Today I work until 22:00 and tomorrow until 23:oo. But the good news is that after that next week should be great. Two days off and three days only working until 17:00. Tonight, however, is the time my parents arrive. They've been down at my brother's place in Tennessee for a couple weeks and now they're coming up to Kentucky to visit for a couple weeks. It will be great to see them. In college I came home every few months, but I've not seen them in over a year at this time.
~Matt
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Indonesia Earthquake
You'll have to click on the screenshot to see greater detail and to make sense of what I'm saying (if you're in Firefox just open it in a new tab). I woke up this morning (after falling asleep early last night) and looked at the news section of my Google toolbar. I immediately noticed that there had apparently been a large earthquake in Indonesia. It wasn't until I looked a bit closer that I saw the whole story.As is normal with disasters such as this (look at the 2004 Tsunami or Hurrican Katrina--though thankfully numbers went down with the latter) initial reports are almost always incomplete, especially in countries closer to Third World status.
Sidenote: These terms are holdovers from the Cold War. First World refers to the anti-communist Western allies such as the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, etc... Second World refers to the Soviet Union and its allies and satellites. The Third World are all of the other nations of the world, usually impoverished and battlegrounds in the Cold War.The initial reports from 11 hours ago say 15 dead with hundreds wounded. By nine hours ago another news source was reporting 50 dead. Not a huge jump and not as big of a disaster as is now apparent. Especially with the recent Tsunami death toll this must not seem like a great deal in Indonesia. But, the numbers were nowhere near complete.
As of five hours ago estimates had jumped to 1,300 dead. Finally the death toll now stands at 2,700. I'm sure that it will probably rise from there as the bodies are counted (and this time there shouldn't be too many missing as there were none washed out to sea).
It is at times like this that we can bemoan what sin has brought to this world. Yes, people die every day and many more than this. However, they are not concentrated in one place, are thus ignored by the media, and so we seldom think about it. We don't think about the thousands of babies murdered in China (or even the United States), or the hundreds dying of starvation in Africa, or dying in genocidal campaigns in the Sudan.
When God created the world, "it was good." There was no sin, no disease, no suffering. It is the legacy of Adam and Eve that we now live in this cursed world of sin and suffering. But God is so glorious, for one day he will burn away all sin and create a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no sin, no suffering, no crying. 'Tis truly a great day to look forward to, and every day like this should remind me that something better lies ahead.
~Matt
Lost (spoilers) Quarters
Well yesterday at work I couldn't stop thinking about the finale of Lost. Just as it did last season I was engrossed the entire way through, though several times I looked down at my watch because we had seen so much I figured that it must be the end--but it never was. Yes there are many jarring parts about the show, especially how many main characters have died or disappeared. However, I believe that this truly is one of the strengths of the show. Besides the biggest of the main characters the show isn't completely dependent on the cast (and now with the big three of Kate, Jack, and Sawyer captured who knows what is next?). Characters aren't killed off or written out because they want to leave but because the producers believe that is the direction the story needs to go.
Authors can and sometimes do do this--perhaps not as often as would be refreshing (for they maintain popular characters)--kill of actors to satisfy the plot over love for characters; but most television shows are built around the main characters. We don't have much suspense because the main characters always live--unless they don't, and we know becuase the actor/actress usually blabs beforehand, or some media outlet reports the news. Before you can say "Jack-be-nimble" the news is all over and you can't avoid it even if you try your darndest. On Lost though, four main characters have been killed, two are missing (dead?), and two have left the island.
Besides all of the convoluted connections between each of the characters (and I only keep them straight by referring to Wikipedia pages after the shows air) this show reminds me of life. The characters are real, and the writers feel free to poke fun at themselves or address seemingly obvious dilemas that fans have questioned. Oh, and as much as I love Star Trek I'm quite glad there aren't any redshirts around! ;-)
Well that was all of the good news, now for the quite bad. Some *insert rude unprintable descriptive language here* person at the corporate offices have declared in their infinite wisdom that the quarter devices need to be removed from all carts at bigg's. We have no idea why this idea is being implemented. Yes, I will miss my quarter money dearly (though I won't miss seeing the old guy who comes in to loot the carts each day), but there is more to this than that.
Once before this store removed the quarter locks because customers were complaining about frozen locks in the dead of winter. Pretty soon they were complaining even louder that the locks were gone--so they came back and have been on the carts since. The customers (except for a couple grumpy out-of-staters who are too impatient) like the system. It does serve to keep the lot remarkably clear of carts (even when we can't get out right away to pull carts in) and makes our job easier as people return their carts to the cart corrals. Furthermore removing this system will make it much more difficult to bring carts in. No longer will we be able to pull in rows by hand--without them being hooked together this will be sadly impossible. We will have to use the mechanical cart caddy or work in pairs.
I am a supervisor at the museum, and I am a grunt at bigg's. I know how both ends of the spectrum work. I've seen stupid bosses and stupid employees--and dealt with both. However, I would really like to kick that *more unprintable descriptive language here* out of his corporate office and bring him down to my store. I'd then shove him out into the lot for a few days, then take off all of the quarter locks and see how he reacts--I think he might change his tone quite quickly.
Needless to stay I'm not going to be too happy at bigg's in the future. I've even less reason to stick around than I did in the past. I need to get even more serious about searching for a better job than I have been. Additionally I'm going to hold on to my May quarters for now until I figure out what I'm going to do. I might save them for going camping later this summer, or I might just spend them after all.
~Matt
PS I fell asleep when I was almost done with this. It should have been posted within a few mintues of the Lewis and Clark post, but ended up waiting until I woke back up a couple minutes ago and finished the typing.
Authors can and sometimes do do this--perhaps not as often as would be refreshing (for they maintain popular characters)--kill of actors to satisfy the plot over love for characters; but most television shows are built around the main characters. We don't have much suspense because the main characters always live--unless they don't, and we know becuase the actor/actress usually blabs beforehand, or some media outlet reports the news. Before you can say "Jack-be-nimble" the news is all over and you can't avoid it even if you try your darndest. On Lost though, four main characters have been killed, two are missing (dead?), and two have left the island.
Besides all of the convoluted connections between each of the characters (and I only keep them straight by referring to Wikipedia pages after the shows air) this show reminds me of life. The characters are real, and the writers feel free to poke fun at themselves or address seemingly obvious dilemas that fans have questioned. Oh, and as much as I love Star Trek I'm quite glad there aren't any redshirts around! ;-)
Well that was all of the good news, now for the quite bad. Some *insert rude unprintable descriptive language here* person at the corporate offices have declared in their infinite wisdom that the quarter devices need to be removed from all carts at bigg's. We have no idea why this idea is being implemented. Yes, I will miss my quarter money dearly (though I won't miss seeing the old guy who comes in to loot the carts each day), but there is more to this than that.
Once before this store removed the quarter locks because customers were complaining about frozen locks in the dead of winter. Pretty soon they were complaining even louder that the locks were gone--so they came back and have been on the carts since. The customers (except for a couple grumpy out-of-staters who are too impatient) like the system. It does serve to keep the lot remarkably clear of carts (even when we can't get out right away to pull carts in) and makes our job easier as people return their carts to the cart corrals. Furthermore removing this system will make it much more difficult to bring carts in. No longer will we be able to pull in rows by hand--without them being hooked together this will be sadly impossible. We will have to use the mechanical cart caddy or work in pairs.
I am a supervisor at the museum, and I am a grunt at bigg's. I know how both ends of the spectrum work. I've seen stupid bosses and stupid employees--and dealt with both. However, I would really like to kick that *more unprintable descriptive language here* out of his corporate office and bring him down to my store. I'd then shove him out into the lot for a few days, then take off all of the quarter locks and see how he reacts--I think he might change his tone quite quickly.
Needless to stay I'm not going to be too happy at bigg's in the future. I've even less reason to stick around than I did in the past. I need to get even more serious about searching for a better job than I have been. Additionally I'm going to hold on to my May quarters for now until I figure out what I'm going to do. I might save them for going camping later this summer, or I might just spend them after all.
~Matt
PS I fell asleep when I was almost done with this. It should have been posted within a few mintues of the Lewis and Clark post, but ended up waiting until I woke back up a couple minutes ago and finished the typing.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Lewis and Clark
If you can catch this on IMAX then you need to! I just saw this tonight at the museum 
and it was spectacular. It features a reenactment of the famous expedition
along with superb narration by Jeff Bridges (brother of Beau Bridges). Most of the film is covered by the narration, with little spoken dialogue from the characters--it does not suffer for this however.
The narration is historical, but remains true to the 1800s. It doesn't make modern comparisons (except to say "at the site of present ________, South Dakota/Montana/etc...") and remains engaging. The music is inspiring and always an excellent accompaniment to the action on the screen. And on the screen, wow...
Yes, I've traveled through much of the American west--and up into the Canadian Rockies. However, I have not managed to see all of the spectacular sights you will glimpse in this movie. Think of the breathtaking panoramic shots of characters in the first Narnia and first Lord of the Rings movies--now multiply those scenes by ten and you'll come close to what is in this film.
Yes, it is an IMAX film, so it is only about forty-five minutes long, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of those minutes. If you cannot see this in IMAX, then try to find it at the library or elsewhere. If you're at all interested in history and enjoy great scenery then you cannot help but enjoy this. At this moment I believe that this is truly the best IMAX production that I've seen.
~Matt
and it was spectacular. It features a reenactment of the famous expeditionalong with superb narration by Jeff Bridges (brother of Beau Bridges). Most of the film is covered by the narration, with little spoken dialogue from the characters--it does not suffer for this however.
The narration is historical, but remains true to the 1800s. It doesn't make modern comparisons (except to say "at the site of present ________, South Dakota/Montana/etc...") and remains engaging. The music is inspiring and always an excellent accompaniment to the action on the screen. And on the screen, wow...
Yes, I've traveled through much of the American west--and up into the Canadian Rockies. However, I have not managed to see all of the spectacular sights you will glimpse in this movie. Think of the breathtaking panoramic shots of characters in the first Narnia and first Lord of the Rings movies--now multiply those scenes by ten and you'll come close to what is in this film.
Yes, it is an IMAX film, so it is only about forty-five minutes long, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of those minutes. If you cannot see this in IMAX, then try to find it at the library or elsewhere. If you're at all interested in history and enjoy great scenery then you cannot help but enjoy this. At this moment I believe that this is truly the best IMAX production that I've seen.
~Matt
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Longe Time Gone
I won't be home much of the day today. I work 09:00-17:00 at bigg's, then I leave immediately from there to the Museum where I work until 23:00. It should be a long day as a result, but I'm off tomorrow until the late afternoon when I go into the museum again. On a positive note it is almost that time of the month where I cash in my quarters! :-)
~Matt
~Matt
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
A Good Day (no spoilers)
Overall today wasn't bad at all. Sure I was at work for eight hours, but I pretty much got done what needed to get done and I got some good exercise in. I wish there was a way to compare what my arm and/or other muscle strength is now compared to three months ago before I started this job. I know that I've definately lost weight. Though college I weighed about 180-190 lbs. Now I'm about 160, and I know it didn't happen before this job. Pants that fit me perhaps a bit snugly a while ago, but still well enough are now quite loose. At one time I was wearing 36, now I think 32s are in order--because most of my pants that are now loose are 34. I'm not obesessing over the weight or anything, but 'tis nice to know that I'm healthier now. That is the one good aspect of this job--exercise that I normally wouldn't go out and seek on my own.
Well I came home to find that my book had arrived. Which book? I'm glad you asked. Schlock Mercenary: Under New Management. I must apologize though, the Amazon page doesn't have much really. I would link to the order page on the main Schlock site, but alas orders aren't being accepted yet. I preordered my book and as a result it was signed! :-) But you can't make regular orders yet--I'm not sure when, but it might not be until all of the preorders have been shipped, including the sketch editions. I headed down to the library after work and read the book. Sure I'd read them before, but it was still great! There was some new content, plus it was printed on glossy pages in beautiful crystal clear colour. Ahhh... 'Tis a sight to behold. I'll definately be ordering the next book when it comes out.
My only complaint is that the book starts in 2003, while the strip started in 2000. The artist (Howard Taylor) believes that before that date his art was truly horrible. I'll definately admit that it isn't nearly as good as it is now--he has greatly improved over the years. However, the storylines were still awesome, regardless of artistic quality. You can't beat the opening strip for impact! Click on that one link if not any others, please? Well at the point at which the book starts (if I recall correctly) Howard basically reset the strip in some ways. He didn't restart the storyline, but he included many recaps and other devices to make the previous sections superficially unnecessary. *shrugs* I'm just a story nut. I want to someday have all of Schlock printed and bound for my reading pleasure. Hopefully eventually Howard will agree. :)
Then tonight after I came back from the library I watched the two hour season finale of Lost. Yet again I was amazed. I was left with many moments of "ohhh!" and "wow!" I did recognize a couple of the actors from prior appearances, but one actress I think I must have seen in another show because she doesn't show up online as having guest starred on Lost before. But great acting from all concerned.
There were also many, many questions. I am continually amazed at how the producers steer this show onward (as of the finale it has been about 65 days since the plane crash in the pilot episode) and it changes, yet it remains intriguing. I'll definately admit that they could have kept to the somewhat simple survivors of a plane crash motif of season one and it could have become stale. Or they could have gone too crazy and totally changed the show. It has definately changed, never stagnated, and yet remained fascinating and utterly addicting! I can't wait for season three, but I must. I definately won't preorder the season this time as I'll just have to wait for it to arrive. I'll just save my money and go buy it once it comes out. Perhaps with a coupon at Borders...*shrugs* We'll see.
~Matt
PS Well great news on the Schlock front. I might have missed something, but this book won't be the first forever! Here is the post if you're interested.
Well I came home to find that my book had arrived. Which book? I'm glad you asked. Schlock Mercenary: Under New Management. I must apologize though, the Amazon page doesn't have much really. I would link to the order page on the main Schlock site, but alas orders aren't being accepted yet. I preordered my book and as a result it was signed! :-) But you can't make regular orders yet--I'm not sure when, but it might not be until all of the preorders have been shipped, including the sketch editions. I headed down to the library after work and read the book. Sure I'd read them before, but it was still great! There was some new content, plus it was printed on glossy pages in beautiful crystal clear colour. Ahhh... 'Tis a sight to behold. I'll definately be ordering the next book when it comes out.
My only complaint is that the book starts in 2003, while the strip started in 2000. The artist (Howard Taylor) believes that before that date his art was truly horrible. I'll definately admit that it isn't nearly as good as it is now--he has greatly improved over the years. However, the storylines were still awesome, regardless of artistic quality. You can't beat the opening strip for impact! Click on that one link if not any others, please? Well at the point at which the book starts (if I recall correctly) Howard basically reset the strip in some ways. He didn't restart the storyline, but he included many recaps and other devices to make the previous sections superficially unnecessary. *shrugs* I'm just a story nut. I want to someday have all of Schlock printed and bound for my reading pleasure. Hopefully eventually Howard will agree. :)
Then tonight after I came back from the library I watched the two hour season finale of Lost. Yet again I was amazed. I was left with many moments of "ohhh!" and "wow!" I did recognize a couple of the actors from prior appearances, but one actress I think I must have seen in another show because she doesn't show up online as having guest starred on Lost before. But great acting from all concerned.
There were also many, many questions. I am continually amazed at how the producers steer this show onward (as of the finale it has been about 65 days since the plane crash in the pilot episode) and it changes, yet it remains intriguing. I'll definately admit that they could have kept to the somewhat simple survivors of a plane crash motif of season one and it could have become stale. Or they could have gone too crazy and totally changed the show. It has definately changed, never stagnated, and yet remained fascinating and utterly addicting! I can't wait for season three, but I must. I definately won't preorder the season this time as I'll just have to wait for it to arrive. I'll just save my money and go buy it once it comes out. Perhaps with a coupon at Borders...*shrugs* We'll see.
~Matt
PS Well great news on the Schlock front. I might have missed something, but this book won't be the first forever! Here is the post if you're interested.
Q: Will you ever put the first 1000 strips in print?
A: Absolutely. Pending the success of Schlock Mercenary: The Blackness Between (the book we plan to ship in November 2006), I’ll start work on Schlock Mercenary: Step Away From The Tub of Happiness sometime in January of 2007. That volume and its companion (currently untitled) will be much larger than the current books. Hopefully by November of 2007 we’ll have all 1000 early strips packed into two books. I don’t know what the price will be yet, and I’m not going to pre-announce anything else about this project until I’ve got a solid handle on SM:TBB.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Sunset
Yeah, I was a bit late getting up this morning. I didn't sleep in too late, but more than I like to. I had to rush a bit more than is normal, and I wasn't able to read my comics or webcomics as I normally would.
The day didn't go that badly at work though, rather well in fact. Sometimes it seemed to speed past actually. The best part was at the end of the day. It was quite nice to walk out to my car in the light. I haven't been working extra late shifts lately--but I just appreciated going home before the sun set tonight.
~Matt
The day didn't go that badly at work though, rather well in fact. Sometimes it seemed to speed past actually. The best part was at the end of the day. It was quite nice to walk out to my car in the light. I haven't been working extra late shifts lately--but I just appreciated going home before the sun set tonight.
~Matt
Guten morgen
Yes, this is morning. No the cock hasn't crowed yet, but 'tis after midnight. Technically that is all that counts--naysaers like Chris aside (who insists it isn't morning until you wake up). I find myself staying up late because I want several hours to relax after coming home from work--like a normal evening. But to do that I have to stay up late. This works okay because I don't go in early later today so I can sleep in a bit--but not too much or I won't have time for anything before work. If anyone is reading this soon after I post it then, good morning! Buenos dias!
~Matt
~Matt
Monday, May 22, 2006
The Spanish American War
Today I had an idea for a short story, but I'm forcing myself not to think about it. I have a science-fiction short story in the works--technically the third in my sci-fi universe, but if I can get writing it and finish it, hopefully it will be the first finished that I'm satisfied with. The first was produced in high school and essentially created my universe. The second was written in college and based off a series of short segments (one to two sentences) that I randomly wrote and selected. I enjoy it, but I need to extensively polish it. Anyway, I'm trying to force myself to work on Tassia's Story to the exclusion of other projects, so I'm going to limit myself to blogging about this new idea instead of working on it right now.
I've always been fascinated by American history, but especially the various wars in our past. Like it or not wars are a natural part of the (fallen) human condition. Man always fights wars--there is no utopia where men are always peaceful (unless they're brain dead). My favourite genres are science-fiction and fantasy. I define science-fiction as taking place in a future extrapolated from the real world and usually involving superior technology (sometimes technological regression is involved, but usually starting from a tech base more advanced than today). Fantasy takes place in a completely fictional world, most often includes magic, and may contain races coequal with humanity (i.e. not aliens from another world). There are some universes that don't quite work. Terry Brooks technically wrote science-fiction with Shannara since it is in our future--but aside from that one fact it is pure fantasy.
In the course of writing fantasy I like to keep a low tech base--what was available in ancient and/or medieval times. However, I will borrow from around the world and occasionally from upstream in the timeline, if I can justify the development at an earlier time in this new timeline. The cooperative fantasy universe I've developed with Miah has Elves, which I control. One segment of the Elves resemble Europeans in some ways, and they have kingdoms next to a place of religious significanace, like the crusader kingdoms in medieval Palestine.
However, today I had another thought, primarily because the old books I've been reading lately (like America Across the Seas) were written in the aftermath of the Spanish American War. What if I had two medieval/fantasy kingdoms (others are around--I don't especially like worlds that are too simplistic--look at medieval Europe and the dozens upon dozens of principalities). One is a young kingdom (no republics or democracies hereabouts) with heavy reliance on trade--the other is a declining empire that depended on conquest to maintain its opulence. (Yes, America and Spain, different.) For whatever reason (a problem with a ship similar to the Maine incident in Havana?) the two nations go to war and the younger kingdom is victorious. As a result the kingdom takes control of various colonial possessions. This is all fairly straightforward--basically what actually happened in real history.
But here comes the twist. How would a medieval nation treat natives such as Native Americans or Caribbean Natives? Then after they had colonized the lands of these natives how would another kingdom act when it came in? We know that the Vikings were driven out of North America by the Indian tribes--and the Vikings weren't poor fighters. Obviously I'm proposing that the kingdoms in question have more resources than the Vikings did, and better access to their home countries. However, there would be much less of a technological advantage than even that which Cortes had over the Aztecs.
I'm not sure how to approach this topic, or what would happen in such a story. But I'm going to throw the idea out there in case anybody wants to drop me a reply. If not I'll still be happy though--just because this is here I might be inspired to revisit this idea in the future.
~Matt
I've always been fascinated by American history, but especially the various wars in our past. Like it or not wars are a natural part of the (fallen) human condition. Man always fights wars--there is no utopia where men are always peaceful (unless they're brain dead). My favourite genres are science-fiction and fantasy. I define science-fiction as taking place in a future extrapolated from the real world and usually involving superior technology (sometimes technological regression is involved, but usually starting from a tech base more advanced than today). Fantasy takes place in a completely fictional world, most often includes magic, and may contain races coequal with humanity (i.e. not aliens from another world). There are some universes that don't quite work. Terry Brooks technically wrote science-fiction with Shannara since it is in our future--but aside from that one fact it is pure fantasy.
In the course of writing fantasy I like to keep a low tech base--what was available in ancient and/or medieval times. However, I will borrow from around the world and occasionally from upstream in the timeline, if I can justify the development at an earlier time in this new timeline. The cooperative fantasy universe I've developed with Miah has Elves, which I control. One segment of the Elves resemble Europeans in some ways, and they have kingdoms next to a place of religious significanace, like the crusader kingdoms in medieval Palestine.
However, today I had another thought, primarily because the old books I've been reading lately (like America Across the Seas) were written in the aftermath of the Spanish American War. What if I had two medieval/fantasy kingdoms (others are around--I don't especially like worlds that are too simplistic--look at medieval Europe and the dozens upon dozens of principalities). One is a young kingdom (no republics or democracies hereabouts) with heavy reliance on trade--the other is a declining empire that depended on conquest to maintain its opulence. (Yes, America and Spain, different.) For whatever reason (a problem with a ship similar to the Maine incident in Havana?) the two nations go to war and the younger kingdom is victorious. As a result the kingdom takes control of various colonial possessions. This is all fairly straightforward--basically what actually happened in real history.
But here comes the twist. How would a medieval nation treat natives such as Native Americans or Caribbean Natives? Then after they had colonized the lands of these natives how would another kingdom act when it came in? We know that the Vikings were driven out of North America by the Indian tribes--and the Vikings weren't poor fighters. Obviously I'm proposing that the kingdoms in question have more resources than the Vikings did, and better access to their home countries. However, there would be much less of a technological advantage than even that which Cortes had over the Aztecs.
I'm not sure how to approach this topic, or what would happen in such a story. But I'm going to throw the idea out there in case anybody wants to drop me a reply. If not I'll still be happy though--just because this is here I might be inspired to revisit this idea in the future.
~Matt
World Factbook
Well I'm off on a history/geography kick lately, and it shows no signs of abating, thankfully! Today I discovered that the CIA had recently (April 5th, but I don't check their site frequently) updated their World Factbook with its 2006 edition. I'm not sure when I first came across this wonderful resource, but it might have been as far back as 2000 when I was just starting college.
The factbook is excellent. Whatever you might think of the CIA regarding their intelligence gathering abilities or tendency to leak information this is still something good that they do. From what I understand the World Factbook was originally produced for government employees to provide a simple one-stop shopping experience for information about countries around the globe. You won't find much exposition here, but many, many detailed statistics from each and every country around the world.
Best of all the information is electronic so it can be updated several times a year without the expense of a new printing. I've been downloading each new version as it is released for several years now--I actually keep them all on my hard drive so that I can compare them if I want to (somewhat like my hobby of collecting old atlases).
Since this information is produced by a government agency it is not under copywright restrictions. Thus if you cruise through Wikipedia much you may notice that many of the information in country profiles there comes from the World Factbook.
Here is a sample from the article on Guernsey, one of the channel islands belonging to Great Britain. Small entries like this that deserve to be separate from the main country but aren't actually independent are often included in the factbook. I've only included some isolated selections from the entire page.
~Matt
The factbook is excellent. Whatever you might think of the CIA regarding their intelligence gathering abilities or tendency to leak information this is still something good that they do. From what I understand the World Factbook was originally produced for government employees to provide a simple one-stop shopping experience for information about countries around the globe. You won't find much exposition here, but many, many detailed statistics from each and every country around the world.
Best of all the information is electronic so it can be updated several times a year without the expense of a new printing. I've been downloading each new version as it is released for several years now--I actually keep them all on my hard drive so that I can compare them if I want to (somewhat like my hobby of collecting old atlases).Since this information is produced by a government agency it is not under copywright restrictions. Thus if you cruise through Wikipedia much you may notice that many of the information in country profiles there comes from the World Factbook.
Here is a sample from the article on Guernsey, one of the channel islands belonging to Great Britain. Small entries like this that deserve to be separate from the main country but aren't actually independent are often included in the factbook. I've only included some isolated selections from the entire page.
Background:You can learn what drives the economies of various nations, how many television stations they have, what religions/languages are prevalent, how big their militaries could be, and many other fun things. It was from this publication that I first learned that there is officially now a fifth ocean. The Southern Ocean surrounds Antartica out to 60 degrees south latitude.
The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK.
Population:
65,409 (July 2006 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170)
65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.)
~Matt
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Montenegro
I love maps. Unless this is your first time here that can't be a surprise to you, ;-). Well I also enjoy tracking changes in maps. I own a massive National Geographic world map that hung on the wall of my bedroom at my parents house (until my dad and I built a floor-to-ceiling bookcase along that wall that is). I couldn't afford to go out and buy a new map each time something changed (and anyway the first was
purchased at some sort of fair that we never went to again). I would instead write corrections on small pieces of paper and tack them to the map.
At the time I removed the map from the wall I know that I had several, Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, Maccau's return to China in 1999, Canada's new province Nunavut in 1999.
Other items I look for are Czechoslovakia (it broke up in 1993), Zaire (the name changed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997), Timor-Leste's independence in 2002, South Vietnam, and now it appears Montenegro.
European maps were so simple before World War I. The west of the continent was basically the same as it is today, with the exception of the British Isles where the Irish gradually gained their independence. In the east though it was much simplier than today (not that I'm complaining exactly, I know all of the modern nations, and they're interesting) with the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire. Then came the imperial break-ups at the end of the "War to End All Wars" and maps have never been the same since.
Yugoslavia did simplify the Balkans for many years, but of course that was too good to last, and it eventually broke up following the demise of the Soviet Empire. However, the nation still persisted as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which consisted of former Socialist republics Montenegro and Serbia. In 2003 this nation changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro, a looser confederation. The time might have finally come for that to end. Montenegrans have apparently voted by a "slim margin" to sever their ties with Serbia and establish full independence. I'm not sure exactly what it will mean for the country, but on the map front I'm excited.
When you look back over the later part of the twentieth century there weren't that many significant changes to atlases. Yes, you did have the break-up of the Soviet Union, but there wasn't much else. When governments change (such as in Iraq following the downfall of Saddam Hussein) this fact doesn't register on the physical map of the nation. It isn't as easy to identify modern maps as it is to easily date something to a period of European colonization or before, during, or after WWII. The more changes there are, like Montenegro (and perhaps Kosovo in the future?) the more interesting things are for map followers.
~Matt
PS It is official. All new maps that you have are officially out of date. :-) I wonder how long until someone publishes an updated one actually... I'm also looking forward to the updated CIA World Factbook entry.
purchased at some sort of fair that we never went to again). I would instead write corrections on small pieces of paper and tack them to the map.At the time I removed the map from the wall I know that I had several, Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, Maccau's return to China in 1999, Canada's new province Nunavut in 1999.
Other items I look for are Czechoslovakia (it broke up in 1993), Zaire (the name changed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997), Timor-Leste's independence in 2002, South Vietnam, and now it appears Montenegro.
European maps were so simple before World War I. The west of the continent was basically the same as it is today, with the exception of the British Isles where the Irish gradually gained their independence. In the east though it was much simplier than today (not that I'm complaining exactly, I know all of the modern nations, and they're interesting) with the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire. Then came the imperial break-ups at the end of the "War to End All Wars" and maps have never been the same since.
Yugoslavia did simplify the Balkans for many years, but of course that was too good to last, and it eventually broke up following the demise of the Soviet Empire. However, the nation still persisted as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which consisted of former Socialist republics Montenegro and Serbia. In 2003 this nation changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro, a looser confederation. The time might have finally come for that to end. Montenegrans have apparently voted by a "slim margin" to sever their ties with Serbia and establish full independence. I'm not sure exactly what it will mean for the country, but on the map front I'm excited.
When you look back over the later part of the twentieth century there weren't that many significant changes to atlases. Yes, you did have the break-up of the Soviet Union, but there wasn't much else. When governments change (such as in Iraq following the downfall of Saddam Hussein) this fact doesn't register on the physical map of the nation. It isn't as easy to identify modern maps as it is to easily date something to a period of European colonization or before, during, or after WWII. The more changes there are, like Montenegro (and perhaps Kosovo in the future?) the more interesting things are for map followers.
~Matt
PS It is official. All new maps that you have are officially out of date. :-) I wonder how long until someone publishes an updated one actually... I'm also looking forward to the updated CIA World Factbook entry.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
America Across the Seas
This is a book that I purchased recently on eBay. I don't frequent that site too much anymore as I am trying to watch my money, but once in a while I can find excellent deals. I am always trying to find more Atlases (and now other books) published by Hammond. In older books the publisher is listed as C. S. Hammond, later Hammond Incorporated.As I'm sure I've mentioned here before (probably several times) I love old atlases. Until recently I didn't have any from much before World War II--one of my prized possesssions was a 1939 Hammond World Atlas. Over the course of the past year and a half I've bought a few Hammond atlases on eBay, America Across the Seas being the latest one. I've concentrated on the earliest part of the twentieth century (the company was started sometime betewen 1900 and 1910 I believe) as I have several atlases from the sixties through eighties. There is just something different about holding actual antique maps versus looking at modern representations of old maps.
This particular volume contains not only maps of American overseas possessions, but articles on each region. Published in 1909 it deals primarily with territories gained from Spain in the war of 1898. The Philippines, Guam, Porto [sic] Rico, and Cuba are all featured prominantely. Other than that you'll read about other Pacific Islands, Hawaii, and Alaska--the last two of course weren't states yet. In fact at the time Oklahoma was the most recent state of 46. I've just started to read this book and I'm definately enjoying the time spent.
It is definately recognizable as an old book, with constructions and formality no longer commonly seen. I can't describe exactly how it is written, but I especially appreciate the rich descriptive language. However, the attitudes of the day are obvious, that of the natural superiority of the civilized white settler and what he can do for the primitive natives. This is to be expected and it doesn't especially bother me. Perhaps I'm just a racist white man, but I like to think that I enjoy historical books for what they are--relics from another time, not products of a modern politically correct environment.
The mountains have a charm all their own and are much less known than the lower altitudes. Sometimes, above one thousand five hundred feet, their vast flanks are dotted with innumerable groves of great pines. Again on their mist-clad summits the trails will lead through dense forests where enormous vines coil like huge pythons about the giant trees, and creepers and parasites and flowering orchids innumerable make a fantastic paradise of the woods. And if on the trail one meets a native, or a party of fifty, they pass the time of day with such gifts as may be handy, perhaps an offer of tobacco, and a long-worded and usually difficult attempt to explain routes and distances. While, if one comes at night to a solitary dwelling, the woman of the house cheerfully sacrifices her last chiclen to set up a feast for the stranger. One could, if necessary, travel from north to south in the islands subsisting entirely upon the bounty of the native people, whether the civilized natives or the pagan wild tribes. I have never heard of any instance in which the natives have refused to extend hospitality where on any pretext it could be offered.
~Matt
Take the Red Pill
Have you ever felt as though you want to wake up from a dream, but you're actually awake? Life at times has felt like that for me. I was reminded of that a bit tonight. Recently I had a hankering to watch The Matrix, but both of the library copies were due a couple months ago and haven't yet been returned--so I eventually gave up hope there. I went to Amazon and purchased a used DVD for only a couple dollars (but of course I had to pay shipping). Still, it was a better price than it would
have been most places. I watched it tonight, though since the big screen was being used I had to settle for my laptop screen with headphones. Somehow I managed.
Did I mention yesterday's book sale? It was great fun. While I only spent $11.00, I found some great books--besides just the kids books. Though I did enjoy finding good kids books, and I almost hated to give them to my nerfs. I think that at the next sale I'll be looking for really good books for myself that I can keep to start my own kids library--since I think my parents will keep my youngest kids books for when grandkids visit.
One is an early twentieth century (mid forties) copy of Two Years Before the Mast which I've never read--but I know it is somewhat of a classic. I do this sometimes, buy books I might not read for a while--but ones that I might read eventually. Another is a view of Japan written in 1938. This will be especially valuable as a primary source (or very close secondary source) someday if I can ever get back into the history profession or history classes as a student.
Additionally I can't go wrong getting old books for such cheap prices. :-) Now I'm up to over 430 books in my database. I need to update my library site soon.
For some time I've been avoiding Star Trek novels. If I ever go back to common-universe novels I'll get caught up with Star Wars first. It isn't that the ST series don't have good authors, but they're so constrained because there has to be a reset button at the end of each book--or the textual equivalent. Once I started reading real sci-fi I became bored with these books. I did buy one yesterday [Thursday] though, it is an Enterprise novel. I want to make sure when I line up all my Star Trek novels on a bookshelf someday that I have at least one Enterprise book up there, even if the series was cut tragically short.
Well now that I'm not writing on such a tight timeframe I think it is definately time that I get back trying to update a minimum of once a day. I'm going to try to be better to make each entry distinct and interesting. I think that if I have multiple entries per day I'll space them out (as I've done) and try to make one or two exclusively about things I've been thinking about (such as politics or literature) and not about life. I'll see how this goes--perhaps it is all a late night pipe dream stimulated by too little sleep, ;-). Speaking of that I should post this so that I at least have the opportunity to hit the sack.
~Matt
PS Aunt Bee, I've been told the above still is from your favourite scene.
have been most places. I watched it tonight, though since the big screen was being used I had to settle for my laptop screen with headphones. Somehow I managed.Did I mention yesterday's book sale? It was great fun. While I only spent $11.00, I found some great books--besides just the kids books. Though I did enjoy finding good kids books, and I almost hated to give them to my nerfs. I think that at the next sale I'll be looking for really good books for myself that I can keep to start my own kids library--since I think my parents will keep my youngest kids books for when grandkids visit.
One is an early twentieth century (mid forties) copy of Two Years Before the Mast which I've never read--but I know it is somewhat of a classic. I do this sometimes, buy books I might not read for a while--but ones that I might read eventually. Another is a view of Japan written in 1938. This will be especially valuable as a primary source (or very close secondary source) someday if I can ever get back into the history profession or history classes as a student.
Additionally I can't go wrong getting old books for such cheap prices. :-) Now I'm up to over 430 books in my database. I need to update my library site soon.
For some time I've been avoiding Star Trek novels. If I ever go back to common-universe novels I'll get caught up with Star Wars first. It isn't that the ST series don't have good authors, but they're so constrained because there has to be a reset button at the end of each book--or the textual equivalent. Once I started reading real sci-fi I became bored with these books. I did buy one yesterday [Thursday] though, it is an Enterprise novel. I want to make sure when I line up all my Star Trek novels on a bookshelf someday that I have at least one Enterprise book up there, even if the series was cut tragically short.
Well now that I'm not writing on such a tight timeframe I think it is definately time that I get back trying to update a minimum of once a day. I'm going to try to be better to make each entry distinct and interesting. I think that if I have multiple entries per day I'll space them out (as I've done) and try to make one or two exclusively about things I've been thinking about (such as politics or literature) and not about life. I'll see how this goes--perhaps it is all a late night pipe dream stimulated by too little sleep, ;-). Speaking of that I should post this so that I at least have the opportunity to hit the sack.
~Matt
PS Aunt Bee, I've been told the above still is from your favourite scene.
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