Library of Congress on Flickr

Hey, you should all check this out. http://www.flickr.com/photos/Library_of_Congress. If you like historical photography, this site is great. It's amazing the resources we all have online now. Sites like this can be used for research for news stories, books, school assignments, or just entertainment. I have always liked history and enjoyed listening to some of the stories from the old days that my grandpa used to tell. Now with sites like this, I can put a picture to some of his stories. Check it out and let me know what you think!

You Tube

What can I say about you tube. Well, of all the SNS's out there, this is the one I have used the most. I don't use it for anything serious, just basically goofing off. I like to search for videos of musicians I like. If I hear about something that happened on TV that I missid, I might search for it on You Tube. I was bored yesterday and remembered a show called Thundercats from when I was a little kid. So I searched for it and, blam, up comes about 100 vidos of clips and episodes from the show. Now that I look at it again, it's kinda wierd. Humanoids who look like cats and run around in tights and spikes trying to battle evil, and comic relief from a cat-like creature named Snarf. So I guess You Tube is usefull to me for things like that. I can also understand how it would be a usefull tool for research for class projects or any other type of research.

Desk Jobs

Here's a question. Which age group in this country has the most desk jobs? It seems that the older you get, the more likely you are to have a desk job. I know this is true for any job I've ever had. So, what does almost every desk in this country have sitting on top of it? That's right - A COMPUTER! Now, just speaking from experience, do you think that employer owned computers are used only for the business of that employer? Of course not. People use these computers to browse the web, sign on to Myspace and Facebook, send email, and do countless other things that they should not be doing on these computers. So since all this extra, non work related activity is happening on computers sitting on desks which are populated by mostly the older segment of the workforce, is it any wonder that the older generations are the ones that use it the most? I don't need a study to tell me that!

Syracuse, Parents, and Freedom of Speech

Ok, let me just say first that the comments made by these Syracuse students were terrible and could have led to threats or bodily harm to this teacher, maybe not from these students, but possibly from other followers of the group. This kind of behavior stems from a lack of respect for others that has obviously been allowed to run awry for years. But, whose responsibility is it to teach these students the difference between right and wrong? Is it the university who should take on this responsibility? If it is, than should'nt that responsibility trickle down to high school and elementary school? Do we really want to hand over another aspect of our childern's lives to a system that can't keep up with their current responsibilities? I think not. The root of this problem in with the parents or guardians of this nations childern. Parents need to realize that it is up to them to instill respect and integrity and morals into our youth. It should not be up to the educational institutions to do it for them. And also, what gives the university the right to trample on these students freedom of speech? Now, like I wrote at the beginning, I believe that the actions of these students could have led to a tragedy, but does a publicly funded university have the right to limit freedom of speech? Does the local and county police in Vincinnes, IN have the right to arrest KKK members who hold a permit to have a non-violent rally in which they spew forth hateful and bigoted retoric? NO, THEY DON'T. Even though what they are saying is wrong, we as a nation cannot issue penalty because of a difference in opinion.

Metallica

Ok, if you read my last blog you know that I am "in-between" in age. This means that when I as a teenager the biggest band around was Metallica. I started listening to Metallica when I as in 6th grade, the And Justice For All.... album (yes, it was on vinyl). Then, when I was a freshman, they came out with the black album, "Metallica". These two albums inspired me to learn how to play drums and guitar. The writing for these albums was pure genius. After "Metallica" came out I started listening to some of their earlier albums such as "Master of Puppets" and "Ride the Lightning". The albums represent the roots of modern hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Disturbed, System, Tool, and many others. However, after "Metallica" the band went through a change and started writing songs that were more hard rock than metal. Although I liked many of these songs, I was worried about the direction of the band. The band tried to get heavier with their last album "St. Anger", but they missed the mark. The album had a terrible sound and the songs were poorely constructed and written. I had almost given up on the band but then I read an article about how the next album wound be more like earlier efforts. The band decided to call the album "Death Magnetic" and judging by the 2 songs released for radio play, the album will live up to its billing. I hope it does!

I'm Old

I decided to go back to school last Thursday thinking that I needed a fresh start and new opportunities. You would think this would make me feel younger, right? Well, I'm 33 years old and will be turning 34 in a couple weeks. I attended some other classes on campus and have realized that I am now part of the "old crowd". I was talking to one of my co-workers who did not know I was going back to school. He was making fun of the "old crowd" because he said his classes with older people are more boring. At first, I took offense, but than I realized that he probably would not be telling me this if he thought I was old. So maybe I'm just in-between. I think I'll start a new crowd, the "in-between crowd" - too old to be cool, but to young to be boring. I can live with that.