The King of Pop has passed...

No other single person or band in the world except The Beatles have been able to sell out stadiums for concerts minutes after the tickets went on sale.

Michael Jackson was a great man. World renowned musician, humanitarian, philanthropist, inspiration. Throughout his life he was never left out of the spotlight due to his talent and, unfortunately, his odd tastes in his personal life. What cannot be denied is that the man, the legend, had such a broad influence on music that is rivaled by only just a few. His influence crosses genres, tastes, national, ethnic, and racial boundaries. He was truly The King of Pop. And sadly, our King is now dead. Will there be anyone to rise up and satisfactorily take his place?

Anyone who has heard Michael Jackson's music, any of it, likes at least one song of his. This is an irrefutable fact. The man's music is just that good. World wide. WORLD. WIDE.

Whether you judge him based on his personal life or not, slandering and libeling him is just not right. The man was happy and at peace writing and performing music. The public inevitably dug too deep into him and drove him insane from the perpetual spotlight in his face. It broke his heart that the people that once adored and praised him had turned around, sneered at him, and fed him to the proverbial lions' den. He was preparing for a comeback tour but it proved just too much for him by wanting to put on the perfect set of shows. Maybe Michael died of a broken heart? Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, this is a sad day in music across the whole world.

The end of an era is here and the state of music is in question. Good night, sweet prince. May you dance your way into the green fields of peace and happiness.

P.S. The icing on this crappy cake is that Creed is getting back together for a new album and tour.

Something old...

So, I was cleaning out my old LJ account when I stumbled upon probably my only good post I made on there. It's a bit idealistic and my changing has changed a bit but I think it's stilla good write. Enjoy!

Truly unifying the world in a peaceful way is possible, we just have to take the examples set out in history and combine them with modern government. (Reposted from my Facebook)


Disclaimer: If you do not understand that this is only a theory I came up with based off of history, government, failing foreign relations and aid and will cover a lot of controversial territory. However, I do appreciate ideas and criticisms, just keep your replies civil in tone.

Touching on the failing foreign relations and aid, I'm going to reference war-torn nations like Darfur, Ethiopia and pretty much the entire Middle East. These nations have been entrenched in civil wars resulting in genocide, ethnic cleansing, killing in the name of a religion, and many other factors. These nations have been warring for decades if not centuries. The original reasons for some of the fighting is long forgotten, other times it's because a group of militants is wanting to seize power any way he/she can. The foreign aid we send to these kinds of countries often does not go to the people who truly need the help, ends up helping the wrong people, or just disappears. Why try to help nations like these that can't or won't willingly accept help from other nations? Even if it is the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak, if our efforts are futile why should we waste our precious resources in that futility? I say we just let them kill each other off and see who the victor is. After wars like that are done, only then can we sweep in and help out. People that believe talking and negotiations is the only way to true, lasting peace are naive. While that is my preferred method to reach peace, some nations won't bow down to that and need a push with a threat of all out war.

By taking the methods of how the Roman Empire (pre-Christianity) conquered a chunk of the known world at its time, we could create a largely peaceful world government. We, being the strongest nation, have the power, allies, and governmental structure to do so. The countries we conquer would lose nothing of their ethnic, religious, and regional uniqueness. We would simply move in, cultures would assimilate on both sides and a common language set. If a country did not want to peacefully join, one would hope just the threat of war would throw them into peace negotiations. This would bolster both the ruling government and the nation's trade and economic infrastructure. It would be win/win for both.

The democratic structure of the United States is pure genius when you analyze how it's broken down. It could truly work on a worldwide scale. Each nation would in essence be like what states are now with laws, elections, and governmental structure. There would be a vast senate in what would be he federal/national arm of the government so there would be equal representation for each nation. There would be no more United Nations because how they work well, they don't. The Electoral College would be wiped from the board for elections and a new, better system would be put in place to accommodate such a large voting body. The separation of powers between branches of government would remain intact and so would the checks and balances, but with improvements again to accommodate such a vast body.

This isn't a grand scheme for the U.S.'s world domination through war. There can be no truly lasting peace with a nation unified through fighting. There has to be reason and peaceful methods tried first before force is used. If those peaceful methods are futile, war is the only way. You can't repeatedly sanction a nation into peace or do the equivalent of shaking a stick at it to bring peace. Action would be the only effective answer.

I am not proposing a utopia. I firmly believe that it is impossible for humans to live in a true utopia. I am proposing a unifying governmental structure to bring about a lasting peace between nations that will bolster international trade and economies. If a state (calling them that for this system) has the resources to build infrastructure and have the things it needs, there is no reason for it to fight against or commit violent acts against other states. Especially those nations providing it with those resources. There would be no "foreign" dependencies because each state would be a part of the name nation and sharing resources.

The United States hasn't had a civil war in well over a hundred years. This, I believe, can largely come from the fact that we moved from an agriculture-based society to an industry-based society. We beat out the dissidents who thought to break the country apart through force as it was the only way.

One of the biggest flaws in a system like this is unavoidable in any political system and to complain about it is completely and utterly unintelligent. The issue of leaders. I believe that having a singular leader for a system like this would be a downfall and would create the downfall of it very quickly. The biggest reason Rome fell was because a single, crazy, warmongering leader was put in place. Had that not happened, we just might all be speaking Latin and not English.

The Executive Branch would consist of not just the cabinet of the group of leaders, but an odd numbered group of people. A sort of council but not a legislative body.

The Judicial Branch would be nearly the same as the Judicial Branch of the U.S.

The Legislative Branch would work the same our the U.S.'s as well.

This kind of setup would trickle down to states as well. We would see essentially the same setup we already have now but on a global scale.

Right now I don't think this could work. The world nor the politicians of the world are not ready for this. They are too centered on themselves and their own personal welfare rather than thinking about unity on a global scale. Peace on this scale is not attainable with the current state of affairs and I'm guessing probably won't be in the next 50-60 years. Though when the world is ready for it, this would be an effective way to go about it or at least a decent model.

Minor Tweaks, Twitter, and upcoming articles

So, it's been a while since I posted. I've been pretty depressed about various things lately and just been very uninspired to really write much of anything. I've been ever so slowly digging myself out of the hole I'm in but it's tough. I do have a draft setup right now with a bunch of links and I'm still digging for more accurate and unbiased sources. The subject is a very seemingly taboo subject - police-related fatalities of the unjustified variety. It's a subject I find interesting and intriguing since there's a lot of seemingly hidden buddy-buddy things going on with the police as of late and a lot of unjustified killings going on. The numbers in Las Vegas alone have nearly quadrupled in the last 3 years. There's more to come but I'm still working on it.

Moving on...

I've changed a couple things on my sidebar. Namely, I've finally started using my Twitter account. I've had it since August 2007 and have barely used it since. It's kind of funny, most people I know either haven't heard of Twitter or only heard about it within the last few months. It makes me feel like a huge nerd for knowing about it for so long and having an account with something that most people using it have only been using it for a short while. So, if you want to follow me on Twitter just hit the button and send a notification to me so I can allow you to receive my updates. I have it secured because it's still a form of social networking and I don't want people knowing that I'm posting an update while I'm taking a poo or something. I also don't want Twitter spam. Click here to go to my Twitter page, too.

I also switched the IM button to Pidgin's since I've been using that over Trillian since the current free Trillian sucks and doesn't connect to Facebook chat. Pidgin is an free, open source multi-protocol IM client. I use it to connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, GTalk, Facebook, ICQ, and MySpace IM. Yeah, that's a lot of chat protocols but I've made friends over the years that only use one and not a bunch. I'm considering changing my AIM name simply because I've had it since about 1999 and it's due for a change (ShenLong1983 haha!) to something a bit more...professional or closer to the me of now. However, I'm at a loss as to what to change it to beyond my name.

Now, I've been using the Windows 7 Public Beta Microsoft released back in Mid-January and I have to say, I'm fairly impressed. I'll be writing a nice article about it soon with all of my thoughts and screenshots. I'm thinking of adding video using fraps to capture the screen and my voice to show off some of the features that I've found particularly useful to improve the overall user experience. And I'll talk about some of the things that I don't like so much and some problems I've had along the way.

Until next time!

How I See Obama's Victory and How It Will Affect America

After some thinking, listening, watching, reading and what have you about what I and many others did on November 4th, I felt compelled to write my thoughts once again.

President-elect Obama represents a lot of things. He brings about feelings of hope, feelings of elation, feelings of reassurance, notions of unity, and a myriad of other great things.

With the election of Obama, my hope and faith in the American public and government has been slightly rejuvenated. Especially with the Democrats gaining a filibuster-proof House and Senate. I can't really explain why but I have the highest expectations out of the incoming presidential administration. I really want to stray away form using the word "change" since it's been way over-used this year but I really see America going a new, different, and positive direction under the leadership of Obama.

In the last eight years we've seen tremendous acts of violence, wars, economic downturns (and heading towards a depression), unemployment skyrocketing, education getting the axe across the nation, and seeing a black man elected to the highest position one can hold in this country. Whether you see his victory as a great achievement of race or you see it as the American people coming together and saying "enough is enough," doesn't matter because this man has brought the biggest and best thing this country needed: hope.

Hope really brings a mixed set of emotions to the table when you think about it. For me, it brings happiness, sadness, disappointment, joy, anger, and surprise (in a good way). Call me a cynic, but even with the highest hopes there's always room for failure.

I really don't see the failure because I'm really positive about this guy. Unlike past and present candidates, he seems like the genuine article. Obama is probably the most inspirational and best public speaker I've seen in a very long time. His ability to instill this hope into people has not been seen from a politician in decades.

I truly believe in the policies he'll work to get put into motion. Naysay socialism all you like, but what this country needs a little bit more of is some socialism to help repair the nation. Screw spending billions of dollars on a never-ending war. Screw spending billions of dollars on weapons and military. I'd like to see most, if not all, of that money going towards social progress in America. Making the schools better and more caught up technologically, ensuring everyone access to proper medical care whether they pay for it from a private insurer or are given it through a national program, making it easier for people to become citizens of this country instead of measures preventing them from doing so, helping rural areas gain access to broadband Internet, making public transit a thing to be proud and easy to access for all, breaking down the control corporations have over our country, and whatever else I can't think of off the top of my head.

I know Obama hasn't mentioned much of some of those above but his policies will pave the way for them. We've seen that the trickle down economics just don't work and benefit only the top 5% or so of the country. Isn't most of this country sitting smack dab in the middle class or working poor? That doesn't help this country at all.

Whether redistributing the wealth means actually giving people money or giving more access to jobs/opportunity will be an economic boon for the entire country, not just the top 5% who don't put nearly as much into the economy and government as the bottom 95%. There is absolutely no reason people at the top can't give a helping hand to the people crawling and scraping just to get by. Wait, they didn't earn it or work for it so they don't deserve it? Sure, they didn't but don't they deserve an equal opportunity to get off the ground and take care of themselves or their family? Wait, that's downright un-Capitalistic! That's socialist! Glory be to socialism if having more policies that are remotely socialist in our government and daily lives.

I've never understood the stigma of socialism being mixed into our country. It's not bad. Look at social security, look at welfare, look at food stamps, look at medicare/medicaid, look at WIC, and other social programs. Yes, they have people that are exploiting them but on a larger and more important scale they benefit a lot of people who would otherwise be destitute. Some of them could use some heavy reform, I won't ignore that, but on a large scale they're very effective and good for the people who are on them. The stigma that anyone on those programs is a lazy, free-loading slob that has no place in normal society is downright wrong and unfair. Many families work very hard and benefit a lot from these programs and without them they would be in a very bad spot in life, especially their children.

So, I really think that Obama's policies and the doorways they will open will benefit everyone in our country, bottom to top. However, if he or his policies fail it will the another note in the history books. I really don't see them failing though.

Addendum: It's been pointed out to me that for the good ol' United States of America to even stay in the United Nations, we'd have to maintain socialist programs like social security, welfare, and workers' unions. Also, Wal-Mart's business tactics can get us kicked out of the UN because they do not allow workers to form unions.

Mac vs PC: Hardware and Software

I hate to sound like a Mac fanboy but, you really get what you pay for with computers these days. If you look at similar desktop and laptop PC solutions, you're going to save maybe a couple hundred dollars and have sub-par hardware that doesn't perform as well with the software and possibly uglier. Sometimes you'll end up spending exactly the same amount or more for the same hardware and still have a drop in performance because the software you're going to be using isn't tuned with the hardware like you get in a Mac.

Windows is meant for a broader spectrum of pieces and parts while Macs have their set of hardware and that's it. Mac OS X is pretty much tuned with the hardware it works on whether it's the PowerPC or Intel builds of it.

Macs are top of the line, they're not the bargain basement computers with a couple hundred dollar rebates you see at Best Buy and shit. They won't end up crapping out on you (usually) right out of warranty. They're solid and they look good. They also come with all the bells and whistles.

People put focus way too much on the hardware of their PCs when the driving force behind what makes a computer good or bad is the software running on that computer. I've been a Windows user since before a lot of people knew what the internet was. But as it has been shown, the more hardware that's available, the more road blocks can be ran into. And Windows having to support said hardware creates a road block for itself. It has to deal with drivers from manufacturers who put out crappy, buggy drivers and some who put out good ones. But you'll, more often than not, have to mix the shitty drivers and the good drivers and thus creating system instability at the lower levels of Windows.

Also, did I mention that the operating system upgrades (10.1, 2, etc.) have only costed about $130 each time? These aren't upgrade only disks, it's the full shebang. You get a (mostly) rock-solid UNIX-based OS that looks good, runs fast and smooth on the hardware, and has something for everyone whether you're a newbie to Macs or an advanced user who uses the terminal.

For me, the hardware has had nothing to do with my wonderful experience with OS X so far (although that 2GB of memory helps a lot). It's all been the software. I haven't had to worry about a system tune-up interrupting gameplay and bogging my computer down to hell because the software can't operate with the hardware properly (dual core) to take advantage of its capabilities. I haven't had to worry about nearly anything yet. And the next version of OS X is going to be stepping up hardware interaction in Leopard with not only being dual core but also 64-bit at no extra cost to the operating system unlike Windows where you'll pay an inordinate amount more just to get the 64-bit OS and THEN you have to deal with driver issues all to hell.

Let's face it, computers these days are moving closer and closer to an all-around market. That being not just being younger people who've been using computers since they were kids. Older people use them as well and OEMs are moving to 64-bit and dual core chips yet the software isn't taking advantage of those two main features of the chip. Sure, a 64-bit processor runs 32-bit apps a bit faster and some applications do take advantage of that other core, yet most software is neither multi-threaded or 64-bit. The Windows market will have to shift completely for it to get the 64-bit and dual core support.

The Mac market won't have to shift so much as they've been using multi-core processors for some time now. With the recent addition of the Core 2 Duo, they've added 64-bit the the feature list. Leopard will be a 64-bit OS and I'm assuming there won't be a Leopard 32-bit and a Leopard 64-bit like there are with Windows. And there won't be the pile-up driver issues with this shift to 64-bit (for those with the Core 2 Duos like me). I'm also thinking there won't be a problem with using the 32-bit apps in the 64-bit OS.

The Windows market can learn something from this but Microsoft, OEMs and hardware manufacturers won't start putting out solid 64-bit drivers for their devices because a large chunk of the market is still on 32-bit hardware and software. And instead of being proactive on making the switch, Microsoft trying to get people's money for the 64-bit OS. If the 64-bit OS costs $100 more than the 32-bit version and the driver support is crappy, what would drive a consumer to buy it? I know I wouldn't. I don't want to deal with shoddy driver support and emptying my wallet a little more for an OS that won't even work with my hardware.

You can have the best computer hardware out there and be all smug about it. But if the software you're using is crap and doesn't work well with your hardware, you can keep to your LAN parties and get fat on Cheetos while I laugh at you. I have a great operating system, good software, good hardware, good hardware-software interaction and it looks and works great.

The Mac Gaming Debate

Shut up about this, thanks. While Macs would be great gaming platforms, the majority of Mac users (from what I have seen and assume) aren't really into hardcore gaming. And if they are, a lot of the big titles are actually on Mac. WoW, Quake 4, any Blizzard game, a lot of Lucas Arts games, and a lot more. Look them up. Some of the regular model Apples may not do all the bells and whistles for the best look, but they do play and they play well. I'm getting 10 more frames per second in WoW on my MacBook than I did on my Windows laptop's ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 w/ 128MB shared RAM. Just so you know, the Intel GMA 950 chipset only does 64MB shared. I can't explain it, maybe there's just less overhead in OS X? Anyways, I didn't buy a Mac to hardcore game as I do not do that. I didn't do that on Windows either.

Just like the hardcore gaming scene is a niche market, so is the Mac market. It has the potential to be a lot more for everyone, especially since OS X is a simple OS to use.

I got published!

As expected, my Darfur article got published. Not to say that I knew or had high expectations of it getting published, but I'd been told by Gary Thompson and Nolan Dalla that it was "very well done" and "stunningly good" respectively and knew Nolan was going to send it out to his media contacts.

But where it got published first was totally unexpected! So far it's gotten published in two places. I can't express in words how excited I am about this.

My Darfur Article on MSNBC!
and
My Darfur Article on The Hendon Mob
and
My Darfur Article on PokerAllStar

Can you believe it? MSNBC is where I got published for the first time that wasn't Concord's newspaper!

Coming up soon: The Chronicles of Tim Huber as observed by Justin Grathwohl the WSOP PR Interns. It'll be a story about love, fame, fortune, and stupidity. I'm sure anyone who's met me recently has also probably met Tim as well and know what he's like. It will be a good, funny story and at his expense. Nothing will be made up and it will all be unbelievable fact! Don't miss out on The Chronicles of Tim Huber as observed by Justin Grathwohl the WSOP PR Interns!

In other news, I finally got myself a swank new Black MacBook from Apple. Features 1GB of DDR2 667MHz memory, DVD Super Drive, 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Cuo, 160GB hard drive and all the other standard goodies. It's so pretty. I think this is the most satisfying computer purchase I've ever made. It only cost me $900! Thank you craigslist! What this also means is that I'm selling my Windows-based PC. Here's the specifics if anyone is interested:

Acer Aspire 5100 $600

GENUINE Windows Vista Home Premium
Microsoft Office 2007 Blue Edition (downloaded from MSDN)
1.6GHz AMD Turion64 X2 (dual core) mobile processor
8x DVD burner (DVD-R/W, DVD+R/W, dual layer)
100GB Hard drive (partitioned into two drives)
1GB of DDR2 667MHz RAM (maximum of 4GB DDR2 667MHz RAM)
ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 (128MB shared graphics memory)
15.4" screen; super bright and clear
Built-in WiFi 802.11b/g
Built-in webcam and microphone (webcam is super clear and looks good)
5-in-1 memory card reader (SD, MMC, Sony MemoryStick, SDHC, and xD)
Power adapter included (duh)
90-day trial of Windows Live OneCare installed for anti-virus/spyware protection and firewall
Windows Vista Home Premium, Acer Drivers and Software, and Microsoft Office 2007 disks come with the laptop.

If you're interested, leave a comment or you can e-mail me.

Until next time! Same bat channel, same bat time!

Who's Paying Attention? The Crisis in Darfur

In a day and age when the broadcast and cable media are reporting on the misdeeds and slip ups of celebrities, some might begin to wonder exactly what is and isn’t newsworthy. What these channels hope to gain in ratings with this “entertainment news,” where hours upon hours are focused on famous people, they lose in newsworthy stories from around the world; stories that it seems the American public does not want to be informed about. In particular, one major story going on in a small place called Darfur in Africa.

Sure, everyone has heard people mumble a few words here and there about this crisis, yet where is the media coverage? Where is the around the clock coverage for something vastly more important than a rich girl’s drunk driving record or a pseudo-celebrity dying from a drug overdose? It is non-existent. Thousands of people are dying, yet the media can’t find anything better to talk about than celebrities and their wild hijinks.

First off, it’s a safe assumption to say that most people have almost no clue where Darfur is beyond the fact that it’s in Africa somewhere. As the picture above illustrates, Darfur is the western region in Sudan which is located in north-eastern Africa below Egypt and next to Ethiopia. This is an area that’s been in constant, bloody turmoil for decades with civil wars and other kinds of in-fighting.

Next, a little background on what is being called a “humanitarian crisis” in Darfur is needed. It is another safe assumption to say that people are vaguely informed on the conflict in Darfur, if at all. It is being called a “humanitarian crisis” because over 200,000 people have died and over two million are displaced refugees sitting along the border of Chad. Yet, the numbers of an actual death count cannot be confirmed due to the entire country being on lockdown. With that situation, no one from the United Nations or neighboring countries can get in to help and get a real look at the situation.

In 2003, the government of Sudan sent out what they called “self-defense militias” to Darfur in response to a rebel group attacking Sudanese government targets. The rebel groups claimed that the government was ignoring and oppressing non-Arab civilians and did not care about the civilians dying from disease and starvation.

A group in Sudan called the Janjaweed also started attacking and raping Darfur civilians soon after the government sent in the militias. The Sudan government has thus far admitted no link to the Janjaweed and the genocide they are committing.

The Janjaweed are a militant group in Sudan that are said to be anti-black African and refugees state that they are performing an ethnic cleansing in Darfur. This includes not just armed civilians, but unarmed women, children, sickly, and old.

While the U.N. has stated that through their investigations that the motives for genocide are not present but that war crimes are being committed. However, reports from refugees say that the Janjaweed come in and slaughter civilians after attacks from the government.

The Sudanese government has promised that they will disarm the Janjaweed, but it is obvious that it has not happened and probably won’t. The Sudanese government has been very resistant to any kind of threats from the U.S., U.K., or the U.N. regarding international sanctions and resolutions.

There have been attempts to create ceasefires, disarmaments and integration of the various rebel groups in Sudan but each one did not receive 100% support from all the groups involved in the peace deals. U.N. peacekeeper forces have also been suggested and tried to be implemented but to no avail.

With the failures of outside influences and the Sudanese government outright ignoring them as well, the Sudanese government has outright launched several attacks on civilians in the Darfur region. Despite there being formal peace deals being signed by Sudan’s president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, hostilities have yet to stop.

Among all the dead bodies and displaced people, the refugee camps are still not a safe place for them. There have been several reports that women walking out of the camps are beaten and raped by militants and even the forces assigned to protect these camps are not safe.

Throughout all of these horrible events people from around the world have tried to raise awareness and funds for the people of Darfur. As evidenced previously, their efforts have been only marginally successful.

The humanitarian aid that is being raised around the world can only be speculated as to who or where it is truly going to. The main thing that seems to be happening with a lot of the charity events is to raise awareness and hope that the money is going to the places it needs to go.

However, at this year’s World Series of Poker there will be a major event targeted towards raising awareness and funds for Darfur, called “Ante Up For Africa.” With a $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold‘em and a star-studded line-up of poker pros and celebrities, they hope to reach an audience thus far untapped and very likely unaware of the crisis in Darfur. Not only will this event bring attention, but potentially even more than just the money raised during the tournament.

The Ante Up For Africa event will be a step up from a lot of the fundraising and awareness drives that have been hosted by the many charities and organizations aimed at Darfur -- especially considering the amount of media coverage the event will attract. It is hoped that some of the cameras that focus their lenses on the stars, will reflect that attention to the real crisis at hand.

In the end, one can only hope that the money raised and the awareness generated will be driven directly toward the people who need it in Darfur and not the government officials and black market. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a new, effective endeavor to stop the killing. It is time for poker and poker players to step up and do their part.