Iran

So wow! Time for me to get political despite my better judgment. Iranian Citizens are rising up and saying the election was a scam. everyone in the whole wide world knows it is, but this time people actually care about it. so now a large group of pissed off civilians are scaring the shit out of those in power. this is how a government should run, Governments need to fear their people.

Now here at home President Obama is getting a lot of Flak because he is not speaking out strongly against the allegedly fraudulent election. I find myself on a side not openly supporting the president, but at the same time sees a good reason for silence. It is not self indulgence or a willingness to let evil prosper, as some commentators have claimed.

the reason we have been so hands off in support for the populist dissent in that nation is to permit this movement to maintain its own ownership. if the President Speaks out in support, the Ayatollah will use that as an excuse to blame America for this dissent. it is the same thing that has happened for nearly three decades. The Nation has been brought to near collapse because the United States DID at one point meddle in Iran's internal affairs, specifically the Iran/Iraq War. truth told, in the incident we played both sides for fools, and neither has quite forgiven us for it.

the united states has a larger misunderstanding about the Nation called Iran however. it is one that has plagued us for most of the 20th century. We see Islam as an Arabic religion, so all Muslims must be Arabs as well. Iran is a Persian land however, just as Egypt is it's own region. The cultural differences between Persians and Arabs are just as wide as the cultural differences between the United States and China.

It is similar to General Patton's assessment of our inability to understand the Soviet Union, because we insisted on treating them as European, when the large quantity of Soviets were Asian.

the sooner we realize that we need to adjust our perspective on these people, the sooner we can get along with them without having to actually apologize for sins of the past.

Falling blocks

Two of my favorite tings are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. the first is Battletech, a Game of Armored combat. the other is Tetris.

Tetris was perhaps the greatest invention to come out of the Soviet Union, after the Automat Kalashnikov model 1947. it was created by a mathematician, Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov in 1984. though popular rumor is that it was made on an oscilloscope, it was in fact made on a Russian Elektronika 60 mainframe terminal. being the soviet union, the government claimed ownership of the software, and sold the publishing rights on the cheap, leaving Alexy with no royalties. The result of this caused Alexy and his friend and co worker to move to the United States, where he was honestly shocked that his simple "exercise the brain" program was a smash hit, and little children were playing it on Game Boys with an expertise many adults could not match.

it is estimated that over 70 million copies of the game Tetris have been sold in one format or another, and it can be argued that the Game Boy, which originally came with a copy of Tetris, was made the leading platform by the game. It has been ported, and made to freeware on several systems, and even been played on the side of skyscrapers.

The Music is just as timeless. the Original Game boy version used a Russian folk tune called Korobeiniki, as well as "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Faeries" and Bach's "French Suite no 3."

my personal opinion as to the success of Tetris is that for a puzzle game, it does not end. there is no clock, no goal, it is a race against yourself to last as long as possible. even mathematicians have stated that eventually even with reflexes bordering on precognition, the nature of the game itself prevents you from playing indefinitely. yet this makes it easy to compete, not only against friends, but yourself. that such a competitive piece of software came from the Soviets is nearly miraculous.

I for one, plan on celebrating this wonderful game with a glass of vodka and my circa 1986 gameboy (still functions!). everyone else should at least play the classic, and raise a glass to our comrade Alexy, now living in hawaii, for starting an international phenominon

Nerd Cave

So the wife and I have made an offer on a new place to live. in terms of layout it is absolutely perfect for us. the basement is expansive and it is large for the X-01 and us, and maybe an X-02 (though we are going to be waiting a few years before that happens)

Jennifer's and my relationship and now marriage has been unique in the fact that I have always had most of the stuff. so fundamentally, while living together we have always lived in a bachelor pad of sorts. it seems like this is not going to change much, but since we are both nerds, with similar tastes it matters little.

we are going to make an attempt at a "more grown up" place for most of this new house. the master Bedroom, Office, and Basement will be where the nerdness lies. it is specifically the basement that we are focusing on.

There are three rooms down there, each with what will be a most excellent focus to them. the first room is thin and long, with a tile floor and stainless steel sinks in it. Perfect for our model painting (yes she paints them too) already we are looking at how to properly equip it for such a purpose.

the second room is a small (painfully so) home theater. in the era of HD televisions I know that the cabinet that was built into the wall will be demolished and replaced. a floor to ceiling DVD case installed and a stereo surround system connected. the ability to play Xbox in full surround is a pleasure I have yet to experience, and it will be awesome.

the third room , directly off the second, is a full fledged bar. now I am going to have to rotate the bar itself 90 degrees, but other then that I have this full empty space that I can do almost anything with. what will happen to it, I do not know. Pictures will be placed on a photobucket page, and then my plans to dominate the world will take effect.

Stay tuned children!

House Crap

Seven days, Our House was on the market a grand total of seven days, and it sold. in this market that has to be a god-damned record. We Close in August, which means a few social plans I have will not be derailed, thank goodness.

now we have to find a house to live in after closing though. Mrs A and I will be looking at places today that are in our top 3. I plan on making an offer on one of them, just to get it out of the way.

for those not in the know, buying a house is a lot like bidding in an auction. you NEVER offer what the seller is asking for. depending on how things are going, you offer a small but substantial discount. some will say 15% lower, some 10%, my agent says 5, I call him a wuss. then it is a bunch of haggeling back and forth before you and the seller come to an agreed upon price. then the fun starts.

see even though you agree on a price the place is not sold yet. you hire a house inspector to "kick the tires" and see if there are structural, wiring, plumbing defects, stuff that is dangerous. the kind of crap people hide with a fresh coat of paint. like Chinese Drywall.

after the inspection you get a list of "crap that should be fixed before you move in. you go to the seller and say "not only do I have to pay for the place, but I have to spend W dollars to fix X, Y, and Z. so I say either you fix it, or you discount the price to fix it off of the sales price."

depending on how desperate people are to sell they may agree or they may tell you to buzz off.

wash rinse repeat until a final price is agreed on and SOLD the home is yours. the process is not for the weak willed or faint of heart. I would also say it is not for the arrogant or bored. it can best be described as a poker game. you bluff, up the ante, and try not to blink or sweat.

I got the person to buy my house to blink, and he was sweating. Time for phase II. more to come later