes fun at life in the Marine Corps (fitting, seeing as how Max served in the Corps) posted the video to the TL Facebook page. Folks commenting on the post rather quickly identified the video as one shot by the Defense Department and featuring riot control training that Marines assigned to Marine Security Guard units--embassy security forces-- and Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams (FAST), units that deploy to reinforce embassy security teams at a moment's notice, if not sooner, undergo on an annual basis. This training is held stateside, and usually involves Marines dressed as civilians, or Marines who rotate between the roles of responder and rioter. So much for the Alex Jones idea that they were training for martial law--riot control training is something the MSG and FAST units undergo annually, because a riot of some sort at an embassy is generally the biggest security threat they pose.
People speak of blind agreement with whatever the mainstream media reports. To be honest, I take what I hear in the media with a grain of salt, particularly after the whole Brian Williams thing of recent occurrence. Those who tend to follow less mainstream sources seem to think that their alternative is the "better" alternative, but is it really? It seems to me that these other sources of information are merely ideological platforms disguised as "media" or "journalism". I'm no huge fan of the biased mainstream options out there, but I'll take them over one of these other options any day. And as far as conspiracy theories go, I've got little use for them personally, but I do take delight in watching someone spout one off and get run through a wringer afterwards. I'll probably touch more on conspiracy theories soon.
Apparently Patrick Dempsey's Dr. McDreamy was killed off rather unceremoniously on Grey's Anatomy last night, and people all over are tore up about it. Let's be fair, I can't help but be stirred by the memorial scene in Star Trek 2--the ORIGINAL one--where James Doohan as Scotty plays Amazing Grace on bagpipes while Kirk stands there weeping and a torpedo tube carrying Spock's body is moved toward the launcher to be fired onto the Genesis Planet. But I know that the late Leonard Nimoy's best known character was exactly that--a character, a fictional participant in a fictional world created to give us a break from reality for 30 or 60 minutes a week, counting commercials, just the same as Dr. McDreamy was. I understand that he was a huge part of Grey's from day 1, and I know him and Meredith were married, and she's seen enough depressing crap over the years, and I'll admit, Patrick Dempsey's a handsome feller, but as you mourn Dr. McDreamy's passing, please keep in mind that he's not real.
A high school classmate whom I had my share of issues with in those days was among those displaced in a fire at a Jeffersonville apartment complex recently. He escaped with the clothes on his back and his cat, and he was understandably worried about kitty--his four-legged friend was given oxygen by the fire department (or was it EMS?) with one of those special animal oxygen masks, and taken to a local animal hospital where I understand Kitty was treated and released. I would never wish losing everything in a fire on my worst enemy, and I pray for him and all of those so affected by this fire. I've never been in one myself, but I've seen what can happen--my mother was property manager at a downtown Jeffersonville apartment building that burned just over 20 years ago, a fire believed to have been set to either kill someone, or cover up a murder, either way, someone died in that fire. My fiance's old house was damaged in a fire. Two houses I once lived in have caught fire, one accidentally and one intentionally; the accidental fire killed the significant other and month old son of a fellow we knew personally, and the intentional one burned out a co-worker. We also knew a family killed in a fire--an arson, no less--elsewhere in Jeffersonville, a fire my fiance's ex-husband and his family barely escaped from.
Now that I think of it, I WAS in a fire, sort of. We had a main space fire aboard USS Constellation in 2003, not far from Hawaii. It took a while, but they got it put out with no major damage. Pretty unnerving, standing roughly 100 feet above burning diesel marine fuel. Then again, I used to eat lunch in front of a nuclear accident locker on the Enterprise. . .
Also worth noting, speaking of kitty and the recent apartment fire--chalk one up to the Jeffersonville Fire Department, they found a kitten that survived the fire a day or so afterwards. Kitty was treated at the animal hospital and is at the city shelter, safe and sound. Hopefully the owner comes to claim Kitty, but if not, I'm sure there will be a line at the door of folks ready to take this kitten in.
And while I'm on the topic. . .have you ever heard of the "Internet of Things"? According to the Wikipedia device--which may or may not be as reliable as an Alex Jones video of Marines training for martial law, you've been a great crowd--the "Internet of Things" is basically where things, objects, can be connected to the Internet. One such device is the Nest Protect. It's a smoke detector that connects to the Internet, and can be monitored from your smartphone. It's also a CO2 detector, and if you have a Nest thermostat at home--itself connected to the 'Web--the Protect can turn the thermostat off if CO2 levels get too high.
Yep, we now have the Web-capable smoke detector, a real bargain at $99 a pop at Best Buy. You know, I ranted earlier about conspiracy theories, but I wonder sometimes if we're becoming TOO dependent on this thing called the Internet and its ability to connect people and things. Sure, it would be nice to find out about my smoke detector going off while I'm away BEFORE Fire Marshal Bill calls me, but isn't that was neighbors are for? We have Web-capable TV's, a Web-capable thermostat that can use the Web to connect to a smoke detector, my phone can connect to the Web. What's next, the online toilet? You can flush your toilet from your phone! It tracks water consumption, how long it takes to empty the tank, and even records the number and size of your turds! Hook it into the water company, and your doctor, and you can find out how much of your water bill is spent on flushing AND get diagnosed with dysentery, all without leaving home!
Or how about an Internet-connected fireplace? Out on a hot date? Wanna bring her--or him--home for some sweet, sweet love in front of the fireplace? No sweat! Simply click on the app, set the fireplace to "Baby Makin' Mode", and voila! You'll be brown chicken-brown cow in front of the fireplace in no time! And, since your stereo is also hooked to the Webs, you can set your Marvin Gaye CD to play as soon as that little black cocktail dress hits the floor!
Welcome to my mind. Twisted, eh?