Wisdom Teeth

This video reminded me of when I got my wisdom teeth taken out and if it is something you have not experienced before, it really is a trip. Being "out of it" is a huge understatement. Unfortunately I didn't have anyone video tape me in my state of inebriation. It is a wild rush of uncontrollable emotions so hopefully you are around people you love so that you can at least enjoy your mind numbness. Anyway I barely remembered what happened during it so I really don't have any more details. It is hard to describe.

What is really crazy is how there are so many drugs in this world and somehow going to the dentist and getting your "medicine" is okay. Well thanks, America. The one time you get your wisdom teeth removed is totally worth it, plus you have less chance of getting cavities if you have less teeth right? Unfortunately most "medicines" are really just the addiction without the pleasure. Remember when you were in middle school and they had that drug talk with you to "just say no"? Well they left out the part where the pharmacy aisle in the grocery store also contains all drugs. I am not saying that I have never been down this aisle with a broken bone hoping Advil is on sale but it makes me think that right and wrong are clearly skewed when some drugs are called medicine and others are called crimes. The fact of the matter is that everyone needs drugs at some point in their life. You wouldn't want someone to have surgery without drugs right? You wouldn't want someone to suffer extra pain that could be numbed right? But who decides what does the numbing? As long as it can make money and can be controlled by the government, then it can be called medicine and it can be sold or administered legally. So if the USA is supposed to be a "free" country then why can't I decide what does the numbing? How many celebrities have died because of medicine overdose? Is it really any better or any worse?

Anyway the video is pretty entertaining as most people are after they get their wisdom teeth removed. Just think of it as one freebie in your life where you really get to go all out with the drugs... or medicine, I mean medicine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig-pZ4OyidY&playnext=1&videos=9YrV7_WZPWM&feature=mfu_in_order

Andrew Shirvell

This guy really needs to go on Stephen Colbert's show. He would get nailed (as Colbert would say)! I just can't believe how this guy, as a state official, can behave in this manner. I understand the whole conservative christian viewpoint and have seen a lot of prejudice against gays in this country as a whole. Many states are still fighting for simple rights like marriage. But does this really justify this man's behavior? He says that it is his "first amendment right" but to me, it sounds like name calling and straight out bigotry. His boss doesn't even want anything to do with it. He just pushes it aside just like he will probably do to Andrew's yearly review. I will just shake my head in disgust. Anderson Cooper from CNN pretty much says it all in the way he conducts this interview but I have a few questions for Andrew himself.

Do you think that a state official should ever conduct him or herself in this manner on or off hours? Does freedom of speech make it okay to insult someone publicly and accuse them to be a Nazi or Satan's representative? Does protesting include insults or just a way to express your opinion? Do you feel that engaging in an online campaign against a student is the right path for a state official? What do you expect to gain from your blog? Do you think that anyone believes your bullshit? Do you understand what being a representative of the state entails and what kind of impact you may have by your behavior regardless of if it is during your work hours? Lastly, do you expect to keep your job for much longer?

And now please watch Anderson Cooper smack this man down. Warning: you will feel an awkward and uncomfortable feeling while viewing.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/28/michigan.justice.blog/index.html

Dark Patterns

This is my new favorite website. I know, you are probably thinking I say that a lot but this website explains many examples of user interfaces that are designed purposely to trick you into something you do not want to do. They call it a Dark Pattern. I am sure you have been stuck once or twice subscribing for something online unintentionally or finding it much more difficult to unsubscribe. Possibly you tried to buy something for a seemingly low cost only to find out later there were extra charges and/or extras you didn't want to buy in the first place. Social networking itself has become a huge spam box for your friends to unintentionally advertise something. It has also become a huge chore to keep what you want private, actually private. Some of these things you may have noticed or not but it just does not seem right.

This brings me to the question, where can we draw the line on what is right or wrong on the Internet? It is a land of almost complete freedom and there isn't much to enforce any website to stop trying to trick you into buying, subscribing, advertising, or revealing information that you never intended to. It is almost as bad as airlines trying to nickel and dime you for every second of your flying experience. Just give me a break already! I have to read the fine print before clicking on anything. Someone needs to create a browser that highlights these dark patterns as you browse the web. Unfortunately I think that would make your browsing experience a complete mess of clutter. I am usually not a fan of more rules and more enforcement on our freedoms, but there has to be some solution for this. I remember when Facebook was considered to be a good example of structure and well designed user interface. Now they might as well team up with MySpace and give your privacy and user experience a beat down.

http://darkpatterns.org/

Electronic Cigarettes

Electronic Cigarettes, or E-Cigarettes, are battery power devices that heat a liquid solution into vapor. Wow. I am at a complete loss for words to explain this invention. This means that you can smoke without the smoke. The liquid solution could include nicotine or not, but there is no tobacco. There is no need for a lighter and you do not need to ash or dispose of anything while smoking an e-cigarette.

This has sparked a fury of discussions on whether or not this device is safe, liked or disliked, legal, or even if it is considered "cool". Since it does not produce smoke should it be allowed in places where you cannot smoke legally? Can you use it on an airplane? Can you use it in a restaurant? It certainly isn't a fire hazard. There are questions on whether there should be an age to purchase although most articles I have read fit into the over 18 category. Legally, is it the same as smoking if you use it without nicotine? Many electronic cigarettes look close to real cigarettes and the vapor it produces does give the appearance of smoke. I am thinking that you will definitely draw some attention if it is illegal to smoke in a particular location. In fact, it has been used as a replacement for smoke producing cigarettes in the theatre.

So is it actually healthy? It doesn't contain tobacco, smoke, or any of the thousands of chemicals that regular cigarettes contain, but it still contains nicotine. Nicotine is addictive and not particularly good for your body. But these e-cigarette producers are also selling liquid solutions that do not contain nicotine. So does that mean that I would be smoking odorless, colorless, water vapor? Is there any point to that? I suppose for some, it is actually the act of smoking that is enjoyable and not the drug. The FDA doesn't have much to say about it yet but they seem to prefer to try and ban everything until they have tested it enough. Also there are comments and criticisms that say that the government wouldn't want to let it be widely sold unless they could tax it in some way. New Jersey has gone as far as banning it completely wherever normal smoking laws are enforced and many airlines have not supported the use of them on flights.

But can we even call it smoking? It seems more like vaporizing to me. It is vaporizing. Take a flavored liquid, add some nicotine or don't, and filter it to odorless nothing. Sounds way better than smoking to me. The main reason why I never really cared when the smoking laws went into effect in restaurants and bars was because I didn't care for the odor. Without the odor, it is already 100 times better. The rest, to me, seems like propaganda and very wise sales people. E-Cigarette companies have said you can smoke it anywhere or that it can be used to quit smoking (tobacco cigarettes) or that it is cheaper and healthier. I definitely think it is an interesting product none the less but I don't know if I believe all that. I wouldn't recommend buying it because they say it is more acceptable when there are still a lot of social and legal discussions going on. This might fall into the category of "try it once just for kicks" for me.

Post a comment, email, facebook, twitter me if you have any opinions or related content to point me to because this seems like it warrants a discussion. I have only just chipped the iceberg with this one.

If you have no idea what I am talking about Google it or at least read the below article to get started.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/20/e-cigarettes-the-good-the-bad-the-smoky/

McAfee: So That's What You're Doing

Apparently McAfee has a report entitled "McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities" where they list out which celebrities pose the biggest threat when searching for them on the web. Cameron Diaz is now the most dangerous according to McAfee.

Well, I hope they didn't spend too much money on this, because it would be a lot more helpful if they came up with software that actually protected us from threats instead of this useless information. Thanks McAfee, I'll be sure to cut down my Cameron Diaz searches this year.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/19/cameron-diaz-now-more-dangerous-than-jessica-biel/

Airlines Lower The Bar Again

I hate airlines. I hate airlines. I hate airlines. I can't say it enough. Airlines have seats that don't recline. Airlines charge money for bags. Airlines charge extra to sit close to the front. What else can they take away? This is absolutely terrible and considering there isn't much great about any airline experience I've had so far this just makes me cringe. It is no wonder I have so many miles on my car.

http://www.doobybrain.com/2010/09/11/skyrider-airline-seats-will-give-you-only-23-inches-of-space/

Miracles

I think this counts as proof that anyone can do anything in this world. I am referring to the music video, Miracles, by the Insane Clown Posse. Over the years they have done plenty of ridiculous stuff and are actually still really popular. That is the only reasoning I can make as to why this video would even get produced by anyone. The quality of this video is YouTube at best. But somewhere down the line, someone listened to this song and said, "Yes this can make money. I will produce it!" And that is what gets me. Like spell check exists, a producer should have stupidity check before things like this get released.

Miracles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-agl0pOQfs

And of course, SNL can't miss this one. ICP actually thinks it is hilarious too!

SNL's version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbdomlBnJM