Open source software.

I have recently been using open source software and I am thoroughly impressed. I started using Mozilla Firefox, a free, downloadable, web browser, probably a year and a half ago and am enjoying it much more than Internet Explorer. There are no pop-ups and I haven’t gotten any viruses and I don’t use a virus protection program. Aside from Mozilla, I’ve also started using the Open Office suite which is basically a free version of Microsoft Office. It saves to the same file type as all of the Office programs and is just as easy to use. Instead of paying for the whole Microsoft Office suite, you can basically get it for free. My favorite program though is definitely GIMP. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. it is basically a free version of Adobe Photoshop, a $600 program. It has all of the capabilities of Photoshop except its better because I don’t have to pay for it. I’ve done some incredible thing with it and I can now make my pictures look absolutely amazing.

Hot weather.

My feelings towards hot weather are ones of extreme distaste. When I say hot weather, I mean extremely hot weather. I really don’t like anything above 90 unless I’m within 10 feet of a pond or lake or some body of water big enough to swim in. When it’s really hot and humid, everything is sticky and disgusting. The other day, I went to walk up the stairs in school and I put my arm on the railing. When I went to make the turn, I continued to move but the flesh on my arm held firmly in place. I’m very surprised all of my skin stayed on. It hurts so bad and left a large red mark on my arm. Also, during soccer practice the other day, everyone was so sweaty that they literally slid past each other. It was so gross. Beyond that, hot day are accompanied by dehydration and nausea which makes everyone angry and when they get mad, they really get mad. For example, the other day, someone took my drink playfully and I almost killed them. I feel like I’d like to move to a place with a mild climate instead of a place where it goes from one extreme to another in a matter of three weeks.

Politics

I am so glad I can’t vote in this upcoming election because I don’t think I could honestly be happy voting for any of the current candidates. I’m definitely not conservative and I’m definitely not liberal. I would never vote for Hilary ( I realize she isn’t in the race anymore)and not because she’s a women but because she is stupid. She’s attempting to ride her husbands coat tails and she lacks any good policies. I have a lot of trouble trusting Obama. He seems like a good guy but he does lack experience and his name rhymes with Osama and his middle name is Hussein ( because those are totally good reasons to distrust someone, right?). Aside from Democrats, we have the wonderfully American GOP which makes me ashamed to be a citizen of the U.S. Their candidate, John McCain, seems to be better than our present fearless leader. However, he is pretty old and might die in office… Also, he doesn’t seem to want to change anything, just leave it the way it is. Of course, it’s not all their fault. They are just a product of a flawed political system. Apparently we live in a democracy yet seem to have little control over what goes on. Our tax dollars go towards paying the national debt and the very “important” war that is being fought in the middle east to preserve oil… I mean freedom.  Seriously’ in many European countries, they  have universal heath care and socialized education. Why can’t we achieve that? Oh yeah, it’s because the congress is actually run by the special interest groups who are only interested in themselves and nothing else.

African Countries

What is up with African countries? They’re so ridiculous. I mean, some of them are relatively normal but the majority of them are so messed up. In Mauritania, a country in northwestern Africa, there is still slavery. There are still people being owned by other people! Seriously, you’d think someone would say, :”Hey, stop owning people!” but no one does. Also, I swear to god that every country in Africa has an overpopulation crisis but people refuse to stop having babies. I’m not saying that I don’t empathize with the people of Africa because I do and I’m willing to help them if I can. I mean, they live in Africa for God’s sake. However, they have to do some things for themselves. If you can’t feed your kids as it is, maybe you shouldn’t produce more infants. I realize that they don’t all have educations but that is pretty basic. I also realize that they don’t have adequate birth control but that really isn’t an excuse because they could practice natural birth control. Besides all of that, they have ridiculous country names. Take the Central African Republic for instance. Could you get any more generic than that? And then theres Swaziland (need I say more?). All in all, Africa is ridiculous.

School is ova.

Oh my god. School is finally over. I am so happy. You have no idea. This year has been so stressful and I was always rushing to get my work done and it’s finally over. Now it’s time for me to have a ridiculously busy summer leading into an even busier senior year. My life rocks. I have made a revelation though. I’m thinking that I should probably start doing my work when it’s assigned instead of doing it whenever I feel like and then playing catch up all year. So this year wasn’t so bad. I also made some new friends and lost some old friends and gained a wonderful girlfriend. Still, I guess I really just hate high school. I enjoy seeing my friends every day and all that junk but I hate doing high school work. It seems so meaningless to me because a lot of it is very pointless and I don’t feel like I’m getting anything out of it. However, I have to do it so I guess I’ll just deal for one more year. That’s also kind of weird. Now there is only one year left in high school for me and now I actually have to start making decisions and acting like an adult. I can still enjoy my summer and maybe next year I will come back with a better attitude.

Beavers

Beavers are pretty sweet. Seriously, they’re the biggest rodent in North America which is totally awesome except I think New York City rats might be bigger. Beavers totally rock like hardcore style. This one time I was hiking in the woods by a lake and I saw a tree that was about 2 feet thick that a beaver had chewed down. They say that humans are the apha species but if we can’t chew through 2 feet of wood then we can’t be that superior. At least beavers can get out of the way of a falling tree. How many times have you heard of people getting crushed by trees? How many times have you seen a beaver crushed under a tree? Also, beavers don’t park their cars where trees can hit them. i have this strange feeling that beavers are going to run the world some day; right after they chew their way through the world governments and get some good dentists as to not lose their ultimate power. Not that much would change though, except for those lumberjack contests, they would probably be pretty different…I’m guessing…

John Terry

This past Tuesday, two soccer teams, Manchester United and Chelsea, played the UEFA Champions League final. The game was a very exciting game and it went into overtime and then into a penalty kick shootout. The match went pretty smoothly until the game went into overtime. Players were tired and tensions were high. Eventually, a fight broke out and one of the Chelsea players, Didier Drogba, slapped Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic across the face. He was promptly given a red card and sent off the field. The worst part of it all was that it was Didier Drogba’s last game for Chelsea. I guess he did a great job leaving his mark. Besides the fight, there was even more drama in the PK shootout. Chelsea was up by one in the shootout and the captain of the team, John Terry, was up to kick. All he had to do was put it in to win. In case you don’t know, a penalty kick is shot from 12 yards and the goalkeeper can’t move off the goal line. They are very difficult for a keeper to save and it should have been extremely easy. Terry got up to kick and not only did he miss the goal completely but he slipped on his butt. He seriously cried for about a half hour after losing the biggest competition in Europe for his team. Some people think you should feel sorry for him but I don’t. He is a huge jerk on the field and apparently spit on Manchester United player Carlos Tevez. However, I do have a burning hatred towards the entire Chelsea team so there is a little bit of personal bias in that statement. I mean seriously, Didier Drogba (the guy who slapped the Man U player) grabbed another guys crotch during the 2006 world cup. There were words exchanged and he walked past and grabbed Mark Van Bommel’s crotch. He also has greasy hair which is really gross. 

Education

What is wrong with the education system in this country?  Not only is the public school system screwed up but the college system is even worse. The the whole thing is just replete with blatant examples of wasted money and time. Seriously, yesterday I saw the janitors moving snow from one place to another. I could understand if they were moving it a few feet but they were moving it across the parking lot with a tractor. Not only is that a waste of time but its also a waste of gas. In college the wasted money is even worse. They have these all-you-can-eat dining halls where food just sits around all day and the stuff that isn’t eaten is just thrown away. That’s part of the reason why college costs so much, your room and board  alone can cost up to $10000. That is absolutely ridiculous. Most people don’t pay that much for real apartments and actual food. I guess it all comes down to the fact that education has become a business in this country. College tuition should never average 40 grand. Recently, RPI put in a 100 million dollar performing arts center. They are a technical school, why in the world do they need that? I guess when your tuition is $52,000 you don’t have to worry about these things. Education should be about kids learning, no about how big the endowment is.

Arnold Palmer

I am ecstatic about this new progression of events that has taken place in our school cafeteria. They have just placed a certain beverage called Arnold Palmer is the vending machines. Now, if you don’t know what Arnold Palmer is, you are seriously missing out my friend. Arnold Palmer is the perfect blend of iced tea and lemonade that forms the über beverage. My infatuation with Arnold Palmer is limitless. I would go to the end of the earth to get Arnold Palmer( I don’t though because it’s in the cafeteria now). Anyone who doesn’tlike Arnold Palmer is a big jerk and should probably just go roll in the mud and think about their actions. If I were president of the world (which I will be), I would make it come out of all the water faucets even though it would be very inconvenient for cleaning. Also, I understand he was a pretty good golfer but the general feeling is that itis inconsequential.

Che Guevara

Alright, I am quite upset about the new poster Mr. Morrison has in his room. I mean, Mr. Morrison is a fine guy and all but I don’t think you could get anymore right wing republican than he is. I mean seriously, he has a George Bush bobblehead and a “Boycott France” sticker. Anyway, his new poster is called “The Victims of Che Guevara” and is sponsered by the “Young America Foundation”. The entire point of the poster is to make him seem like a terrorist murderer. Granted, he may have been responsible for the deaths of some but only because he stood up to oppressive powers and tried to make other’s lives better. I mean, look at the founding fathers of our country and all of the “patriots”. They were all terrorists too, they tarred and feathered british tax collectors and burned down peoples houses. All of the people who signed the Declaration of Independence were responsible for all the deaths that occured during the American Revolution. This poster is a giant piece of propaganda and should not be allowed in a “place of higher education”. If you really want to know about Che Guevara, I recommend you look him up on Wikipedia for an unbiased history.