I am presently reading "Collapse" by Jarod Diamond, and he states that there are 5 factors why past societies collapsed:

1 Environmental Damage
2 Climate Change
3 Hostile Neighbors
4 Loss of Trade, or difficult trade relations with other societies
5 A society’s response to environmental factors

The past collapsed civilizations which Diamond wrote about were Easter Island, Pitcairn Island, Henderson Island, the Anasazi, the classic Lowland Maya, and the Greenland Norse.

Easter Island is interesting because here was a civilization that used intelligent engineering techniques (that we are not sure of) to move 50 to 80 ton pieces of stone and then hosted them by I guess some kind of pulley system into an upright position. But in the process of creating all the statues on the island, the people cut down all the trees, creating irreparable environmental damage to the island. The people used all the trees to move the statues from the quarries to where they wanted then to be, and used trees to create the pulleys systems and rope to stand the statues upright. My question is if these people were smart enough to move 80 ton rocks, why could they not understand that by cutting down all the trees they were harming their way of life? Why did they have to make so many statues in the first place? Why was not 1 sufficient? If they only made 1 or 2 statues the people might still be there and the trees would have protected the island from erosion, they would not have had to use stones to try to protect the fields from wind and erosion.

The other interesting thing was how cannibalism played a part at the end of the Easter Island civilization. Here is an intelligent civilization reverting to cannibalism because of deforestation and other human environmental impacts to the island. If something happen here in America ( a natural disaster of some kind) creating a massive societal and food disruption would we as a society revert to cannibalism to survive and justify it?

Teacher: It has been said, "Life is not fair," who can give me a classic example of that.

Teacher: Yes Johnny.

Johnny: You buy cheese that has been aged 6 years, and it turns green in a week.

BC

I grew up reading comics, my favorite comic was "The Amazing Spiderman", and he was and is my hero. I always identified with him, Spidy was a loner, people did not always understand him, and he had a difficult time with the girls. I also like it that Spidy was always wise cracking when he was fighting the "villains" or J. Jonah Jamison. I am a first born so my personality is reflected in that fact, I do not mind being alone or on my own, and I desire solitude at times. That is one reason why I run; I am totally alone when I run. I also liked that Peter was a scientist or nerd; I thought it was cool that he could understand complex scientific concepts. I have always been interested in science and the thought of being a scientist has always appealed to me.

When I ETS’s out of the Army and I started to take classes not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life( even though I have always love computers) I remember seeing some math classes Calc I, Calc II, and Calc III. I did not understand really what kind of math classes they were, just that I had this instinctive desire to take them, and since then I have developed great love for math. Math is cool; thru math the universe is understandable and definable. Force = mass x acceleration. Even though I am older, I am still that kid that could hardly wait for the next month Spiderman comic book. I have decided to become an astrophysicist, that feels right.

I am always amazed every time I see this picture. The universe is wonderful, and terrifying at the same time.

Just who in the hell do these people think that they are? I thought Republican's stood for less government, less government intrusions in people's lives, more freedom from government, "NOT BIG BROTHER." It makes me not want to be a Repulican any more. Yea, that is what this country needs a DNA database to track law abiding citizens -- NOT!!!! Idiots.

Which country should you REALLY be living in? Australia G'day Mate! You're a yokker. A true Aussie. You love the beach and barbies, as well as sport and sex. Life couldn't get any simpler, and thats the way it should be. C'mon Aussie, C'mon!

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

The one who I love asked me the other day, "Why is it when get around other people and you are talking about Monty Python and the Holy Grail , everbody starts acting out the movie?" I do not know, but it is fun. "Come back here, it is only a flesh wound." I am saying this in a English accent. "What is your favorite color?" "Red, blue, green." Ahhhhhhhhhh. "We are the riders on Nee." "I'll gum you to death." I am going to have watch this movie again. See you later.

If it was not for WWII the America space program (NASA) might not be what is today, even though NASA seems to be without a vision and that sense of purpose that Apollo space missions gave NASA. It was during the closing of the WWII with the Americans closing from one side, and the Russians closing from the Eastern Front that Wernher von Braun had to make a decision for his rocket team. They decided that their future would be best with the Americans, so they buried all of their research notes, von Braun then set out to find the Americans while the rest of the team went underground so not to be discovered by the Russian Military. Braun then hooked up with the Americans, and once the US Military Intelligence understood who Braun was, they were brought back to the States where they continued their research in rocket flight. What I find fascinating is that the book that I read said that the Germans back in the 30's were planning a Mars mission, and here we are (2006) still debating a Mars trip even though Bush gave the mandate for NASA to go to Mars and return to the Moon.

If the Germans had won WWII, I wonder if Germany would have kept their initial plans and developed a rocket capable of making a trip to Mars, and then back to the Earth? What would NASA be like if after the Apollo missions they would have started research to develop a space ship to make the Mars trip, and what technologies would have been developed as a direct result of the Mars mission trip? I think that the space shuttles were necessary step in the evolution of space flight but we seemed to have stopped there. The shuttles are 20 to 30 years old and we should be developing new ships and new engines. I am sure that NASA has stuff on the drawing board (antimatter engines), but there seems to be no excitement in the news or the public at large for space flight. When the United States stopped the Apollo missions, I think a part of NASA died even though NASA continues space research and exploration.

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan

April Wine (myles goodwyn)Published by slalom publishing co. - bmi If you want to hear the song just scroll through till you see "Victim for your Love." I always thought this was the best song on the "Stand Back" album, even though the whole album is great.

So many times I’ve loved you
And now I don’t even know you
I’m just a victim for your love
And having my whole world fall down
And finding the strength to go on Cause
I’m just a victim for your love
And I’m not the one you’re thinkin’ of
I’m just a victim for your love

I thought our love was growin’ strong
Growing each day, well I was wrong
Then having my whole world fall down
And finding the strength to go on
Cause I’m just a victim for your love
And I’m not the one you’re thinkin’ of
I’m just a victim for your love
And I’m not the one you’re thinkin’ of, no

I’m just a man with a broken heart, oh no
I’m just a man with no place to start, oh yeah
I was a victim for your love

Don’t break my heart, don’t cause me pain
Comfort me love, hold back the rain, oh no
I’m just a man with a broken heart, oh no
I’m just a man with no place to start, oh yeah
I was a victim for your love, ooh
And I’m not the one you’re thinkin’ of
I’m just a victim for your love
And I’m not the one you’re thinkin’ of
I’m just a victim for your love

It still irritates me that they ( Hollywood ) took the book “Starship Troopers” and made a despicable movie out of it. I remember when I went to the movie theater with great anticipation to watch the movie, and then the let down feeling I had after the movie. The movie was just popcorn; it was watered down for the think less movie goers I guess. The book covers a wide range of topics like philosophy, and civic duty to one’s country, while being a great sci-fi story. Every time that I have read the book, I have always enjoyed reading it. That is one DVD that will NOT be in my collection.

I passed Calc III, and in the fall I will be taking Differential Equations. Yea me.

I have always been interested in words and their origins, and more particularly the origin of swear words. I have always wondered who decided which words were appropriate and which words were vulgar, and how did the meaning of the words travel the world. There is a book called "Dictionary of Word Origins" that explains how the words were derived, but does not explain why it was decided that the word was “bad.” I know that some words refer to bodily functions and it is that is what makes the word undesirable in public. I was surfing the web for the history of swearing and I came across an example what was considered swearing in 1914. There was a play in England and the phrase “Not bloody likely” was uttered, and this caused a national sensation across the nation. It was reported in news papers, “a few seconds of stunned disbelieving silence, and then hysterical laughter for at least a minute and a quarter," and other news papers had the headlines, “'THREATS BY DECENCY LEAGUE” and 'THEATER TO BE BOYCOTTED.” The Bishop of Woolwich state publicly that "The Word should be banned.” In today’s world speaking the phrase “not bloody likely” anywhere would not cause any commotion no matter where you where. So here it seems like the newspapers and the church became offended and created a swearing sensation across the nation. I am guessing 1000 years from now, all the words that we consider vulgar will be forgotten and replace with words that someone has decided that these words can not be spoken in public because they are swear words. Feldercarb.

Yo ho ho on a deadman's chest.

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Well if looks like Operation Mindcrime II is a dud. After reading all the reviews, and listening to the song bits on Amazon I will not be buying this cd. I was really looking forward to the new cd, because I though it was going be like Operation Mindcrime I, but better. Alas, it is not so, I will be staying with OM I.

I found this blog the other day Naked Villainyand discovered it was quite humorous. So I put it under my blog links.

Lift off from Sweden for space tourists.

I want to go:) I have always thought that I was born 100 or 200 years too early. If I was in the world of Star Trek, I would be an Astrophysicist( in Starfleet), travelling the universe.

NASA's newest space shuttle.

I am not a big fan of Sen. Bird, but I am less of a fan of Big Brother.

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy: Your propensity for monogamy is medium. In general, you prefer to have only one love interest. But it's hard for you to stay devoted for too long! There's too much eye candy to keep you from wandering. Experience Level: Your experience level is medium. You probably have had a couple significant loves. And you may have even had your heart broken. But you haven't really dated a wide variety of people. Dominance: Your dominance is low. This doesn't mean you're a doormat, just balanced. You know a relationship is not about getting your way. And you love to give your sweetie a lot of freedom. Cynicism: Your cynicism is low. You are an eternal optimist when it comes to love and romance. No matter how many times you've been hurt - you're never bitter. You believe in one true love, your perfect soulmate. And if you haven't found true love yet, you know you will soon. Independence: Your independence is medium. In relationships, you need both "me time" and "we time." You usually find it easy to be part of a couple. But occasionally you start to feel a little smothered.

The Five Variable Love Test

I watched the movie "The Nuremberg Trials" the other day on PBS, and I was struck with the parallel between what happen in Germany with the loss of civil rights for a certain segment of people and the Patriot Act taking away civil rights from people who we consider enemy combatants or other people who we consider enemies of the state. It seems to me that once the government starts down this road of denying civil rights to who ever in the name of national security, where does it stop, and who stops it. I am not willing to exchange my civil rights, and my right to freedom granted by the constitution, for security, because once you have lost your freedom to whatever government, you will not get it back, you will be living in a police state. I know that here in America we have the Separation of Powers that is to save guard our rights as Americans, but with the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that if a local city government can make money by redeveloping your property, thus making tax revenue go up, then it is all right. To me this ruling is in direct conflict with the 4th Amendment which states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

To my simple understanding of the 4th amendment, monetary gain for some city government is unreasonable, and should not be seized, but the great legal minds of the Supreme Court decided money for government and business was more important then my house and my happiness of where I decide to live. My point is that sometimes it seems like this separation of powers does not always protect my right as a citizen granted by the constitution.

So if our rights as citizens can be eroded in one area, where does it stop. We are a nation of laws, and our laws apply to whoever is in our sphere of influence even the enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay is the starting point by the federal government of eroding civil rights to who they deem as enemies foreign and domestic in the name of national security. Take for instance the case that was in Sacamento, California. In the end the government had no case and no evidence, so my question why were they arrested, and why were they convicted? why did the judge let this trial proceed? I believe this is just an example of the government overstepping and infringing on people's civil rights when there was no proof just, an assumption on the government’s part that they might do something even though the government does not know how to define that something. This is a slippery slope, our freedom and the Bill of Rights is suppose to protect us from our government , and like I said before I am not willing to trade my freedom and civil rights for security because if we do, then become our worst enemy.