There were no matches yesterday, I wasn’t alone and didn’t have anything else planned, so I certainly meant to write a post, most preferably a non-personal one. However, instead of doing that, I ended up spending most of the day playing a little game called Empires of Arkeia, finishing the whole thing in normal mode and then also the first two islands in legendary mode, which gets unlocked after you finish all eight islands in normal mode. And just now, instead of writing this, I ended up taking a break in the middle of this first paragraph to finish the third island in legendary mode as well…
It’s highly unusual for me to pay any attention to a Flash game, in fact it hardly ever happened before, but I was looking through the day’s posts on theCHIVE when I saw a comment that said that almost all of them were stolen from a little-known site called Izismile, so I went there to check, happened to notice that they have a games section as well and this was the only one listed on the first page that got my attention at first glance. Certainly didn’t expect that to result in so much time spent playing it, however, but I guess it shows that I haven’t been playing anything at all in probably over a month now.
Not sure if I’ll be looking into other games from there as well or not, but I guess I’ll be following both Izismile and theCHIVE from now on, at least for a while. It’s hard to give a verdict so quickly, but it does seem that most things gathered from around the Internet are indeed posted on Izismile slightly earlier, though I also noticed a few things posted there after first appearing on theCHIVE, so it may be that they’re both copying the same sources, though not necessarily each other. And it’s not quite everything that gets posted in both places, so let’s see…
Otherwise, various talks that I had last week gave me even more ideas of issues to write about, but ideas are certainly not the problem. What I’m lacking is the skill to put those thoughts into words properly and, more importantly, the mood to even try. It’s so much easier when I’m debating or arguing with someone, at least when it’s not someone I’d really want to support, but it would appear that I can’t even turn my side of such debates into posts. After all, that one about the punishments that those who would still try to have children after being told that they’re not allowed to do so should receive is still waiting in a file, as it has been for months now. But let’s see what I’ll manage to come up with later this week, if anything.
And speaking of the end of the week, I should also let anyone who may happen to read know that the site apparently won’t be accessible for about four hours at some point during the weekend, since I got a notice stating that the datacenter used by my host will undergo a major upgrade at that time. Let’s just hope it won’t happen Sunday afternoon or evening, when I’ll probably be struggling to post something.
The Rio+20 Summit is starting next week and I thought I might as well write a short list of personal demands. To make everything simpler and clearer, I have also decided to follow a suggestion that I have seen given to those who have taken part in the recent protests, namely to put forward a single list, containing no more than five main demands, each of them having an explanation no longer than two lines, and leaving all other details aside until the actual negotiations. So I opened a file, used the default font and size, which is Times New Roman, size 12, and wrote my five main demands when it comes to environmental issues, making sure that no demand will take more than one line and no explanation more than two. This is the result:
1. Solve the overpopulation problem by drastically reducing the number of births worldwide.
Enforce strict regulations to reduce the population to no more than three billion by 2100 without requiring increased mortality. Only allow healthy people with extraordinary talents to have children.
2. Adopt a declaration stating humankind’s place within, not above, Earth’s ecosystem.
Acknowledge that humans are merely one species of many and that our immense capacity to influence the world implies more responsibilities to care for and help the others than rights to exploit them.
3. Protect sufficient areas to allow the other species to live out their lives without fear of humans.
Strictly protect wilderness areas covering at least 25% of the land area and 25% of the oceans of Earth by 2050. Select areas according to what other species need, not according to what humans can spare.
4. Ensure that healthy and organic food will be readily available and affordable for everyone.
Tax conventional and subsidize organic food production. Encourage organic farming in all private gardens. Ban the use of GMOs and patented plant and animal species. Phase out factory farms by 2050.
5. Switch energy generation to clean, safe and renewable sources with a low negative impact.
Cover at least 30% of the demand from such sources by 2020, 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Phase out nuclear by 2030 and coal by 2050. Ban additional hydroelectric plants of any size.
The order I listed them in is the order of importance at the moment, though all of them are crucial. Yes, even the second one, which is essentially a demand for a statement, not for a binding agreement or any other immediate action, because such a statement would pave the way towards what needs to be done in the future, specifying the framework within which we must work and the mindset we’ll all need to have from this moment forward. It could be written in the form of a pledge that all attendants to such summits would be required to take from now on, so it’s only second because the overpopulation problem is absolutely critical and very drastic action must be taken immediately, because the necessary reduction may well become impossible to achieve without also increasing mortality within as little as five years, if the current trends continue.
Let’s not wait until the last moment again and end up posting on Saturday and Sunday, shall we? I hear that I may be alone tomorrow anyway, so I’ll feel like doing this even less, even if it’s just a personal post. Not that I’m exactly sure what the other one will be about this week, so I may even end up with two personal ones and have that buffer fall back to two, unfortunately. But let’s hope that won’t happen, because I certainly have several things that I mean to write about, including what should be a pretty short one about the Euro, analyzing the situation before the last round of group matches. I should at least manage to post that, if nothing else…
Should also have the “monthly computer maintenance day” tomorrow, leaving it to verify things while I’ll see what else I’ll feel like doing while alone. And I may also install this major WordPress update that just became available, so let’s see if it’ll break anything, which is what I keep fearing every single time, considering the ancient theme I’m using. That’s why I tended not to install major updates for a long time after release ever since 2.7, if not even earlier, preferring to wait at least until after the first maintenance update and sometimes even more than that, but this time I find myself thinking that I might as well try and get it over with.
In other news, my opinion of this hypermarket that I go to when I buy things just dropped significantly after I noticed that they charged me too much for something last time, which was last Monday. The difference is less than 2 RON and they might have done it once before, back in January, when the difference was exactly 3 RON, but back then I knew that I hadn’t looked well and I might have seen the wrong price, so couldn’t exactly accuse them of it. This time I’m sure and, while in itself it might be an honest mistake, the real problem is that they didn’t even bother to reply when I let them know about it.
I only noticed the issue when I got back, so let’s say that it was partly my fault as well, but I immediately sent them an e-mail about it, plus a second one the next day to add the scanned receipt as proof, expecting at least an apology if not also a coupon to print or something with a value at least equal to the difference. Then I even sent another message two days ago, this time through their site, just in case the e-mails got lost or weren’t sent to the right address for such complaints, and still got nothing, so I guess I’ll need to go somewhere else the next few times. The difference was tiny, but I want to take over 100 times that amount, so at least 200 RON, away from them for their attitude, even if it’ll probably imply a fair amount of trouble on my end, especially when it comes to getting back with the stuff now that it’s starting to be so hot outside.
As Liz once very correctly pointed out, my primary communication tools are those of debate and conflict, so this is what I thrive on when it comes to interacting with others. Of course, knowing me, this interaction must be strictly on-line and this obviously doesn’t also apply to the people that I am or would want to be particularly close to, but it does apply to pretty much anyone else and, unless I’m feeling very drained for other reasons, the more people disagree with opinions and concepts that I firmly support and the more I fight, the more I get a sort of “bloodlust” that motivates me and keeps me going even longer. However, now I find myself quite fed up with it and wanting to take a break for a while.
Admittedly, that “bloodlust” I mentioned appeared less and less often since Andra left and there have been plenty of moments when I was too drained to argue, but I already mentioned this as the exception and it has nothing to do with the debates or arguments themselves. This time, however, the problem actually seems to be related to the arguments, though perhaps somewhat indirectly. I imagine that I could keep arguing without problems against people that I’d normally see as opponents, but recently things seem to be going very badly between me and people or organizations that I’d really, really want to support… To the point that I’m starting to run out of things to support. And that’s what’s truly draining.
This series actually started a little over a month ago, when I ended up being banned from Remus Cernea‘s Facebook page after an argument during which I apparently complained about him not sticking to his original promises and expressed a few of my more radical views one too many times. But at least that wasn’t unexpected and I wasn’t exactly supporting him anymore, particularly since he and his party, the Greens’ Movement, had formalized their alliance with the Social Liberal Union. We obviously still agree on many goals but, while we also still disagree on some others, the main problem has to do with the preferred methods of reaching said goals, those chosen by them seeming about as unacceptable and even unthinkable to me as those I suggest obviously are to them, and to him in particular.
Still, that ban only blocks me from posting on his page and others are still open to discussions, so there are still ways to express my views regarding their actions, be they positive or negative. Unfortunately, a few days ago I also ended up being banned from the Facebook page of the Global Population Speak Out movement. I saved the whole thing, including the e-mail exchange that followed, but I can summarize the reason as apparently reminding them one time too many that voluntary measures are completely insufficient and very drastic ones need to be taken immediately if we’re to still be able to get the population back within sustainable limits within any reasonable time frame without needing to increase mortality in any way in order to do so. Of course, such a reaction is what I get almost every single time when it comes to this issue, but it’s saddening to see it from those who administer such a project.
Then again, I know all too well that I’m pretty much on my own when it comes to that, but I certainly thought that it was different when it came to the causes supported by the Romanian Pirate Party. However, yesterday I found myself arguing with one of its founders on the page meant for the protests organized here against ACTA in particular and the slew of laws, treaties and regulations aimed at restricting and controlling the Internet in general. The discussion, which started from an opinion he expressed in a blog post that the administrator of that page linked to but otherwise had nothing to do with the issues that the Pirate Party should be focusing on, moved from the page to private messages and eventually ended with the conclusion that my support is no longer desired if I don’t fully agree and associate myself with their organization as a whole and all the opinions they express. Which also means that I won’t be trying to participate in any further protests, because such a course of action may now carry risks that I’m not willing to take.
Speaking of those protests, there was supposed to be one yesterday as well. It should have been turned into a simple flash mob, because it was the day before elections and trying anything more than that might have resulted in problems, but I didn’t see anyone else there when I arrived, some three minutes before the announced time. A few minutes later, I noticed one more person who was probably there for the same reason and might have been the one posting that there are no protesters, seeing as he pulled out his laptop around the time that message was posted, plus a few others that I was unsure about, but any chance of a flash mob had been lost because people failed to gather at the set time and nothing else seemed to be happening, so I left after about 20 minutes of wandering around.
Still, at least I tried, and I have participated in all previous protests organized in the same spot for this reason, so it felt awfully unfair when I was accused of being infiltrated among their ranks to ruin their efforts. I once again ended up being accused of being “Basescu‘s man”, which was a rather frequent accusation when opposing anything stated by Remus Cernea or others from the Greens’ Movement as well, but this time my explanation that I don’t stand or work for anyone but myself seemed to have been accepted… Only for that accusation to be replaced with one of having my own hidden agenda then, because I’m too determined to disagree and express negative opinions to be a regular naysayer and apparently only people who have such agendas and serve obscure interests may do that.
Actually, there have been a few more accusations and “slaps” after that as well, in the private messages, and yes, I threw some of them right back at him as well, but those were less relevant. Then again, none of it was relevant, seeing as it all started from him saying that he won’t vote because he loathes the current electoral laws and none of the parties or candidates that meet their admittedly dreadful requirements may be worth voting, which prompted me to ask him why is he trying to form a party and, more importantly, what right will he have to ask people to vote for his party when it’ll be registered, which will imply meeting these same requirements, when he now claims that nobody who runs for office may be worth voting simply due to the electoral process, regardless of who the candidates are or what they plan to do. But he ignored my questions, only snapping at my annoyed remark about the failed protest. That meant that he was still reading, which prompted me to ask again, but that only resulted in that slew of accusations, plus an annoyed remark posted by that page’s administrator.
But I’ll just say that apparently making sense is unacceptable when talking to people who see themselves as leaders and leave it at that for now. These debates and arguments gave me a few more ideas that could be turned into some posts, but you know you shouldn’t hold your breath for that, so we’ll see what will happen over the following weeks.
In just a few hours, starting at 10:09 PM GMT, we’ll be able to witness one of the rarest cyclical and predictable astronomical events, namely a transit of Venus. Yes, they come in pairs that are eight years apart, so there was another one in 2004, but these pairs are separated by 105 and a half years and these groups of two pairs are themselves separated by 121 and a half years. As such, the last transit before the 2004 one was back in 1882 and the next one will be in 2117, so you should make the most of this chance because you most probably won’t get another.
If you want to observe the event directly, a map depicting how much of the transit you’ll be able to see depending on your location is available at the bottom of the NASA article I linked to above, but make sure you won’t look at the Sun without properly protecting your eyes, since that can quickly cause serious and likely permanent eye damage. Otherwise, and perhaps preferably, there will be plenty of opportunities to observe the transit safely by looking for one of the on-line or TV broadcasts, such as the ones offered by NASA or Planet Hunters, which will likely provide far better images than you’ll be able to obtain on your own, especially since that way you’ll be able to view any part of the transit you wish, without being limited by the sunrise and sunset times for your location.
Since we’re talking about astronomy, I must take this opportunity to show you one more thing before letting you prepare for the transit, in case you’re interested: The second video in Neil deGrasse Tyson‘s “We Stopped Dreaming” series. It’s an outstanding speech that, despite focusing on the USA and NASA, applies to the entire world, presenting one of the most important reasons why we should keep looking up… And restart dreaming.
