From a smokers perspective I don't care if it gets passed, it won't change my habits at all. I live in Santa Cruz where it is the lowest offense, everyone here smokes. It's a very laid back surfer town and Marijuana has been part of this town forever and we get along just fine. We have no Wal*Mart, no big box chain stores, the #2 surfing university, and when people aren't smoking weed they are commuting to their jobs over at Google and Apple.
I do however, care about this becoming legal because I can't stand to live in a country with such illogical reasons for a drug to be illegal. It's too ironic and hypocritical for this to be illegal when Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fast Food are sold far and wide. Look at Puckers, that alcohol is marketed to teens! What adult in their right mind would drink that garbage? Fast food destroying lives, and it's destroying the lives of our youth, while Marijuana actually provides medical benefits.
This kid had bone cancer and couldn't eat, prescription pills made him high and didn't help. His life dramatically improved once he started taking Medical Marijuana. The pharmacist didn't even charge him for it either, he just told him to feel better. Remember when people used to be like that? Oh, and then the DEA came and raided the medical facility and now the owner has to wear an ankle unit and faces 100 years in prison... Someone nice enough to not charge a cancer patient with a prescription for the drugs he needed.
I'd like to see any of the opposition vote no on this if one of their loved ones got bone cancer and the only thing that made them feel better was medical marijuana. They would change their tune in a second, because there is nothing more important to anyone than the people they love.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Music Industry Has Cancer.
I just read this article from the Huffington Post
It was pretty interesting and I agreed with a lot of what John Mellencamp said about Wall Street ruining the music industry (Shit, what hasn't it ruined?), but I disagree when he thinks that it's the death of the music business... I think he said that, his conclusion wasn't clear.
One of his points was that the reason so many record companies are struggling right now, is because they failed to embrace the internet. Not only do I think they failed to embrace it, but they are still fighting it, the RIAA is still trying to stop people from "illegally" downloading music, rather than trying to figure out how to get people to actually buy it. The music industry is run by a bunch of fucking idiots, they are the dumbest, greediest, bunch of bastards out there. If Apple didn't come up with the iTunes store, and spend so much time trying to get these record companies to sell their music on the store, all of these companies would be dead. Doesn't it shock you that a computer company was the saving grace to the retarded music industry?
If these companies could have got their shit together before Napster gave everyone a taste of free music, things would be much different now. But it's too late, and not only that, but the music these record companies are pushing is just not worth the money it costs to buy the album. The thing is, I buy music from bands that I like, but only if they are on their own, or an independent label like Fat Wreck Chords. There is no way I will buy an album from a major label because the artists don't get shit for it, so I just don't get the album at all.
The whole stealing thing is a stupid argument. When you download an album that you weren't going to ever buy to begin with, that's not stealing, because #1. there is no money lost when you download a bunch of 1's and 0's, no actual product is stolen, and #2. Fuck Metallica.
Unlike Mr. Mellencamp, my rant has a conclusion. Look, the music industry is going to die, and unless they can change their evil ways, there is nothing that can be done to save them. You can stop all the illegal downloading, but they will still die because nobody will actually buy the albums that they would have illegally downloaded because they are shit.
Bands don't need a Major label anymore, there is no benefit from it, only loss of control and huge debts. CD Baby, iTunes, MySpace, FaceBook, PureVolume and other internet companies have made it possible for bands to be successful on their own. The advancement of recording technology lessens the need for a record label even further. It no longer costs millions of dollars to have a studio. Almost every town has someone with some basic recording equipment. With all this available, a band can record a full album for around $1,000 - $10,000, then they can send the CD to be sold on CDBaby.com, CD Baby will then distribute it to every online digital distributor out there (including iTunes), then you can create a following on MySpace, FaceBook, and PureVolume. Then you can tell all of your fans that you recorded a CD, they can then go buy it on iTunes for $9.99, and of that $9.99 you get $6.50, then CD Baby takes 9% of that leaving the artist with a total of $5.85 per album sold. I think Metallica got $2.00 per album sold.
Because of the internet, and these tools, the music will thrive again, and the industry will die, it's only a matter of time...
It was pretty interesting and I agreed with a lot of what John Mellencamp said about Wall Street ruining the music industry (Shit, what hasn't it ruined?), but I disagree when he thinks that it's the death of the music business... I think he said that, his conclusion wasn't clear.
One of his points was that the reason so many record companies are struggling right now, is because they failed to embrace the internet. Not only do I think they failed to embrace it, but they are still fighting it, the RIAA is still trying to stop people from "illegally" downloading music, rather than trying to figure out how to get people to actually buy it. The music industry is run by a bunch of fucking idiots, they are the dumbest, greediest, bunch of bastards out there. If Apple didn't come up with the iTunes store, and spend so much time trying to get these record companies to sell their music on the store, all of these companies would be dead. Doesn't it shock you that a computer company was the saving grace to the retarded music industry?
If these companies could have got their shit together before Napster gave everyone a taste of free music, things would be much different now. But it's too late, and not only that, but the music these record companies are pushing is just not worth the money it costs to buy the album. The thing is, I buy music from bands that I like, but only if they are on their own, or an independent label like Fat Wreck Chords. There is no way I will buy an album from a major label because the artists don't get shit for it, so I just don't get the album at all.
The whole stealing thing is a stupid argument. When you download an album that you weren't going to ever buy to begin with, that's not stealing, because #1. there is no money lost when you download a bunch of 1's and 0's, no actual product is stolen, and #2. Fuck Metallica.
Unlike Mr. Mellencamp, my rant has a conclusion. Look, the music industry is going to die, and unless they can change their evil ways, there is nothing that can be done to save them. You can stop all the illegal downloading, but they will still die because nobody will actually buy the albums that they would have illegally downloaded because they are shit.
Bands don't need a Major label anymore, there is no benefit from it, only loss of control and huge debts. CD Baby, iTunes, MySpace, FaceBook, PureVolume and other internet companies have made it possible for bands to be successful on their own. The advancement of recording technology lessens the need for a record label even further. It no longer costs millions of dollars to have a studio. Almost every town has someone with some basic recording equipment. With all this available, a band can record a full album for around $1,000 - $10,000, then they can send the CD to be sold on CDBaby.com, CD Baby will then distribute it to every online digital distributor out there (including iTunes), then you can create a following on MySpace, FaceBook, and PureVolume. Then you can tell all of your fans that you recorded a CD, they can then go buy it on iTunes for $9.99, and of that $9.99 you get $6.50, then CD Baby takes 9% of that leaving the artist with a total of $5.85 per album sold. I think Metallica got $2.00 per album sold.
Because of the internet, and these tools, the music will thrive again, and the industry will die, it's only a matter of time...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Motorcyclist Injured By Boar Gets $8.6M Settlement
Motorcyclist Injured By Boar Gets $8.6M Settlement
Ok, I think it's getting to the point where people just win lawsuits for anything against the government when it's decided by jurors.
This dude, just got more than 8 million fucking dollars because HE hit a wild boar when he was riding his motorcycle...
This jackass said: "that Cal-Trans was responsible because it was aware that wild boar crossing the highway were a danger to motorists, but the agency did nothing to remedy the problem."
Oh shit, you know what else is dangerous? EVERYTHING! What the fuck is Cal-Trans supposed to do about wild boars? It's the same as deer, they fucking jump out at you and you have to avoid them. This is where video game skills come in handy for the real world.
This guy had a BAC of .09, and could have been traveling at speeds between 40 and 100 mph. His bike flew 100 feet. But his lawyers say: ""There is no reason to say alcohol caused the accident, because no matter what state (the other drivers) were in, they weren't going to be able to avoid it."
Well, here's how him not being buzzed would have prevented this... First, the odds that you have an accident like the rely on so many coincidences that any one slight modification of your night could change the outcome. If he had taken just 3 more seconds getting on his motorcycle, he would not be in the situation he's in today (he has brain damage and can't walk). So this case is fucking bull shit! If he had followed the law, he would not have been buzzed, he would have traveled at a slightly different speed, and he would have never even seen the boar.
The dumbass jurors blew it, 8 million for a drunk driver? No way, that's ridiculous. I feel bad for the guy, it sucks, his life is never going to be the same, and 8 million dollars is not going to help make this guy a better person. Did he get a DUI? What if his carelessness had killed someone else, would he still get 8 million or would he be in jail?
Maybe I should try getting drunk and riding a motorcycle through boar country.
Ok, I think it's getting to the point where people just win lawsuits for anything against the government when it's decided by jurors.
This dude, just got more than 8 million fucking dollars because HE hit a wild boar when he was riding his motorcycle...
This jackass said: "that Cal-Trans was responsible because it was aware that wild boar crossing the highway were a danger to motorists, but the agency did nothing to remedy the problem."
Oh shit, you know what else is dangerous? EVERYTHING! What the fuck is Cal-Trans supposed to do about wild boars? It's the same as deer, they fucking jump out at you and you have to avoid them. This is where video game skills come in handy for the real world.
This guy had a BAC of .09, and could have been traveling at speeds between 40 and 100 mph. His bike flew 100 feet. But his lawyers say: ""There is no reason to say alcohol caused the accident, because no matter what state (the other drivers) were in, they weren't going to be able to avoid it."
Well, here's how him not being buzzed would have prevented this... First, the odds that you have an accident like the rely on so many coincidences that any one slight modification of your night could change the outcome. If he had taken just 3 more seconds getting on his motorcycle, he would not be in the situation he's in today (he has brain damage and can't walk). So this case is fucking bull shit! If he had followed the law, he would not have been buzzed, he would have traveled at a slightly different speed, and he would have never even seen the boar.
The dumbass jurors blew it, 8 million for a drunk driver? No way, that's ridiculous. I feel bad for the guy, it sucks, his life is never going to be the same, and 8 million dollars is not going to help make this guy a better person. Did he get a DUI? What if his carelessness had killed someone else, would he still get 8 million or would he be in jail?
Maybe I should try getting drunk and riding a motorcycle through boar country.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Earth Hour, what a joke!
Here are some comments I have to say about Earth Hour, you can read an article about it HERE
It's on Saturday, most offices will be at minimal energy usage anyway, so the timing of this doesn't really concern big office buildings.
I have an idea, how about we do earth 6-8 hours, and everyone just remembers to turn out their lights when they go to sleep!
This is to raise awareness? This isn't like a day without Mexicans, it's an hour without lights, how is that going to raise any awareness? It will just look like nobody is home, or that they went to sleep early, or in this economy, like they couldn't pay their electricity bill.
This is why nobody takes anything energy related seriously, it's like we ask pre-school students for ways to help raise awareness and save energy. Go ask a 4 year old how to save energy, and a smart one will tell you to turn the lights off.
Earth Hour is supposed to be an hour where you flip your lights off? So I can still be on my computer, watching TV, and running my treadmill (but not running on it) as long as my lights are off?
With ideas like this, I have very little doubt that the next 50 years are going to see things get better.
It's on Saturday, most offices will be at minimal energy usage anyway, so the timing of this doesn't really concern big office buildings.
I have an idea, how about we do earth 6-8 hours, and everyone just remembers to turn out their lights when they go to sleep!
This is to raise awareness? This isn't like a day without Mexicans, it's an hour without lights, how is that going to raise any awareness? It will just look like nobody is home, or that they went to sleep early, or in this economy, like they couldn't pay their electricity bill.
This is why nobody takes anything energy related seriously, it's like we ask pre-school students for ways to help raise awareness and save energy. Go ask a 4 year old how to save energy, and a smart one will tell you to turn the lights off.
Earth Hour is supposed to be an hour where you flip your lights off? So I can still be on my computer, watching TV, and running my treadmill (but not running on it) as long as my lights are off?
With ideas like this, I have very little doubt that the next 50 years are going to see things get better.
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