Woke Up Drunk

Bathrooms, Toys, and PostSecrets

Brookicus — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:17:00 GMT

I'd like to talk about something that I absolutely cannot stand. It's when people (girls) follow me into the bathroom (the actual room, not into the stall) to TALK. I also can't stand it when I run into someone that I know in the bathroom and they want to talk. Or when I run into somebody that I don't know in the bathroom and they want to talk.

The bathroom is my alone time. It's my Me time. It's my I've-locked-myself-ALONE-in-a-walled-off-stall-for-a-reason time.
It's a time in my day when I like to focus on me and my needs. It's NOT a place where I like to have conversation. And, seriously, how long does it take to pee? You can't wait two minutes to continue the conversation? If you're afraid you'll forget, write it on your tampon.

One other thing that I just don't understand: people talking on their cellphones while they're in the bathroom. I don't understand the appeal.

In other news, if you still haven't finished all your Christmas shopping (or even started), here are a few ideas:

For those of you who still don't know what to get that nerd in your life for Christmas, here are a few top rated geek toys from Wired magazine:
-Ultrasone's amazing headphones ($1500)
-Empire Strikes Back robot ($130)
-Canon PowerShot G9 ($500)
-Slinky ($8)

And for the hard-to-shop-for special someone, why not a brand new CELLSENSOR EMF/GHOST METER?

As for me, I want a glow in the dark cat.

Also, I finally downloaded Firefox, just like a real nerd.
W00t!

Also, Aja Tiger is amazing and giggle-worthy (it's an iGoogle theme).

The PostSecrets this week are heart-breaking (and a little humorous), btw. I've posted some of my favorites below:

Future Residence

Brookicus — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:18:00 GMT

So... I'm thinking of moving to Taylorsville with this floorplan.

Any thoughts?

Also, when writing in, please be sure that you're addressing the correct department:

apartments

art

complaints

fitness

i.would.hit.that

photos

policies

questions

quotes

request2speak2supervisor

requests

schedule.something

site.issues

suggestions

thoughts

writing

@abtproductions.com

Giraffe

Brookicus — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:37:00 GMT

Giraffes are kinda cool. Not as grand as elephants, but pretty cool.

Some facts about giraffes:
- They have the same number of vertebrae (7) in their necks as humans do (each vertabrae is simply bigger).
- They communicate primarily on the infrasound level (means we can't hear them), so if you like girlfriends that can't be heard, you might want to look into your next one being a giraffe.
- Their tongues are prehensible (means they are adapted for grasping or holding).
- They only have to sleep an average of 1.9 hours a day.
- Males are predominately homosexual and females usually only engage in sexual behavior for reproductive purposes.
- Males fight each other with their necks.
- Only 25 to 50% of giraffes reach adult hood.
- Their hearts can grow to be over two feet long.
Also, you might find this hard to believe, but, giraffes have long necks.

Talking Point: "Prayer in School"

Brookicus — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:05:00 GMT

Here's the claim:

"If we brought back prayer in school, there would be less violence. We should stop catering to the atheists."

The first problem with this claim should be obvious (at least for anyone who didn't sleep through their Social Studies class in middle school):

Policies regarding religion in this country aren't designed to protect atheists, but other religious sects. The reason that religion can't be taught or practiced in public schools is because we would then have to decide which religion to teach. Whose beliefs would we favor over the others?
It has nothing to do with not wanting to offend atheists, but wanting to provide an equal opportunity for religious practice to all faiths.

Second, praying is not prohibited at school. At least, not at any school that I have ever attended. You might catch the occasional curious glance, but, if you're doing it on your own time (say at lunch, to bless your food), no school official is going to come by and tell you to stop.

Third, if you believe that prayer in school is the answer to violence in today's world, you need a serious refresher course in Violence Today, Yesterday AND ALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY. You may also want to look into having someone check your brain to make sure it isn't broken, just for good measure.

Because there are really too many examples of religious-inspired violence, let's take a step back and just throw out a few major examples for examination - starting with one of the greatest tragedies in modern American history.

- Was it not a devoutly religious organization that hijacked American planes and purposely crashed them into occupied buildings, killing thousands of innocent people under the pretense that they were serving God? Do you think that they prayed in school? Without a doubt. You know that they believed "in their hearts" that they were following the one true righteous path as much as (if not more) than any Christian, Jew, Buddhist or what have you, in this country. But, they had the right idea with the praying in school part.

- Have we all forgotten that the contant fighting and bombing going on in Iraq is due, in large part, because of the struggle between two groups divided by religious beliefs held so strong that it drives them to kill their neighbors for having a different faith?

If you believe that it's only the Islamic faith that can inspire this sort of violence, and that Christianity is immune to killing otherwise innocent people (besides the not being Christian part), then you should consider retaking European History 101.

Read: The Spanish Inquisition.

For over 300 years, Christians reigned hell on any one who didn't agree to convert, or wasn't already a part of their religion. More specifically, Catholics thought it appropriate to torture and kill any person who was not also Catholic.

During this time, people accused of heresy were subject to jailing, torture, whipping, exile, and execution as punishement for not following the Catholic church. For those who were schooled, prayer was undoubtedly the most important part of their education.

For more information about the Spanish Inquisition, follow one of the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_inquisition#Other_offenses
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/history/inquisition.asp
http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/margin/heresy.htm

For more information regarding other acts of violence committed in the name of religion, drop by your local bookstore and pick up any reputable history book.

There also seems to be a rumor circulating the internet that there is more violence today than in the past (purportedly because of the lack of prayer in school).
I don't mean to start getting redundant, but I find it fascinating what a poor understanding of history people seem to poses.
In societies past, people would gather in the town square to watch a hanging, or a witch burn. Fighting on school grounds has become increasingly intollerable. Kids used to get their hands slapped with rulers for minor infractions, but it makes us squeamish these days to even discuss whether or not parents should be allowed to spank children.
The world isn't getting more violent, we're getting more sensitive to it. We are also much more aware of any violence that takes place around the world than we have ever been.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't pray, or be allowed to pray, I just don't think that the "problem with this country" is the absense of prayer in school.

Elephants

Brookicus — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:55:00 GMT

Elephants are pretty amazing.

Here are a few reasons why:
-They are self-aware. Just like people. This quality has only represented itself in humans, apes and bottle-nose dolphins. (And elephants).
-They have matriarch-led social networks (as opposed to those led by a patriarch).
-They bury their dead (with branches).
-They tend to devote 45% of their sexual activity to other elephants of the same gender. :-O
-They sometimes 'listen' by putting their trunks to the ground.

A few other facts:
-Gestation often takes up to 22 months. (>.< So glad I'm not an elephant).
-Their hearing receptors are located not only in their ears, but also in their trunks.
-The word 'innervated' can be used to describe their trunks and feet. Innervated.
-There are three different species of elephant. Two of which are commonly referred to as the African elephant.
-Cross breeding African elephants and Asian elephants is generally a bad idea.
-Asian elephants have more toes than African elephants.
-They can't trot, jump, or gallop.
-They are really big.

Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephants#Intelligence