I just finished updating my brother’s writing repository. There are now two distinct sections, one is creative work, the other is Academic or Research type writing. Now you have your readings of: “Lamenting Murph,” “Seeing Uncle Mike,” “Hunger Pains,” “Cooking the Sacred Cow,” “Hidden Tears,” and two essays written as part of an application for a scholarship. Of course “History Repeated” is still available there as well. I threw a very short description of the story there if I had read it. Enjoy. And if you are in a position to give my brother a job writing, then do it. So head over to Scrawlings of Tom McAllister and get reading.
Archive for May, 2003
Scrawlings Update
Friday, May 30th, 2003Tom McAllister’s Writings
Thursday, May 29th, 2003I have been granted permission by my brother to publish some of his work on my site. It will remain his Copyright and he retains the rights to his work. But he is making his opinion available, and the first published work there is History Repeated: A research paper comparing the rise in power of George W. Bush to that of Adolph Hitler.
I have always been impressed with my brother’s ability to express himself in writing, and have always enjoyed reading his work. In my opinion it is usually quite excellent, and his short stories are nothing short of phenomenal, particularly when it comes to character development. So I have at long last created a repository to share his work with the world.
Currently that is the only work available there, however I plan to get more stuff up there shortly. So feel free to check out Scrawlings of Tom McAllister.
Freedom and Justicefiles.org
Wednesday, May 28th, 2003Those of you who are busily consuming your Soma in large doses will be happy to know that despite your indifference to the political and legal make-up of a great Nation, a blow has been struck for freedom. It did not involve bombings or potentially staged rescues. It invovled a dull legal battle for free speech. The content of Federal District Court Judge Cougenour’s decision can be found here. An excerpt I found particularly poignant follows:
However, we live in a democratic society founded on fundamental constitutional principles. In this society, we do not quash fear by increasing government power, proscribing those constitutional principles, and silencing those speakers of whom the majority disapproves. Rather, as Justice Harlan eloquently explained, the First Amendment demands that we confront those speakers with superior ideas …
By the way, if you are interested in following this type of information more closely, check out Declan McCullagh’s Politech, very high signal to noise ratio mailing list, on politics relevant to technology.
Matrix Poll
Tuesday, May 27th, 2003Which character are you from the Matrix? Apperently I am Agent Smith.
You are Agent Smith, from “The Matrix.”
No one would ever want to run into you in a
dark alley. Cold as steel, tough as a rock,
things are your way or the highway.
What Matrix Persona Are You?
Saw the flick on Saturday, going at noon on the next week after release is the way to miss the crowds and not be packed into a little theatre. But I liked it, basically I was going for the big noises and shiny things, so I certainly got that. But I also saw some of the effect of having a huger budget to make this movie. There were scenes in there that were meant to spend budget rather than tell story. But all in all I enjoyed it, and the martial arts were pretty cool to watch, specifically because most of it was made up of basic strikes and kicks that I have already learned in my Karate studies, so I could enjoy the perspective that if I was about 100 times faster and not subject to the laws of physics I could do the same amount of damage. But for a more in depth negative review, you can see Matrix Reloaded Reviewed.
Purple Belt
Sunday, May 18th, 2003I progressed to Purple belt. Now I finally get to learn a new form, well one that is the same footwork as 1 Pinon, but invovles different strikes, when doing this new form I am supposed to learn more about advanced push-pull.
I also get to learn two more Kempos and Combination number 4. (There are 108 combinations in the system).
Oh yeah, and I can buy and wear a black gi now, if I want.
Marc Soda speaks on The Matrix
Friday, May 16th, 2003My good friend Marc gave his opinion on the Matrix today. I met Marc at ASPRE, he is a damn fine hacker and one of the best security guys I know, so if you want to hire a top notch CISSP, just send me an email an I can put you in touch. Anyway his comments follow:
The first Matrix was done in such a way that it could be a stand alone film or left open for sequels, just like the original Star Wars. Now that it’s a trilogy, people need to take Reloaded in that context. The great thing about the original was the deep thought behind it, the incredible action and effects where just the icing on the cake. If everyone is expecting some great new philosophy mind fuck to emerge from this one, or even the third, then they’ll be disappointed. Reloaded is building on a story already told, not writing a new one.
Keep in mind I haven’t seen it yet and it might really suck.
“Foolish” Message Boards
Monday, May 12th, 2003A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I was quite active in research of the financial sector. I did well in the market, a buy of Dell Computer corporation in 1996 proved to be quite lucrative. But that has since been liquidated, the money spent, I have closed my E*Trade account and actually did a smart thing in working on getting bad debt under control.
Well it is now 3 years since I went on a rampage destroying credit card debt and closing out my brokerage account, and I am in a position to begin research for investments again, among other things that I recently started thinking of, such as life insurance and home ownership. So I turned to an old friend from those days of yore, The Motley Fool. A great site full of wonderful advice and research tips, and places to get started on your research. But to my partial dismay, to make use of their discussion boards, they now are imposing a fee. Of course I understand that the Gardner’s would like to make money also, and I know all too well that running a web based service can be a costly endeavor. But I also am a big fan of only paying for things which I deem particularly desirable, probably quite a “Foolish” attitude. So of course I will do some research, and take advantage of their 30 day free trial, but I also wonder if anyone actually reads this and is willing to respond
So I ask anyone who reads this entry, do you make use of this service? Is it worthwhile? (it is generally inexpensive $75 for a 3 year subscription) Did all the great information that used to occur become less frequent when the Gardner’s started charging money? Are there any competing services that have built the requisite community and knowledge base for less (read zero) dollars? I guess while I am at it, are there any other great things I should be tapping for research, “The Investor’s Business Daily?” (Kind of pricey) or again to The Fool, the monthly, “The Motley Fool Stock Advisor?”
I plan to keep Logical Disconnect updated with my research and maybe even publish a portion of my portfolio so all my friends can marvel at my financial genius.
Rest In Peace
Friday, May 2nd, 2003Joseph E. McAllister (October 27, 1948 – May 2, 2003)
McALLISTER JOSEPH E., May 2, 2003, beloved husband of Patricia A. (nee Mitros), McAllister, loving father of Kevin and Thomas McAllister, son of the late Thomas and Mickey (nee Duffy) McAllister, brother of Michael and the late Molly McAllister. Family and friends are invited to his Funeral Tues. 8:30 A.M. FITZPATRICK FUNERAL HOME, 425 Lyceum Ave., Rox. and to participate in his Funeral Mass 10 A.M. Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Int. Westminster Cem. Friends may call Mon. eve 7 to 9 P.M. (www.fitzpatrickfuneral.com) Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer/Philadelphia Daily News on 5/4/2003.
I will miss you, Dad. I Love you.
Thanks to all who have provided thier love and support for my family.
