tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93521012024-03-12T22:58:54.379-04:00Ben's Rants and RavesThis blog is a collection of random thoughts. I in no way take responsibility for them. They came to me of their own volition, all by themselves. I sure never asked them to intrude on my personal space.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger430125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-50943141082560847802007-08-01T12:29:00.000-04:002007-08-01T13:30:29.756-04:00Studying for the GRE(why? I'm not going to grad school yet. So, I have no idea, other than, it's a good idea to do. And it's kind of fun. Yeah, I'm a nerd. That's going to be a theme.)So, I'm sitting at work and I'm realizing what a nerd I am. I've bought a GRE study book and I'm reading through it.Um, this sounds like fun.It's on the computer, and it's long. But, the benefit of it being on the computer is that the benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-64405550360849223612007-07-02T14:24:00.000-04:002007-07-02T14:28:40.990-04:00Trouble in BurmaThis is presented as a "ha-ha" story - one where the dumb thieving teenagers kind of get what they deserve - but there's an elephant in the room. The country know as Myanmar is really Burma, and it's ruled by a dictatorship that has an iron fist which crushes dissenters. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that these "thieves" were actually people acting out against the government. Copper wire isbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-68123656746469632152007-07-02T14:14:00.000-04:002007-07-02T14:21:54.724-04:00Obama?I don't get it. Why are so many people giving him money? I've been following his campaign, somewhat, and I haven't really seen anything that distinguishes him. Yes, he's not Hilary, his name is not John, and he's not visibly crazy. Yes, he's a personable politician - maybe even more so than other politicians. But, those things aren't really points in his favor, just points that aren't strikes benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-65607675181740753002007-06-27T08:01:00.000-04:002007-06-27T08:02:49.637-04:00I agree with the artist.If I am ever hung, it will be for my love of puns. The one at the link is a good one.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-58590076762139431432007-06-25T09:53:00.000-04:002007-06-25T09:54:50.408-04:00Dangerous AnimalsI'm adding fish to the watchlist, where they'll sit right next to the squirrels.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-65108232280687366772007-06-25T09:50:00.000-04:002007-06-25T09:53:34.305-04:00HuffPo Train Wreck" So now we're six and a half years into Bush and everyone from Helen Thomas on down is declaring him the worst president ever. What no one is saying is the one overarching reason he's the worst: the Bush administration is the first that doesn't even mean well. "The guy who wrote that is saying that every other world leader is better than Bush, no matter what they did, because at least they benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-15908589521346343232007-06-23T12:41:00.000-04:002007-06-23T19:58:49.304-04:00Ron PaulHe's a fool. Why is he still wasting his money with a campaign? He has absolutely no chance at winning the nomination - that much was clear after he said we caused 9/11 ourselves in the GOP debates. Whether or not that's true (I think you can make an argument that our actions pissed people off enough that they would want to attack us - I don't buy that, because it's not that simple, but there is benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-31105684412183813842007-06-23T12:32:00.001-04:002007-06-23T12:38:39.717-04:00WowI'm getting lazy in my old age and summer status. There's stuff to chat about, but to be honest, I'm thinking more about life at the moment, so my brain is firing on all cylinders, but they're the wrong ones to create really blog-able thoughts.So, sorry bout that...not that anyone probably checks this very often anymore. So, as a heads up, I'm going to get back into blogging as soon as my benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-73734395267247423282007-05-24T20:50:00.001-04:002007-05-24T20:59:31.320-04:00I hate taxes...But I do like the idea of a gas-tax. I think it would be a good way to discourage driving, and encourage efficient cars without silly CAFE standards.Trust the intelligent readers of the Economist Blog, Free Exchange to give me another reason to be ok with a gas tax -"The costs of driving should show up in gas prices. These costs include road maintenance, medical costs from accidents, traffic law benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-35314455986298996242007-05-24T12:24:00.001-04:002007-05-24T12:24:33.761-04:00The "War on Terror" isn't only happening abroad(Crazy) People willing to commit violent acts for the purpose of a political show (Otherwise known as terrorists) live in America, too. And they aren't all religious, and they don't all look so different from "us."I'm glad we come down hard on them too, even if some of their stuff doesn't seem as violent as a car bomb, both because we need to keep ourselves safe here, and because we need to keep benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-54999836595670998632007-05-19T12:40:00.000-04:002007-05-19T12:43:16.251-04:00Very TrueCheck this out from Tiger Hawk. Key Phrase (comes at the end):"Wow.Is there anything more fun than buried treasure?"Answer: no.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12484436861155026586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-79380213549800135292007-05-03T22:03:00.000-04:002007-05-03T22:06:18.292-04:00Yay, the Economist!Even Sweden allows for school choice. Why are we left in the dark ages? Why don't we care about the wellbeing and education of Our Children! Give in to the market! It makes better decisions in your best interest than any and all politicians! All the time!The strongest evidence against this criticism comes from Sweden, where parents are freer than those in almost any other country to spend as theyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-87189714735165759372007-05-03T09:11:00.000-04:002007-05-03T09:17:42.068-04:00WowIt's been a while, and it's going to be a bit longer before I return full time. I'm dealing with a pretty tough semester, both academically and extracurricularly, but there are only a couple weeks left. And, this summer, I intend to be blogging everyday.However, I couldn't pass this up. One of my old Professor's blogs (good for him) and brought my attention to this. There are so many good things Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-12835856467073451672007-03-22T13:31:00.000-04:002007-03-22T13:34:01.557-04:00Excellent!My blog is considered too dangerous to be available in China. Good for me, bad for Chinese citizens.Do you qualify?Thanks to Curmudgeonly and Skeptical for the link.I'm not kidding, this is pretty exciting. I make the cut, but the Daily Kos does not. How awesome is that?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-47889723083830700512007-03-19T23:37:00.000-04:002007-03-19T23:40:14.498-04:00Away for a while, and a questionI'll be out for mid-terms and spring break. So, I might not post something soon. Go read Consul for lots of good stuff today.Also, does anyone have a suggestion of a good documentary about the Iraq war? We've got some leftists planing a film festival, but since they're my friends, they're open to allowing a bit of truth to enter into the spectrum. It should be a fun experience, but since I don't Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-46751731107401398382007-03-10T17:05:00.000-05:002007-03-10T17:08:48.710-05:00I'm running for President of my student government this week, so I've been pretty busy. Too busy to come up with something worthy of posting, anyway.I have, however, been able to read a bit. I want to take a moment to give Dean, of Dean's World, some props about his line in the sand. It's easier to have a discussion about what is to be done that includes all sides when one side refrains from Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-48574980020406469732007-03-01T15:40:00.000-05:002007-03-01T15:47:12.782-05:00I've got a Press PassAnd, finally, a published article. I know I haven't been blogging as much lately, and this is one of the reasons. Here's the note as it ended up:Going Greener | March 01, 2007 Colby students this week found hundreds of new travel mugs in the dining halls, allowing them to grab one to keep their coffee, tea, and cocoa warm on their way to class. When they bring the mugs Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-80274488319179088752007-02-22T00:09:00.001-05:002007-02-22T00:09:40.091-05:00hmmmThis post is interesting for me to read. What do you all think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-22809148082088408482007-02-21T21:20:00.000-05:002007-02-23T13:46:02.836-05:00You know,The real reason Britain is pulling out of Iraq is that we're getting the upper hand there, especially in the provinces where the Brits had a presence. And, now that they won't be busy with terrorists in Iraq, they'll have a freer hand to deal with terrorists in Iran.UPDATE: Also, they can send some much needed troops to deal with Afghanistan. The fact that countries can get credit for sending Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-80906563976560523892007-02-15T19:36:00.000-05:002007-02-15T19:38:23.237-05:00"It's not a big truck! It's, it's a series of tubes!"He's back at it...though, I actually have to say that people might get more work done in the library without facebook. Make sure you watch the video as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-42087336122117561022007-02-15T00:02:00.000-05:002007-02-15T00:03:30.805-05:00PosersMethinks these guys are faking it.But, beards are still cool. And, they get an A+ for location.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-7156066778183596402007-02-14T14:35:00.000-05:002007-02-14T14:39:52.874-05:00The scenario that scares me mostThere are a lot of terrorist attacks that are scary. We have lots to pick from. About a week ago, we were reminded of the threat of a dirty bomb exploding in our cities when a man was arrested for smuggling 80 grams of 90% enriched radioactive material. Then, they could load up tractor trailers with fertilizer and run them into buildings, like the guy who couldn't speak english well and had no Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-73170334993518791552007-02-08T13:45:00.000-05:002007-02-08T13:32:05.431-05:00Something to Cheer about"So, we have 6 al Qaeda leaders captured, and possibly dozens more killed. All in the last 48 hours." - as reported by My Pet Jawa. However, I do need to take issue with one assumtion they made to get at that number:"But four is such a lonely number. A facilitator of foreign fighters was captured by the Iarqi Army on the Syrian border. And foreign fighters tend to mean al Qaeda. "Foreign Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-61701883062904848142007-02-08T13:18:00.000-05:002007-02-08T13:15:32.973-05:00Cold War with Russia?Are us Americans trying to revive the cold war with russia?YesCome again?Yes, but the Jewish Lobby has taken control of Washington, so it's not really our fault.Why would we want to?No pollcode.com free pollsRead this article for some context.There are some quotes that are gems:""This surely is the beginning of an arms race in some sense," he said. "Which is all the more unjustified given that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9352101.post-34314326535569241152007-02-08T10:41:00.000-05:002007-02-08T00:53:14.716-05:00Whole Foods Changes RulesSo, I like lobsters, and I like the idea of a Whole Foods-like store, even if I would never spend the extra money to buy stuff from there.However, I'm not sure I understand their reasoning in this decision. I'll wait for you to go read it and check it out.Ok, so they seem to object to the fact that lobsters are shipped in boxes with other lobsters. Hmm...well, lobsters have hard shells, so they Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4