But right now I an the guinea pig

Classes started up again today. Getting up at 8 was easier than I thought it would be, considering all the lounging I did on the winter break... it was glorious.

And so, as this is some sort of web based logging system for my life, I will share with you what I am going to do to make this semester a better one.

First off, I got a nice notebook. ONE notebook. A five subject one. Which is good because I have 5 classes. Sure I may need to lug around some textbooks and additional notebooks for a lab class, but overall keeping all of my notes in one simple book will be nice for organization.

Second, Ill be trying to follow some rules I have set for myself

1. After each day, notes will be transcribed from the notebook to a .txt file per class. After the notes are taken from the book, any additional information I can remember from the day will be added to the relevant text file. 
2. For Russian class, in addition to typing the notes in cyrrilic (learning to type in Russian, WOAH) any words that I do not know off the top of my head will be put onto flash cards. This will result in duplicate flash cards for frequent words, and help me learn them faster.
3. On each normal working weekday, a period of time equal to or greater than the time spent in class will be spent studying. Transcription time counts to this minimum, as does homework. This is not intended to rush me through homework, but rather to assure that I do something every evening. I may go over this time limit to finish an assignment, but if I have no homework I will find another way to study for that class for the time.
4. Attempt to finish homework one day before it is due. This is quite normal, as people often finish work before the due date, and as my classes are not every day, but it is a good goal.
5. I will not surf the web or otherwise use my laptop while lying in my bed (exceptions to watching movies while in bed or lying on the couch). It is an incredibly comfortable and bad habbit that I got into when space was at a premium in iraq. Lying in bed playing games. It associates your bed with playtime, reading time, and all other things you do in it. It is better to only have your bed associated with sleep in your mind, so that it is easier to fall asleep when you want to. I say this having horrible sleep problems, I often go to bed at 0200, and lie awake doing nothing for hours because my mind has lying in my bed so strongly associated with mental activity (maybe I should also not lie awake in bed in general) I have a desk now, time to use it. Good sleep is important. Almost as important as,
6. I will eat in the morning. Something, anything! Grain from the side of the road, or a stray orphan, in the morning, feed is important! It boosts your metabolism a bit and generally prepares you for a more energetic day!

So these are my rules for a better learning experience. perhaps ill use them on my children, but right now I an the guinea pig.

The Criminal Commits the Crime.

To continue the rant I had on Monday, I would like to talk about "victim blaming" and what I believe to be true on the matter.

For those who do not know, victim blaming is when a victim of a crime is blamed for bringing the crime upon themselves. Often this manifests as a rape victim being blamed because of the way she dresses, or going out to clubs and rubbing against people.

In my, personal policy, I usually wait until my partner says "rip off my clothes and make the sex to me please" before I rip off their clothes and make the sex to them. It is... amazingly nonromantic, but I would rather let the mood die a little than push someone beyond what they want to do. I do have a creepy demeanor, and err heavily on the side of caution, for I have been blamed for stalking people home from school who actually just live near me.

Anyway, back to victim blaming. Does a rape victim increase their chances of getting raped by going out dressed like a total slut? Probably not, rapists often rape because they want to control women, and if a woman just looks like she is going to give it up then there is nothing to control. As a matter of fact I think if you dress conservatively a control-rapists is more likely to select you. In the case of one who might roofie a drink, yes, dressing in skirts and not wearing underwear might increase the chances of you being selected, if only because in that specific instance the criminals are most likely selecting on sexual appeal, and ease with which they can bypass clothing. And third, going out may also increase your chances of getting raped, if only compared to staying in and never meeting anyone. Most important thing, travel in groups.

The final part of this comes down to who is at fault. And let me make my point clear, If the most beautiful girl in the world walks from club to club totally nude and at each club dances and rubs up against everyone while dancing, does that mean she was asking for it? Does that pardon the rapist? No, never in any instance is a lack of consent justified. Never in any instance is the victim to blame, the criminal commits the crime.

If I put a bag of one million dollars out on my lawn and it gets stolen, was I asking for it? No, not at all. Was I maybe not the smartest with my money? Yes. Just remember, the criminal commits the crime.

Thanks... Lucasarts?

This movie does not really look to be anything special. I am sure it will be a triumphant tale of military comradarie and combat expertise overcoming adversity, to kill Nazis, all presented in a historically "accurate" manner.

Though I expect it to be a predictable piece (the guys friend is going to die, and at some point they will hit the wrong target or fly over a concentration camp/generic travesty and be abhorred by the abhorrence of war), but what I AM excited about is the positive (hopefully) light in which black people will (hypothetically) be portrayed in. Set in the 1940s this setting will predate many of the negative stereotypes associated with black people, and (possibly) portray it's characters with a professional military demeanor. It won't be a movie about "niggas smokin nazis while smokin on the fly while high." no shitty blackxploitation movie here.

It will be a WW2 movie, about pilots, hardship, and being a badass. And not letting racism break their stride, or their spirit. Showing some good role models not just for black children, but all children.

Thanks... Lucasarts?

Pretend you want it and bite it off

Sexism in the workplace can be a dangerous.

I have strange views on sexism in the workplace. This is probably due to the many strong women in my life. As far back as I can remember my mother was single (though this was not true as the divorce was after my birth), and an older sister. Both were strong people, and I never thought of them as their gender. They were always just strong people. It never occurred to me that they would not have a problem doing anything that I could do. Of course girls can vote? Why wouldn't they? Of course you should be nice to them, they punch hard!

This brings me to wimminz in the workplace. I have seen these alleged "females" and worked with them, I can attest to the fact that they are real. I don't understand why it's a problem, or why so many people are against it. I understand the comradarie of a well knit unit, and how it can be difficult to let new people into your group. I am sure the problem is really in the lack of understanding, and subsequent justification. The group does not want to open up to new people, and they search for any difference to justify their claim. And as a slightly sexually dimorphic species, ones gender is quite easy to point out.

I believe (as in, have no citeable sources), that men are afraid of women breaking up their group. I have seen some movies, and heard stories, enough to assume it is a widespread cliché. The story goes that a tight group of friends, usually small, a new female comes into the circle and the single men fight over her and it slowly tears the group apart. Sometimes they fight with fists, sometimes the alpha male gets the girl and the others allow it (resentfully), and other times they are at each others throats like starving lions over lady gaga in her meat suit.

I could stand a slice.

Now, as for this in the workplace, I am sure people are worried about a female, as an object of sexual desire, setting coworkers against each other for her affections. I believe this is why the US military was so against gays openly serving, they did not want people fighting over each others affections. Mind you that was quite irrelevant because of the various fraternization policies in place, and how often they are ignored because men and women, deep down, they want each other. Overcoming authority for love and lust has been highly romanticized of course, so it's no surprise. But we are supposed to be professional anyway, so that should be no problem right?

So now lets talk about sexual harrasment, if only because I have been hearing a lot about it. I don't know why we have specific laws about this, I think we should just have more effective laws to prevent harassment in general, the same for assualt. Mind you if I was assulted I have been advised by my mother to "pretend you want it and bite it off."

(I will elaborate on this subject on Friday).

I get my news from Russia!

What do you think? Great changes have happened? Or great changes will?

It is MY cliff

What the hell is this web log even about? Why did I use the root instead of saying "blog?" Not all of these questions will be answered, but tonight I am going to metablog... I think.

In reality I would like to chat about what this blog is about. I am pretty sure blogs started as some sort of sick and perveted vanity journal. People scribbled in their journals by candlelight ages ago, longing for the world to read their thoughts. "If only more people knew what I think, then they would understand." Previously I would have said that nobody cares about what you think, but here we are, in a day and age where people make a damn living commenting on the world around them. Not like that is new in any sense, critics have been doing that for years. In todays world though, we no longer have a need of newspapers, review shows. Reviews are posted online, in text and video format. I honestly wonder what that volume of data generated every day is. I also wonder how much of that is total crap.

What sets MY blog apart? What makes my little cliff different as a dangle my feet over the edge and ponder the world?

In a nutshell? Nothing. I am just another guy. Words describe me, and the same words describe a bunch of other people. I am sure I am different, but the niceties of my personality become apparent in the nuances of my enunciation.

Should I give this blog a topic? A general theme? Yeah, ME. This is MY blog, these are MY words, this is MY cliff, This is my little area where I get to be myself and talk about the crap that I care about. So what do I care about? Oh, a lot of things. Let me make you a convenient list.

• Guns - I am a soldier, I like em, deal.
• Politics - I like to be involved and educated on the wiles of the nobles.
• Parenting - I want to be a father one day, A GOOD ONE, so I think about it a lot.
• Religion - Or the lack there of. I am an atheist personally, I try not to be a dick about it.
• Video games - Love em, maybe ill review one someday. I guess this includes all entertainment, like video and text/narrative.

Yeah, those are some of the things I like, U guess ill be talking about that kind of stuff. I reserve the right to change crap and talk about whatever, it is MY cliff...

The American people practically designed Russia's next rifle

Took a trip out to the Larch Mountain shooting pits. It was a horribly planned trip, we were supposed to meet at a certain time, but everyone was late, but not late in a way that synced up in any way, cards were de-magnetized, ammo was purchased, the map was lost and forged anew en route, trucks gasped for fumes as we chugged through the clouds up a mountain...

GOOD

MEN

DIED!

But in the end we made it up, less Jim... Jim always dies. We shot off a nice sum of ammunition, and checked out some of the other rifles the people had up there. That's what it is you know, a social hobby. You know? Meeting new people with similar interests? Take a friend who has never been shooting, shooting, and meet new friends at the range. For the love of god though, don't forget some good earplugs.

When I got home from my adventure, which for those who weren't there for some reason, involved a mall and a Kalashnikov, I began to peruse the news. After a moment I happened across this story about Japan. All it really says is that Japan can now export military equipment, and I assume contracts (as it talks about them getting some F-35s). One of the first things I thought of when I saw it was "So can I buy surplus Japanese gear now?" After I mulled over that thought for a good 1/18th of a second I realised that selling surplus military equipment is quite possibly the best thing a nation can do!

You see, soldiers are trained to not complain, it's the first of many things you learn not to do! :D And beside the fact we do it anyway, we don't do it a lot. Now civilians on the other hand, they can do what they want. Take a look at the M16 line of weapons (to include the M4), it had a rocky start as a piece of equipment, and grew over time (mostly because that start was REALLY rocky...) and then kind of petered off. But in one of the latest Requests for Proposals (RFP) the military essentally took a look at what the civilians had souped up the rifle to be and said "I want what they're having."

Now this does not just go for rifles, many [avoid weasel words] airsofters use old military equipment for their military simulation gameplay, and while shooting plastic BBs at each other hardly qualifies as combat use, they don't mess around. When you have people using equipment free from regulations they begin to change it to suit their needs, and if they are using it in a similar capacity to how the military would (like having pouches hold magazines, or radios) the innovations and changes made in that field affect the other, improving the equipment the military uses.

But why stop there? Governments subzidize all kinds of things, so why not military equipment? Which got me to thinking...

Japan is renowned for shitty military arms, and what better way to fix that than selling semiautomatic versions to the American consumer for a dirt cheap price? Sure the market will scoff "Pah, it's just a shitty Japanese rifle!" they will proclaim loudly! But after their friends leave the store they will pick up a rifle for $300, and a few boxes of ammo. Soon everyone will have one, they will joke, say they got it as a conversation piece, or as a "social rifle." But give them time. Just like those maniacs who would soup up a VW Beetle, so too will the garage gunsmith fine tune Japan's rifle. Aftermarket parts will come out, at first to replace the parts that most often break, after that, to make them stronger, faster. Accuracy a problem? Not anymore, Jim figured out that if you just do this... BOOM, about as good as a sniper rifle on a bad day. Doing this would not only be good, it would make Japan money!

How do I know that would happen? Why, it already did. With all the accessories for AK type rifles being produced for the American consumer market, the American people practically designed Russia's next rifle.