01/19/08

CA: Prop 91 – Transportation Funds

On February 5, 2008, California will hold ballots to decide the fate of Prop 91-97. While watching the Warriors game the other night, commercials for and against the indian gaming propositions were shown incessantly. Although, TV had been the standard source for my political views, it’s probably a good idea to do some research now that I have an investment in the welfare of this state. Getting taxed so heavily makes people politically aware–I’m sure someone in history stated that before.
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01/18/08

Feed the World, One Grain at a Time

FreeRice.com

FreeRice.com, a sister site of Poverty.com, launched three months ago is on a mission to feed the world through wordplay. Visitors can play a word matching game, similar to the word association questions found on SATs. A word will be provided with four answers; if the correct word is chosen, 20 grains of rice are donated to the poor through the United Nations. The vocabulary level also rises the further along the game goes. The site is a great way to help contribute to the cause of ending world hunger and helps increase your vocabulary skill.

01/17/08

Dangers on the Bus

Danger isn’t regulated to just the streets, but on public transportation as well. You’re stuck in a confined space with no easy access surrounded by total strangers. Assault, robbery, and molestation are the standard fare. But, there are other dangers that are more off the beaten path, especially in a city like San Francisco. Even moreso when MUNI is brought into the conversation. But there are less unlawful dangers to look out for, more annoyances really.

You may find yourself standing next to a crazy lady conversing with herself over the importance of fine dining and the proper use of etiquette. If you try to join the conversation, don’t expect to leave with your sanity intact. Off to the side would be a normal looking blue collar worker on the outside, but after a minute you realize he has a very bad case of Tourette’s syndrome. During the winter days, a number of riders cough and sneeze without covering up. A few even spit their phlegm onto the back of seat. Disgusting.

One of the worst though are the drunkards. Not the sleepy drunks or the depressing drunks, but the crazy, angry drunks. They always stumble onto the bus bellowing at anyone nearby and raising a ruckus. Now, take this crazy, angry drunk, combine him with the most foul-smelling body odor and he becomes the worst possible encounter you can have on a bus!
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01/16/08

Flash: Vector TDX Game Review

Vector TDX developed by David Scott and the WDDG
Vector TDX developed by David Scott and the WDDG

I got wind of this flash game late last year and spent an exorbitant amount of time playing it. The goal of the game is to destroy the spinny things before they reach the end. Each spinner that reaches the end cost one life point. The game starts you off with just twenty. Later on, there are opportunities to gain more life but at the cost of other benefits. For each spinner destroyed, money is added to your bank. With the money, new weapons can be purchased or old cans can be upgraded to increase its range and damage.
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01/16/08

Improving Public Transportation

I take public transportation every day and I could go on and on about the problems existing in the current system here in San Francisco with MUNI. With the amount of money the City puts into MUNI every year, you would think they could come up with a dependable system.

In the morning, I took this one line which is always packed. Usually, the bus will be filled to the rim and pass my stop without picking up any passengers which gets me royally pissed. Not only that, the same bus coming back down the other direction is totally empty. Complaints have been filed with MUNI but they still haven’t moved those buses from the other direction onto the crowded direction.
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01/15/08

Online Web Comics

My first aspiration during college was to become a manga artist. A friend of mines had me hooked on manga. I read all genres of manga–Dragonball, Hikaru no Go, Rough, Break Shot, etc. I thought to myself, “These manga artists seem to release a chapter a week. I should be able to do a strip a day then!”

Unfortunately, I ran into the proverbial writer’s block experienced by many aspiring authors. I had no idea how to start. Should I sketch out a rough plot? Should I just start drawing and let my imagination wander? How do these guys do it?

After a bit research, it turns out many manga artists draw from what they know or experienced. At the time, I was just going through the motions of a usual college student–wake up, get dressed, go to class, go home, do homework, and sleep. Not much to write about there.
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01/15/08

What is a Frobie?

Frobie.com has gone through an array of changes since its conception. Originally, I envisioned Frobie to become the primary competitor against this free after rebate site. I was looking for a name that was short and easy to remember. Freebie was taken, but I felt I was on the right track. Freebie led to frebie which led to frobie and thus, Frobie.com was born!

I quickly threw a site together and signed up for one of those associate programs. It’s been awhile, the program may be defunct by now. I would spend every free minute scouring the ad wires looking for free after rebate deals. Over time, this became tedious and time-consuming.
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01/14/08

Dangers of the Street

As someone working in a metropolitan city, there are many dangers we face–robbery, assault, public transit, a decent lunch, etc. The main danger though is crossing the street, especially during rush hour. One of the leading deaths to pedestrians is getting hit by a car while walking across the street.

I’ve had a few life or death experiences in my lifetime before, none though as harrowing as the one I had this morning.

I was walking up the street around 8 in the morning and started to cross the crosswalk. There was five seconds left on the light so I started a slow jog to get across faster. Out of the corner of my eye, a truck which was waiting for me to cross I assume, stepped on the gas and made his move. I had to run to my right and forward to avoid getting hit, only to pull to a stop when a second car also made the same turn. I couldn’t stop my momentum and slammed into the side of the car’s hood.

I was a bit disoriented and my adrenaline was at an all time high. Luckily though, I’ve been graced with a sturdy body and was not injured.
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01/13/08

NDS: Final Fantasy III Game Review

Final Fantasy III DSWhile waiting for Square Enix to release their remake of Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS, I’ve been playing their remake of Final Fantasy III. So far, I’ve put in three hours into the game. The gameplay brings back fond memories of playing the first Final Fantasy on the Nintendo without the despair of losing the saved game.

The game begins with an introduction of Luneth as he falls through a hole in a cave. Luneth works his way out of the cave and in the process stumbles upon a floating crystal which sends him on a journey as one of the guardians of the Light.

Within the first few quests, we meet the rest of the party members and a familiar face. Arc joins Luneth to prove to others and himself that he is not a coward. Refia follows in order to get away from her over-protective father. And Ingus rounds out the crew after the others help him rescue Princess Sara.
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