Help Wanted (MSNBC, by Zachary Roth 3/23/2011)
According to the article linked above, one in four Americans has a criminal record. Many companies exclude anyone with a crime on record from even applying for a job. This infuriates me. How are these folks suppose to stay away from illegal activities to survive if we won't hire them for jobs at places like Dominoes Pizza? It is like we are forcing folks to be repeat offenders by continuing these outrageous, discriminatory practices. Once a persons debt to society is paid, there is no reason someone should be kept from employment at any company. I do feel different about sex offenders, but folks who were busted in their twenties for drug paraphernalia should not be penalized in their thirties after a decade of good behavior. These companies with disclaimers like "people with misdemeanors need not apply," should be prosecuted themselves!
___
4/7
Prison spending bleeds education system (CNN, by Todd Jealous and Rod Paige, 4/7/2011)
From 1987 to 2007, more than a million inmates were added to the prison system, more than tripling the population. "During the last two decades, state spending on prisons grew by 127%, six times the rate of spending on higher education."
Why? I believe the authors hit the nail on the head: "The rise in America's penchant for punishment can be traced back to the 1970s, as the "War on Poverty" gave way to the "War on Drugs" and policymakers embraced stricter sentences for drug offenders. Since then, we have spent tens of billions to incarcerate people who struggle with drug addiction and mental health challenges, or are simply jobless or lack education."
A vicious cycle is formed. Once in prison, so many doors on the outside slam permanently shut, as demonstrated by the "Help Wanted" post above. With no were else to turn for money, drug addicts become thieves. Instead of curbing crime, the War on Drugs has exacerbated it.
Me
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Oberon Media
I would like to take the time to tell you about a company that deserves recognition. For the past two years or so, I have been playing hidden picture and puzzle games on my computer. It is a great way to keep my mind off of how my body is feeling, and to test my mind's capacity for problem solving. The first game I ever purchased was called Zuma, and involved shooting colored balls into uniform, moving strings. I paid $20 bucks for it after becoming addicted from the trial version that came with my computer. When I downloaded the full version, a new desktop icon appeared on my screen that simply said "Best Buy Games Center." Little did I know that this link would open up a whole new world of reasonably priced, well supported games.
After reading the fine print, I decided to join the club, sponsored by Best Buy but run by Oberon Media. I pay a monthly fee of $6.95, and get to pick any game I want. In addition, I can purchase any other games for the same, relatively cheap $6.95. The best part about this program is the awesome support I have received from Oberon. Once about six months ago, and again last night, I had issues getting a game to function. They started out playing fine, then froze up several minutes in. When I contacted customer support, they were not only helpful, but very patient and courteous as well. I was leery about joining a club with only a email address in the contact information, but Oberon has proven to be top-of-the-line.
Here is the link to the Home Page for their site. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:
Best Buy Games Center
After reading the fine print, I decided to join the club, sponsored by Best Buy but run by Oberon Media. I pay a monthly fee of $6.95, and get to pick any game I want. In addition, I can purchase any other games for the same, relatively cheap $6.95. The best part about this program is the awesome support I have received from Oberon. Once about six months ago, and again last night, I had issues getting a game to function. They started out playing fine, then froze up several minutes in. When I contacted customer support, they were not only helpful, but very patient and courteous as well. I was leery about joining a club with only a email address in the contact information, but Oberon has proven to be top-of-the-line.
Here is the link to the Home Page for their site. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:
Best Buy Games Center
Drawn: The Painted Tower
Short but Sweet. That is the way I would describe "Drawn: The Painted Tower." The game-play itself lasted less than three hours, but the graphics were far superior to anything I have seen in a long time.
The entire game was like one giant conundrum waiting to be figured out. Each puzzle offered a new challenge, making me use every aspect of my mental capabilities to solve. To be honest, I ended up cheating a lot more playing "Drawn" than in any game I can recall. I am not good at math, and get frustrated easily working on spacial problems. And "Drawn" had plenty of both. But it also had one musical puzzle that was great because the tune changed each time you made a mistake, preventing me from just writing down the pattern. The use of objects to solve riddles was also enticing, although I did feel the developers could have done a lot more with this aspect of the game.
Anything it lacked in game-play, Drawn more than made up for in graphics, music, and storyline. I felt like I was playing a Tim Burton cartoon (back when he was actually creative). The artists involved in this game should be recognized for their superior work, and promoted to make much longer games, in my humble opinion. The entire game was not voiced-over, but the male who did the cut scenes did a great job setting the eerie tone that permeated throughout Drawn.
On a scale of 1-10, I would give "Drawn: The Painted Tower." a 9. Despite its length and excessive difficulty in some spots, I will never forget the story and creative graphics. I will surely play it again sometime in the near future, just to experience the amazing cut scenes again.
The entire game was like one giant conundrum waiting to be figured out. Each puzzle offered a new challenge, making me use every aspect of my mental capabilities to solve. To be honest, I ended up cheating a lot more playing "Drawn" than in any game I can recall. I am not good at math, and get frustrated easily working on spacial problems. And "Drawn" had plenty of both. But it also had one musical puzzle that was great because the tune changed each time you made a mistake, preventing me from just writing down the pattern. The use of objects to solve riddles was also enticing, although I did feel the developers could have done a lot more with this aspect of the game.
Anything it lacked in game-play, Drawn more than made up for in graphics, music, and storyline. I felt like I was playing a Tim Burton cartoon (back when he was actually creative). The artists involved in this game should be recognized for their superior work, and promoted to make much longer games, in my humble opinion. The entire game was not voiced-over, but the male who did the cut scenes did a great job setting the eerie tone that permeated throughout Drawn.
On a scale of 1-10, I would give "Drawn: The Painted Tower." a 9. Despite its length and excessive difficulty in some spots, I will never forget the story and creative graphics. I will surely play it again sometime in the near future, just to experience the amazing cut scenes again.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Spring Has Sprung!
When I was in grade school, I learned the following grammatically-incorrect, but adorable poem:
Spring has sprung,
The grass has ris.
I wonder where the flowers is?
Every picture I have taken for this serious thus far has me asking the same question.
The birds are chirping, the days are warming up, but brown still outweighs green in the landscape of Naperville.
I hope you enjoy the pictures, and the poem!
Spring has Sprung
Spring has sprung,
The grass has ris.
I wonder where the flowers is?
Every picture I have taken for this serious thus far has me asking the same question.
The birds are chirping, the days are warming up, but brown still outweighs green in the landscape of Naperville.
I hope you enjoy the pictures, and the poem!
Spring has Sprung
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Escape the Museum 1 & 2
The best way to pick games on the site I belong to is to keep your eyes peeled for bundles. Bundles include 2-3 games for the same price as one. I recently purchased "Escape the Museum 1&2" as a bundle, and must say it was worth every penny. In fact, the first of the pair was so good that it would have been worth $7 alone. The second was also great, with better graphics, but less of a challenge.
In the first game, you play as a mother-daughter team stuck in a San Francisco museum following a terrible earthquake. The point of the game is to get out of the museum alive, while saving as many artifacts as possible along the way. You do this in usual hidden-picture fashion, by finding them! Like all of my favorite games, both "Escape the Museums" allow you to use the objects you find to solve puzzles. From firing a Civil-War era cannon, to melting a frozen ice man, the first game used tons of creative ideas so that each new room had not only a new feel, but a unique challenge. I loved the bonus find 10 and hidden object options as well. I would give "Escape the Museum 1" a 10 out of 10 rating! I loved it and will surely play it again someday.
"Escape the Museum 2" was also great. This time, you play as the dad trying to reach the mother-daughter team. I thought it was cool how the writers made it so that the story line from both games took place during the same tragedy, just from different perspectives. The hidden objects scenes themselves were also more polished, and much, much easier. The homeless helper was a nice touch, too. However, all of these positives were overridden by the ease with which I beat the game. I personally prefer the "sketchy" drawings to the clean, computer-aided graphics. Still, the game was decent and deserves a 7.2 out of 10, in my opinion. The extra .2 was because I got to rescue so many pets, which is always a bonus in my book!
In the first game, you play as a mother-daughter team stuck in a San Francisco museum following a terrible earthquake. The point of the game is to get out of the museum alive, while saving as many artifacts as possible along the way. You do this in usual hidden-picture fashion, by finding them! Like all of my favorite games, both "Escape the Museums" allow you to use the objects you find to solve puzzles. From firing a Civil-War era cannon, to melting a frozen ice man, the first game used tons of creative ideas so that each new room had not only a new feel, but a unique challenge. I loved the bonus find 10 and hidden object options as well. I would give "Escape the Museum 1" a 10 out of 10 rating! I loved it and will surely play it again someday.
"Escape the Museum 2" was also great. This time, you play as the dad trying to reach the mother-daughter team. I thought it was cool how the writers made it so that the story line from both games took place during the same tragedy, just from different perspectives. The hidden objects scenes themselves were also more polished, and much, much easier. The homeless helper was a nice touch, too. However, all of these positives were overridden by the ease with which I beat the game. I personally prefer the "sketchy" drawings to the clean, computer-aided graphics. Still, the game was decent and deserves a 7.2 out of 10, in my opinion. The extra .2 was because I got to rescue so many pets, which is always a bonus in my book!
Monday, March 7, 2011
No Kids
My husband and I have decided not to have children. This decision came about as a result of many factors, but primarily because we long ago realized what the authors of the study in this article just figured out: parents are delusional. Not only do they trick themselves into believing having kids is a good financial investment, they also somehow manage to pretend they actually enjoy parenting.
One of the reasons my husband and I get along so well is that we both are realists; we refuse to look at the world wearing the same blinders so many of our contemporaries insist on donning. My clear understanding regarding the truth about being a parent comes primarily from the fact that I am the oldest of three children, and thus heard all of my mother's under-the-breath comments through the years. "Kids: who needs em." And, of course, the universal mantra: "If I would have known then what I know now, I never would of had em." For many years I resented my mother for letting me hear her musings. But today, I hope she reads this thread and realizes how grateful I am that she shared her true feelings out loud.
My desire to remain childless also stems from my years of observing parents. All of the supposed "joys" seemed like hassles and time-drains to me. But still, I didn't completely rule out the thought of having a family until my husband's uncle and aunt adopted two children from Russia. Before I go further, I must state unequivocally how much I adore them both. But, from the first time I babysat, I realized one thing: how good it felt to leave them behind and go home to my own peaceful condo. The more time I spent with them, changing diapers and making bottles, doing dishes and folding laundry, giving baths and blow drying hair, the more I knew parenthood wasn't for me.
Thankfully, my husband is on the same page. He enjoys spending a couple quality hours a month with the children in our family, but doesn't feel the need to bring the chaos into our own home. Unfortunately, I know this decision does not please everyone in our families. But we are strong enough to make decisions for ourselves.
As a result of our decision, we have jokingly come to see children as "reasons" not to start a family. For example, The little girl at target who was literally pulling down her mothers pants to get her attention, while the poor woman just tried to find her credit card, was reason 6,378. We really don't have a list, but pretend we do and rank the instance higher based on how glad we are it isn't us in the adult role.
So, although it may not be socially acceptable to everyone, I have decided to start sharing this "list" here. Hopefully we are not alone in finding the "joys" of parenting ironic, and humorous.
___
3/17
Reason 4,321: At Michael's today, a mom with 2 unruly children made me add one to this thread. The 5ish year old little girl was throwing random items into mom's basket while the little boy showed her EVERY item they passed. "Look, mommy! A headband! Look mommy! an airplane! Look mommy! A pen!" When she got to the check-out, I happened to be behind her. She had to give the clerk a ball that had appeared with the stuff she actually needed. Now, I realize part of the problem in this case was the mother's refusal to acknowledge her kids bad behavior. But, the whole situation left me glad I never have to face such an embarrassing situation!
___
3/18
I have two to add: First, reason 9,053 was spotted while my husband and I were driving together to the store. The lady in front of us had several children in her car and was LITERALLY pulling her hair out. I'm not talking about roughly combing her fingers through it. She was grabbing it by the fistful and yanking with all of her might. I don't know what was going on in that car, but seeing her reaction was reason enough for me to add this post.
The second is a story my girlfriend told me about her adult children, aged 21-25. They closed the bars in Naperville two nights ago and ended up at my girlfriends house. They were all smart and took cabs, but not their own homes. When they arrived at my friend's, it was already 4 am. They proceeded to make noise and keep her up until 6. She specifically told one boy to turn off the tv before he fell asleep, and when she went out there to check an hour later, he had disappeared upstairs. So, reason 20,900 is my desire never to run a brothel out of my home. To make the story even worse, this was the THIRD time in a week half the drunk population ended up crashing in her house!
___
4/7
Rarely do parents admit that having children isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Yesterday, I had a candid conversation with my dermatologist. She said that she often found herself envying her childless friends, and the freedom they have to live for themselves instead of their children. On my last visit, she had told me how much she admired my resolve to ignore societal pressures and remain childless. I appreciate her honesty more than she will ever realize!
___
5/11
Reason 407: Kids don't communicate in English even when they are able to communicate in English, in an attempt to get their way. They tend to do this in stores that sell toys and candy, which seems to be everywhere these days.
My husband and I had to stop at Menard's to grab a sprinkler and some chicken wire to finish up our garden yesterday. As we were checking out, there was a little girl behind us who kept crying and whining as if someone were yanking out her hair. Her mother, incessantly asking "What do you want?" and getting a momentary pause in the action as the child pointed to the candy, didn't seem to understand asking again was useless. She had denied the child the candy at least twenty times before we were able to pay and escape the madness. I swear I almost went over there and bought her some damn gummy bears!
While I'm at it....
Reason 2,670: Toddlers have no concept of time, or (Reason 13,400) proper etiquette.
While at church with my parents on Easter, I spent a lot of my time studying the people around me. It was almost impossible for me to not notice the handsomely clad four year old boy in the pew behind us. This is because he asked his aunt "Is the basket coming now?" about the same number of times as the clueless mother questioned her child in the scenario for reason 407 above.
___
5/25
At T.G.I. Fridays last night, my husband and I were enjoying a moment of peace. He had actually forgotten his phone for once, and we had already ordered and were just leaning forward to tell each other about our day. But neither of us got a word out before it happened. The loudest, most ear-splitting, shriek I had ever heard. It was so loud, I could feel the hairs on the nape of my neck tingling. It went on for a good 15 seconds, before it ended as quickly as it had begun. Both of us had the same reaction . . . Reason 5. . . Never having to hear screams like that in the peace of our own house.
___
6/29
According to an article I found linked on Yahoo from Details magazine, "children have gone from being an economic asset to an economic liability." I couldn't agree more.
The average cost for middle class parents to see a single child through high school is over $286,000. If you add in college, you are looking at as much as $400,000 total. I couldn't imagine the pressure of knowing I had to save that much money. The economy being as tight as it is, we struggle just to get by.
Couples with children also tend to be less happy in their marriage. A 2009 study found that 90% of parents experienced a decline in marital bliss after the birth of their first child. All the more reason I am glad we will not be having children!
One of the reasons my husband and I get along so well is that we both are realists; we refuse to look at the world wearing the same blinders so many of our contemporaries insist on donning. My clear understanding regarding the truth about being a parent comes primarily from the fact that I am the oldest of three children, and thus heard all of my mother's under-the-breath comments through the years. "Kids: who needs em." And, of course, the universal mantra: "If I would have known then what I know now, I never would of had em." For many years I resented my mother for letting me hear her musings. But today, I hope she reads this thread and realizes how grateful I am that she shared her true feelings out loud.
My desire to remain childless also stems from my years of observing parents. All of the supposed "joys" seemed like hassles and time-drains to me. But still, I didn't completely rule out the thought of having a family until my husband's uncle and aunt adopted two children from Russia. Before I go further, I must state unequivocally how much I adore them both. But, from the first time I babysat, I realized one thing: how good it felt to leave them behind and go home to my own peaceful condo. The more time I spent with them, changing diapers and making bottles, doing dishes and folding laundry, giving baths and blow drying hair, the more I knew parenthood wasn't for me.
Thankfully, my husband is on the same page. He enjoys spending a couple quality hours a month with the children in our family, but doesn't feel the need to bring the chaos into our own home. Unfortunately, I know this decision does not please everyone in our families. But we are strong enough to make decisions for ourselves.
As a result of our decision, we have jokingly come to see children as "reasons" not to start a family. For example, The little girl at target who was literally pulling down her mothers pants to get her attention, while the poor woman just tried to find her credit card, was reason 6,378. We really don't have a list, but pretend we do and rank the instance higher based on how glad we are it isn't us in the adult role.
So, although it may not be socially acceptable to everyone, I have decided to start sharing this "list" here. Hopefully we are not alone in finding the "joys" of parenting ironic, and humorous.
___
3/17
Reason 4,321: At Michael's today, a mom with 2 unruly children made me add one to this thread. The 5ish year old little girl was throwing random items into mom's basket while the little boy showed her EVERY item they passed. "Look, mommy! A headband! Look mommy! an airplane! Look mommy! A pen!" When she got to the check-out, I happened to be behind her. She had to give the clerk a ball that had appeared with the stuff she actually needed. Now, I realize part of the problem in this case was the mother's refusal to acknowledge her kids bad behavior. But, the whole situation left me glad I never have to face such an embarrassing situation!
___
3/18
I have two to add: First, reason 9,053 was spotted while my husband and I were driving together to the store. The lady in front of us had several children in her car and was LITERALLY pulling her hair out. I'm not talking about roughly combing her fingers through it. She was grabbing it by the fistful and yanking with all of her might. I don't know what was going on in that car, but seeing her reaction was reason enough for me to add this post.
The second is a story my girlfriend told me about her adult children, aged 21-25. They closed the bars in Naperville two nights ago and ended up at my girlfriends house. They were all smart and took cabs, but not their own homes. When they arrived at my friend's, it was already 4 am. They proceeded to make noise and keep her up until 6. She specifically told one boy to turn off the tv before he fell asleep, and when she went out there to check an hour later, he had disappeared upstairs. So, reason 20,900 is my desire never to run a brothel out of my home. To make the story even worse, this was the THIRD time in a week half the drunk population ended up crashing in her house!
___
4/7
Rarely do parents admit that having children isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Yesterday, I had a candid conversation with my dermatologist. She said that she often found herself envying her childless friends, and the freedom they have to live for themselves instead of their children. On my last visit, she had told me how much she admired my resolve to ignore societal pressures and remain childless. I appreciate her honesty more than she will ever realize!
___
5/11
Reason 407: Kids don't communicate in English even when they are able to communicate in English, in an attempt to get their way. They tend to do this in stores that sell toys and candy, which seems to be everywhere these days.
My husband and I had to stop at Menard's to grab a sprinkler and some chicken wire to finish up our garden yesterday. As we were checking out, there was a little girl behind us who kept crying and whining as if someone were yanking out her hair. Her mother, incessantly asking "What do you want?" and getting a momentary pause in the action as the child pointed to the candy, didn't seem to understand asking again was useless. She had denied the child the candy at least twenty times before we were able to pay and escape the madness. I swear I almost went over there and bought her some damn gummy bears!
While I'm at it....
Reason 2,670: Toddlers have no concept of time, or (Reason 13,400) proper etiquette.
While at church with my parents on Easter, I spent a lot of my time studying the people around me. It was almost impossible for me to not notice the handsomely clad four year old boy in the pew behind us. This is because he asked his aunt "Is the basket coming now?" about the same number of times as the clueless mother questioned her child in the scenario for reason 407 above.
___
5/25
At T.G.I. Fridays last night, my husband and I were enjoying a moment of peace. He had actually forgotten his phone for once, and we had already ordered and were just leaning forward to tell each other about our day. But neither of us got a word out before it happened. The loudest, most ear-splitting, shriek I had ever heard. It was so loud, I could feel the hairs on the nape of my neck tingling. It went on for a good 15 seconds, before it ended as quickly as it had begun. Both of us had the same reaction . . . Reason 5. . . Never having to hear screams like that in the peace of our own house.
___
6/29
According to an article I found linked on Yahoo from Details magazine, "children have gone from being an economic asset to an economic liability." I couldn't agree more.
The average cost for middle class parents to see a single child through high school is over $286,000. If you add in college, you are looking at as much as $400,000 total. I couldn't imagine the pressure of knowing I had to save that much money. The economy being as tight as it is, we struggle just to get by.
Couples with children also tend to be less happy in their marriage. A 2009 study found that 90% of parents experienced a decline in marital bliss after the birth of their first child. All the more reason I am glad we will not be having children!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Tear Jerkers
Reading this story about a 16 year old who made his teams winning shot, capping their perfect season, then collapsed and died inspired me to make this post. In memory of Wes Leonard, this thread will serve to track those stories that literally bring me to tears.
___
6/3
This post could easily have fallen into a thread about immigration, or the war on drugs. But, after watching the video in this link, I feel the most appropriate place for this story is right here. By the time it was over, I was fighting back an emotional breakdown.
As a teen, I visited Mexico. It took less than a month for me to fall in love with both the place, and its people. I have often dreamed about retiring on a ranch, much like the one the family in this video lived in before the kidnapping. I don't know that I would even ponder doing so now, considering the violence plaguing almost every corner of the once peaceful nation.
The images in the video are graphic, but I encourage you to see for yourself what our commitment to eradicating drugs has done to our southern border, and its citizens. It doesn't matter which side of the issue you fall on; as an American, you are guilty of what is happening there, and the torture that the man featured in the video endured.
___
9/13/2011
Scores burn to death in Kenya gas fire, police say (MSNBC, 9/12/2011)
The above linked article is probably the most disturbing true story I have ever read. I preserve it here only so that we all can remember how fragile life is, and how lucky we are to have each moment.
___
6/3
This post could easily have fallen into a thread about immigration, or the war on drugs. But, after watching the video in this link, I feel the most appropriate place for this story is right here. By the time it was over, I was fighting back an emotional breakdown.
As a teen, I visited Mexico. It took less than a month for me to fall in love with both the place, and its people. I have often dreamed about retiring on a ranch, much like the one the family in this video lived in before the kidnapping. I don't know that I would even ponder doing so now, considering the violence plaguing almost every corner of the once peaceful nation.
The images in the video are graphic, but I encourage you to see for yourself what our commitment to eradicating drugs has done to our southern border, and its citizens. It doesn't matter which side of the issue you fall on; as an American, you are guilty of what is happening there, and the torture that the man featured in the video endured.
___
9/13/2011
Scores burn to death in Kenya gas fire, police say (MSNBC, 9/12/2011)
The above linked article is probably the most disturbing true story I have ever read. I preserve it here only so that we all can remember how fragile life is, and how lucky we are to have each moment.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Mystery Legends - Phantom of the Opera - Review
I just finished the best hidden picture/puzzle game ever! It is part of a series called Mystery Legends, but far superior to the other games. Phantom of the Opera has it all, including amazing scenes, clean, crisp gameplay, sweet voice-overs, and a decent story. It took me over seven hours to complete, so I definitely feel like I got my monies worth.
From the moment the curtain literally falls, you are transported to the Paris Opera house. Only, it is in ruins after years of disuse. Playing as the daughter of the original main heroine from the play, you must beat the Phantom by solving puzzles, and completing hidden picture scenes.
Outside of one or two times where I thought the objects required for certain objectives seemed weird, the game was intuitive enough to guide the player along, without being at all linear. The puzzles themselves ranged from easy to hard, but never so difficult that I felt completely stumped. And the hidden object scenes were detailed, creepy, and memorable.
Overall, I would give Phantom of the Opera a 9.5 out of 10. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to play it again in a couple months!
From the moment the curtain literally falls, you are transported to the Paris Opera house. Only, it is in ruins after years of disuse. Playing as the daughter of the original main heroine from the play, you must beat the Phantom by solving puzzles, and completing hidden picture scenes.
Outside of one or two times where I thought the objects required for certain objectives seemed weird, the game was intuitive enough to guide the player along, without being at all linear. The puzzles themselves ranged from easy to hard, but never so difficult that I felt completely stumped. And the hidden object scenes were detailed, creepy, and memorable.
Overall, I would give Phantom of the Opera a 9.5 out of 10. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to play it again in a couple months!
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