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<title><![CDATA[Random Terrain's Tetraternarium]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1</link>
<description><![CDATA[Matters, musings and mysteries.]]></description>
<language>en-us</language>
<lastBuildDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:42:59 GMT</lastBuildDate>

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<title><![CDATA[MadV and the &#39;floating&#39; spinning card tricks]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=105</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>If you want to know how the "String Theory" and "Anti-gravity" spinning card tricks are done, just Google "Hummer Card Magic Trick Revealed" and you'll see how it is done. The <a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/602791/hummer_card_magic_trick_revealed/">video at Metacafe by CoreyHuck</a> is pretty good. The trick is done using 'invisible' magician's thread.</p> ]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:42:59 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Beware of nbxsoft.com and their &quot;Free Screen Recorder&quot;]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=104</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>I was looking for a free screen recorder that would record sound properly and the one from nbxsoft.com seemed to be what I was looking for. They  make a big deal about it being free and that registration is free. But after you use it a few times, you are forced to register and that's when you find out that registration is no longer free. You have to pay if you want to keep using it.</p> <br />  <p>Companies that do this kind of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_and_switch">bait and switch</a> should be closed down. It's not an innocent mistake. They've had plenty of time to update their web site to let us know that registration is no longer free. If they can update the registration page with this information, they can update their other pages too.</p> <br />  <p>If nbxsoft.com is going to trick us like this, how can we trust them with our credit card information? It's probably safer to avoid nbxsoft.com and their products.</p>]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:13:51 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Laid off or demoted because you speak English in the USA?]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=102</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>Signs of things to come. Supervisors in Oregon laid off or demoted because they don't speak Spanish:</p> <br /> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FR5MjzHngnc&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425" allowScriptAccess="none"> <br /> <br /> <p>Message to United States citizens: It seems Spanish speaking people do not have to learn English, so you're going to have to learn Spanish if you want to keep your jobs in the future.</p> <br /> <p>If you move to France, you better learn how to speak French. If you move to Germany, you better learn how to speak German. If you move to Mexico, you better learn how to speak Spanish. And if you move to the United States, you better learn how to speak <strike>English</strike> Spanish? If nothing is done to preserve English, we'll be bilingual for a while, but you know that Spanish will eventually take over if you have even a drop of foresight.</p> <br /> <p>People talk about preserving various cultures, but what about the integral part of United States culture where English was our common language? Many legal immigrants used to be proud to learn English as a part of becoming an 'American.' English was a major ingredient in this Great American Melting Pot that held us all together:</p> <br /> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZWJ4udW41Ns&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425" allowScriptAccess="none"> <br /> <br /> <p>English is part of our culture and we should hold onto it. Making sure that English is our official language does not mean that other languages would be banned, it just means that we won't lose English as our common language when Spanish speaking illegal immigrants and their children eventually become the majority in the United States. Below is a quote from wikipedia about the English-only movement under <strong>Criticism</strong>:</p> <br /> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-only_movement" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-only_movement</a><br /> </p> <p style="margin-left:40px; ">Linguist Geoffrey Pullum, in an essay entitled "Here come the linguistic fascists" charges English First with "hatred and suspicion of aliens and immigrants" and points out that English is far from under threat in the United States, saying "making English the official language of the United States of America is about as urgently called for as making hotdogs the official food at baseball games."</p> <br /> <p>He said that in 1991. Only a fool would try to use that as an argument in 2008. It should be clear to even the most dense by now that illegal immigration is a serious problem that threatens our cultural language. It has nothing to do with hatred and suspicion. I hate everyone equally no matter what skin color they have or what language they speak. <img src="http://www.randomterrain.com/files7emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" /> I simply like the English language. I like how you don't have to wiggle your tongue in strange ways or make squeaks or clicks or noises like you're trying to scrape up a big ball of phlegm. I like how most common English words roll off the tongue with little effort. No oral gymnastics are necessary. The unprecedented illegal immigration problem in the United States is going to keep chipping away at our language unless we protect it while we still can.</p> <br /> <br /> <p style="font-weight:bold; ">Related Links:</p> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.us-english.org/">http://www.us-english.org/</a></p> <p style="margin-left:40px; ">The lack of an assimilation policy for immigrants to the United States is rapidly changing the successful integration ways of the past. Gone are the days of the American Dream and the upwardly mobile society for immigrants. In its place are low expectations and government policies that encourage Americans to learn the language of the immigrants, instead of the other way around.</p> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.proenglish.org/">http://www.proenglish.org/</a></p> <p style="margin-left:40px; ">Today America's linguistic unity, which enabled the melting-pot crucible to forge one nation out of millions of immigrants from all over the world, is under attack as never before. Record numbers of non-English speaking immigrants threaten to overwhelm the assimilative process. And instead of encouraging new immigrants to acquire the English fluency needed to succeed in our society, the policy of our government is to promote "diversity" by operating in ever growing numbers of foreign languages.</p> <br /> <p style="margin-left:40px; ">This multilingualism is causing a growing underclass, which is segregated and walled off into linguistic ghettos. A century ago such immigrant ghettos were marked by extreme poverty, 80-hour workweeks and child labor. As the industrial revolution matured, immigrants discovered that language skills were the key to entering the emerging "middle class." This, coupled with mandatory public education and reduced immigration, resulted in the successful assimilation of ethnic communities into American society.</p> <br /> <p style="margin-left:40px; ">But today, in segregated classrooms, so-called "bilingual education" keeps immigrant children from learning English, by teaching them in foreign languages. And millions of people cannot find good-paying jobs, because they lack the ability to speak English with customers, co-workers or employers.</p> </embed></embed>]]></description>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:19:13 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Strength and Bad Investments]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=100</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>I read a post somewhere that said, among other things, that the person needed the Bible for strength or that he'd be lost without the Bible. Well, I have to say that strength comes from within. Trying to get strength from other people, dusty old books, or magical invisible men in the sky is like using a wheelchair when there's nothing wrong with you. You have everything you need to be strong in any situation. The problem is that many of us have been trained since childhood that we need something outside of ourselves for strength and self-esteem.</p> <br />  <p>And the whole "I chose the correct religion and everyone else is going to hell" idea is kind of like thinking that everyone who didn't buy Google stock is going to hell. "Sorry, you invested in the wrong company. It sucks to be you. Try to have fun splashing around in the lake of fire or floating in the black void or whatever the latest theory my cult leader has about where you sinners are going."</p> <br />  <p>It will be so funny if we find out that everyone goes to 'Heaven' no matter what they believed or what the did while on Earth. It would totally piss off atheists and people who belong to any small or large cult such as Christianity.</p>]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:32:29 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[The Meaning of Easter Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=98</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>The Easter egg symbolizes Christ and the Holy Spirit. Christ is the disgusting rubbery egg white and the Holy Spirit is the orange dead baby chicken ball. God the Father is the Easter Bunny who hides the colorful Christ/Holy Spirit eggs since one wouldn't want to make it easy for kids to find Christ and the Holy Spirit. We all know that boiled eggs are disgusting and that's why Easter Bunny God hides so many. He gives kids numerous chances to eat of the disgusting rubbery white flesh of Christ and gnaw on the dead baby chickeness of the Holy Spirit and those who refuse will eventually be cast into the lake of molten marshmallow. Easter Bunny God also brings big baskets of candy to rot the teeth of children because teeth represent the roots of evil and they must be destroyed by the power of God's chocolate.</p> <br /> <p>I haven't been to Sunday school since the 1980s, so some of that might be wrong. <img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/4.gif" /></p>]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:07:54 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Nanny Cam Nincompoops]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=96</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>Many people who have hidden nanny cams are foolish. They shouldn't try to catch the nanny doing something bad to their children, they should tell the nanny from the start that there are hidden cameras all over the house, so she better treat the children right and do her job properly.</p> <br /> <p>Here's a related quote:</p> <br /> <p>Put a rogue in the limelight and he will act like an honest man.</p> <p>~Napoleon Bonaparte</p> <br /> <p>Protect your children. Don't use them as bait. Don't give the nanny a chance to abuse your kids. Make sure she'll always act like an 'honest man.'</p>]]></description>
<pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:52:31 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[I finally know what &#39;sky sperm&#39; or &#39;sky tadpoles&#39; or &#39;sky squiggles&#39; are!]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=95</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>I have been wondering since I was a kid about the hundreds or thousands of semi-invisible 'sky sperm' or 'sky tadpoles' or 'sky squiggles' that you see swimming around in front of your eyes if you stare at a bright blue sky. Some know-it-all nitwits try to tell you that you are simply seeing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floaters">floaters</a> (what some people might call 'sky amoebas' or 'sky worms') and that it couldn't possibly be anything else, but thanks to the Internet, I found out that it's called blue field entoptic phenomenon where you're seeing your own white blood cells:</p> <br /> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_field_entoptic_phenomenon">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_field_entoptic_phenomenon</a></p> <br /> <p>It's nice to finally know the truth.<br /> </p> ]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:36:10 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[No Circus Unless it&#39;s an Animal-free Circus]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=93</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>Anyone who goes to animal circuses today should be chained up and beaten until they learn a few entertaining tricks. After going through that and seeing their own small children chained up and crying, maybe they'll finally be convinced and only go to animal-free circuses in the future. This is 2008, not 1950. You don't have to be a wild-eyed pasty PETA freak to know that animal circuses are outdated, cruel entertainment that should make you feel ashamed and sick to your stomach. Adapted from what it says <a href="http://www.circuses.com/">here</a>, animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. If you like trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats, why not leave the animals in peace and only go to <a href="http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/circuses/animalfree_circuses_and_entertainment/a_list_of_animalfree_circuses.html">animal-free circuses</a>? Forget tradition and fuzzy feelings from your childhood. It's the right thing to do.</p> <br /> <p>Check out these related YouTube videos:</p> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtdCEw3SNKk">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtdCEw3SNKk</a></p> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zDfEaYaI08">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zDfEaYaI08</a></p> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CKxNpnP5pM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CKxNpnP5pM</a></p> ]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:59:31 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Spice Girls and the Decade Difference]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=91</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>The Spice Girls have returned? It still feels like the Spice Girls were huge just a few years ago. It's strange that enough time has gone by that it's similar to a group from 1977 popping up in 1988. But the decades in the 21st century don't seem like they are going to have as much of a separate flavor as previous decades in the 20th century. The Spice Girls don't seem like alien creatures from another time.</p> <br /> <p>Examples:</p> <br /> <p>1967 vs.1978 - Obviously different</p> <br /> <p>1977 vs. 1988 - Obviously different</p> <br /> <p>1987 vs. 1998 - Obviously different</p> <br /> <p>1997 vs. 2008 - Not a huge difference</p> <br /> <p>I wonder how long it will take until the Spice Girls will seem like the Bee Gees or the Village People?</p>]]></description>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:24:52 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Fresh Food is Cheaper?]]></title>
<link>http://www.randomterrain.com/weblog.html?cq=1&amp;p=89</link>
<description><![CDATA[<p>Some people claim that fresh food is cheaper than processed food. Here are some examples from December 17, 2007 in North Carolina:</p> <br />  <p>2 cucumbers - $1.58</p> <p>5 small tomatoes - $5.65 (3.69 a pound)</p> <p>1 onion - $1.59 (1.69 a pound)</p> <p>5 pounds of potatoes on sale - $2.00</p> <p>1 gallon of store brand milk - $4.14</p> <p>1 dozen eggs - $2.39 or can be as low as $1.99 on sale</p> <p>1 head of lettuce - $1.58 on sale</p> <p>Half gallon of orange juice - $2.99 to $3.74</p> <p>Grapes - $2.99 to $3.99 a pound</p> <br />  <p>But you can buy store brand mac and cheese for 33 cents a box. Cheap hot dogs are only 88 cents a pack. Store brand canned vegetables are just 50 to 54 cents a can. White bread is $1.09 a loaf. Pepsi and Coke products are a measly $1.00 for a 2 liter bottle and store brand soft drinks are even cheaper.</p> <br />  <p>Yep, fresh food is cheaper all right. Sure it is.</p> <br />  <p>I'm all for eating fresh food, but when upper-middle class snobby do-gooders who have no idea what they are talking about say that fresh food costs the same as processed food and that the the poor could feed a family on nothing but fresh food, it really shows what kind of fantasy world they live in. Maybe the high-priced gourmet name brand processed food they know about is just as expensive, but that's not what the poor and semi-poor are eating.</p> <br />  <p>These hoity-toity snobs say things like one way you can save money is to stop having your daily Starbucks coffee. What poor or semi-poor person would even walk into a Starbucks? The rich and upper-middle class don't seem to have a clue and cannot envision a different lyfestyle from their own. If they had a pony as a child and went for rides on Papa's yacht, everyone else had a pony and went for yacht rides too.</p>]]></description>
<pubDate>Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:24:48 GMT</pubDate>
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