The writing bug has left me as well for my fiction writing. I hope it returns, but it’s not exactly something you command. I do still wish to write though, and I’ve thought more about technical writing. With that in mind, I have decided to begin a new blog focused on Java, IT, and software design in general: Code Guild. If you are a software developer, technical lead, or architect in Java, JEE I encourage you to read it. Eventually once I’ve added a few posts I’ll submit it to some of the Java blog sites and hopefully begin participating in some conversations with others in the field.

FBI Tried to Cover Patriot Act Abuses With Flawed, Retroactive Subpoenas, Audit Finds 

This is exactly why the FISA act created the appropriate oversight courts, and why a warrant is required for this type of activity. If the system isn’t fast enough, buy better technology, get more courts created with people who have clearance, etc. Don’t just bypass the system!

But the larger point Dana’s making is valid: cultural sustainability. I’m thrilled environmental sustainability has become a focus of late, and hopefully it continues (I think actually it will). But we need to think long term about the ramifications of our actions on society & culture. To me, it blends with social responsibility. Just because you can do something (as a corporation), doesn’t mean you should. We’re all responsible for the world we live in, in terms of society, the environment, and much more. People, schools, corporations, the media, the government. Every entity contributes and every entity should be held to responsible standards.

apophenia: cultural sustainability

The ethics of torture to me, are much like conflict of interest. If you think there might be a conflict of interest, there is. It doesn’t matter if you really, absolutely feel there is one or not. That’s the general standard that’s used. If a reasonable person suspects a certain action could be construed as a conflict of interest, it usually is considered to be one.

If a particular action seems like torture, and some think it might be torture, then for all practical purposes it IS torture. Torture isn’t something with a solid black line that you can step right up to and feel clean about. There’s a grey area. Waterboarding is eitehr grey, or black in this analogy. I seriously doubt anyone considers it “white”. The intent of the Geneva Convention was not to say “don’t do something to a prisoner that every person on Earth considers torture”, its purpose is to outlaw governments from doing anything to prisoners that is ethically wrong. Even if that’s not in the wording, it’s what is meant. What are we if we result to torturing people to feel safe? How can we sleep at night knowing what we’ve done?  On top of it all, torture has very low accuracy in its results. Under torture, people talk. They’ll say anything. So what are we really accomplishing doing this? I am ashamed of this government for continuing these horrific acts in the name of protecting America.

Bush vetoes bill outlawing CIA waterboarding - Yahoo! News

Tabletop roleplaying is an in person experience, and as such it stimulates conversation, social skills, and more. Being a game, it teaches about competition, leadership, and cooperation. And being an open-ended format as opposed to a book or boardgame, it inspires the imagination. Skinny teenage geeks who didn’t feel like they felt in growing up could (and still can) find an escape in the fantastical adventures roleplaying proposes. Swords and sorcerors, dungeons and dragons, the imagination could run wild.

Wil Wheaton of course summarized much the same more eloquently than I could, read his homage to Mr. Gygax here.

I suppose I should finish with the obligatory RPG reference. So, Gary, may 3d10+2 angels carry thee to thy rest.

Well this weekend I went to the North Texas Irish Festival with my parents down at Fair Park. It’s a gathering for Irish (and Scottish) music, food, and more. The food side was a bit disappointing. One Irish pub downtown had a booth with good corned beef and cabbage, otherwise it was typical fair fare. There were a few interesting booths with celtic knot pendants and such, and a lot of booths that only barely had anything to do with the theme (Harry Potter hats, candle shops, etc.).

All in all though it was a nice day for it and I heard some good music. In particular I found a new band I really like. Surprisingly, they’re available on iTunes. The Town Pants are from Vancouver and have a great upbeat sound to them. So far everything I’m hearing sounds good, so maybe they’re that new Irish group for me. If you like this style of music, check them out!

I also put in a field for the farm. They sell long wheat like strands for field grass. It’s actually for a much larger scale. I cut it down and glued in clumps into Woodland Scenics soil landscape material.

I’ve also added a passenger car imported from Japan (thanks Marcia!), and some new figures. Once I get the next building done (another traditional downtown style building) I’ll post some more pics of the overall set.

If you’re not into such details, just click through on the thumbnail to see the picture. Each of those gems in the picture is a galaxy. Not a star system, but a friggin’ galaxy with millions if not hundreds of millions of stars.  There are endless possibilities out there. The universe is a huge, majestic place.

Isolated Galaxy or Corporate Merger? Hubble Spies NGC 1132

just because we can, doesn’t mean we should