Zaudragon++;

Swastika Pillows

2008-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

Today in US History, we talked about the Confederacy as a symbol, namely through its flag and various memorabilia that surrounds it.

While almost everyone agreed that a Confederate flag is acceptable but a Swastika was not, I thought a Swastika was totally OK. My teacher, clearly very… intrigued by my stance, pointed how bad the Germans were in the 40s.

However, this exemplifies a great double standard in how the US views itself and how they view the Nazis.
Examples of similarities and comparisons between the US and the Third Reich:

The Nazis rounded up all the Jews, and killed them mercilessly.
Compare: The US rounded up all the Japanese during WWII and withheld general freedoms, they enslaved an entire race of a continent, changing its culture forever, and killed probably more people in combined wars ever (because of its huge role in industrial manufacturing).
Impact Calculus: The US obviously did more damage than the Third Reich, seeing as they enslaved a whole continent and provided for 1000-fold amount of killing through manufacturing guns, munitions, and even foodstuffs during the isolationist era. A bunch of European wars were sourced by American food
The Nazis destroyed Democracy, and instead placed a dictator who step-by-step stripped away liberties
Compare: The US is launching an even scarier attack on civil liberties. While the Nazi attack was obvious, the Americans are less careful, because they have the Constitution that allows for slow undermining. Government Surveillance, Bureaucracy, Capitalism, etc. all fall in this category.
Impact Calculus: The US probably is doing more damage than the Third Reich could ever do, but not at an accelerated pace. It's even worse because while the Nazi attack was obvious, the American attack on liberties is subtle and ever-occurring.

Those are two points, and are usually the larger ones.
The Germans, remember, also:

Boomed their economy in a few short years.
Used nationalism to its greatest extent, as used by the US in all its (rather frequent, if I might add) wars.
Exemplified and proved how Nietzschean Will-to-Power works in the real world, that it requires some underdog that is pushed down and taken advantage of and used as teaching tools to teach the people not to fear and to be powerful to prevent this themselves.

The only argument in favour of the US I see is that the Nazis were like Distilled Alcohol, with much more "evil" or "bad" content per year. US aggregate evil-ness, on the other hand, so grossly outweighs Nazi evil that there is no comparison.

And the Nazis had a neat flag and goose-step, not to mention armbands. I wish they could be acceptable to wear/do again, because they're rather funny and cool.

Starfleet Embroidery

2007-07-14T15:36:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the third instalment of the art series!

This time, we have a less… communist design. As many of you know, Starfleet is the exploration wing of the United Federation of Planets in the Star Trek universe, and Starfleet Command is located in San Francisco (I really think some of those details are wrong already; see Wikipedia for a more accurate description; if Trekkies are nerds/geeks, and Wikipedians are also nerds/geeks, then wouldn’t some be both, thus ensuring that the article is genuine?).

Made on the 8th of July, 2007, photographed on the 14th of July. I’m back in the U.S., by the way.

Soviet Branches

2007-07-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the second part of the art series!

This time we have a piece constructed in Robert's Park (I think), probably on the 6th of June, 2007. Again, it is the Hammer and Sickle design, this time made out of broken branches and leaves. All were carefully laid out on a cleared piece of ground, where we brushed off the branches and such. The finished product is the picture you have here.

Making-of pictures will become available if there is a demand.

Soviet Cookie

2007-07-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a three-part series involving interesting art I’ve made/received!

We start off with an interesting piece of the Hammer and Sickle design used by the USSR, as a cookie. Made by Theo Schear, the cookie was given as a “Secret Snow-Buddy” (politically-correct equivalent of Secret Santas) present. The cookie was eaten on the bus ride after school, after taking a few pictures. This is the only photograph I have of this piece. Sorry for the poor resolution.

This photo was apparently taken on the 5th of December, 2006.

Japan!

2007-07-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

I’m in Japan now. It’s the rainy season, so most days are either raining or cloudy; today is one of the better days. Our temperatures are around 30°C or below, which is nice and comfortable for me!

I’m currently writing a short story in Japanese for Japanese School that’s pretty cool (I hope), so I’ll probably post it here after I turn it in, and after I translate it. I write better in English :D

If you notice, the title of my blog is in Cyrillic now. Just on a whim… it might change back later.

Keyboards!

2007-06-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

Keyboards are really, really cool input devices. I’m not sure how any of us could live without them!

But my old iMac’s keyboard I’m typing on really sucks. The keys push to softly, both tactile and aurally; I really want something a bit… clickier, crispier.

So I’m looking into buying an IBM Model M keyboard, all the way from the 1980s. It’ll be pretty cool. They use a special, patented buckling spring system, thus providing the tactile and aural feedback I want.

But the Model M isn’t the only keyboard like that. The Apple Extended Keyboard II also has a reputation as a good keyboard, and uses mechanical switches under each key. Both designs feel much better than the soft, rubber dome characteristics of an ordinary keyboard, Mac or PC these days.

Why Self-Driving Cars Won't Happen

2007-03-31T22:25:00.000-07:00

Haven’t we all dreamed of cars that could drive themselves? That could keep you safe, without your intervention? I know I have. But without a societal change, this would never become reality. Although I do not have time to further clarify these points, there are reasons why this can’t happen.

In this capitalist society, although car companies think about the safety of their costumers, it’s usually for their own interests. An unsafe car would lead to massive lawsuits against the company, and the company doesn’t want that. So they develop safe technology to use in cars. But one of the keys of business is to make sure your customer keeps buying. And right now, this is achieved becuase however minor a crash may be, the car would be totalled, and you would need to buy a new one. Car companies therefore make much more profit overlooking safety development cost.

But how about self-driving cars, to get back to my topic? That is an impossibility. Although it may be feasible now, or in the future, car companies would be reluctant. Sure, the idea may sell for a while, but consumers will soon realise that it’s not worth buying new cars when the old one has not been damaged at all, and never will be through crashes. Any crash would lead to lawsuits, after all.

Note: This overlooks the fact that the pieces could be faulty, but this would be fixed anyway through warranties.

What is Genocide?

2007-01-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

The International Criminal Court defines it as such:

"genocide" means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

Killing members of the group;

Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Now then, under this definition, what is Genocide?

Any killing of two or more people.
Anything that hurts others’ feelings.
Not maintaining a building, especially for poorer groups.
Abortion–it allows people to choose, so this prevents births, which is exactly what it tries to do.
Deportation, Exile, and other such things, because it moves children (along with their parents) to another place forcibly.

Now look at e. Exile? Hmm… didn’t God exile the Jews to Babylon? Does this mean that God committed Genocide? The definition is just too broad to use practically. We should use “Holocaust” instead of “Genocide” for the generally accepted “mass murder” definition.

There Is No ESCAPE!

2007-01-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

Made by Ian Arnold and Takumi Murayama!

Is Griffin On Acid?

2006-09-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Griffin Technology have an iPod accessory called iTrip.

Think about it. “I Trip.” Was an employee on acid or something?
What would a meeting to figure out the name be like?:
“We have this product that sends FM transmissions from an iPod; what should we call it?”
“I know, heh, let’s call it the iTrip, like I’m doing right now!”

Or maybe it was just named iTrip because you take it on a trip. The Acid explanation is way more interesting.

Recent Developments

2006-09-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

So recently, my life has been fairly confusing with freshman year and all; it’s tiresome, but I slept only 4 hours last night (don’t really feel tired today, though).

I’m in YPSO (Young People’s Symphony Orchestra), and I was lucky enough to become a Vioin I!

On another note, I was contected today by the vocalist and guitarist (Mark) of a cool band called Typhoon Ferri. The site totes that the band is "Energetic Folk with a funky after-taste", which I would say, is a true statement. Have a listen. I personally think the music is a little too funky, but that makes is all the more interesting to hear. I must say, "Roundabout Way Home" is my favourite song they wrote. The synthesisers/keyboards and the reverberation result in an especially funky, cool sound. Or maybe I’m thinking too hard and losing the point of the song. But it still sounds good. Music is more important than Lyrics.

Japan

2006-08-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wee… Japan is awesome. A little hot, but it could be hotter; it’s slightly cooler because of the typhoon nearby. It’s starting to clear up, though. I’m here for a few more days, and tonight (Saturay the 18th), my mother is doing an organ recital/concert at a church.

Now I have to send postcards to two people; anyone else want one?

Japan!

2006-08-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

I’m going to Japan; will come back the 23rd. I won’t be on the internet as much; I sure hope it’s still fun with less of me (of course it will be :P I’m not your only friend!). If you want, I could probably send you a postcard if you give me your address via AIM, Email, etc.

Next post: from Japan.

Camp

2006-08-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

So I went to the Freshmen camp for a week at Ponderosa Lodge near Santa Cruz (I wonder why lots of my posts start with So…). I came back yesterday; I’m still bloody tired (I also wonder why bloody has entered my colloquial vocabulary). It was quite fun (I use quite too much, too), and some friends and I recorded a song. And I know you want to hear it (of course), so here it is:

Refuge.m4a

Now I’m pretty disappointed that I can’t contact the others on the recording (I just played violin). In the recording:

I play violin,
Matthew plays piano,
Arnie plays guitar,
Thomas plays another guitar during the chorus,
Lora sings, and
Michelle wrote the original lyrics (that we lost)

UPDATE: We have a website and a MySpace. Which also reminds me that I also have one now (the horror!).

Maroon Bells in Google Maps

2006-07-28T00:47:00.000-07:00

Do the Maroon Bells in Google Maps look Maroon to you? Not to me.
Don’t trust Google; they ARE maroon!

Note: I’ve been there many times (Maroon Bells, Aspen, CO); twice on a bicycle (27 miles round trip from Aspen). You get bloody tired after a long bike ride up, since it’s high altitude.

If a British person is a Brit...

2006-07-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Is a Japanese a Jap? (of course; but it might’ve been offensive, sorry)
A Canadian a Can?
An Italians an It?
A German a Germ?
And an American an AIMer? (changed spelling a little..; also, alliteration!; it’s also kind of true)

Slowly adding… sorry if any offend you.

Not-funny:
A Turkish person a Turk? (True, isn’t really funny)
A Polish person a Pole? (that’s true, actually)
A Spanish person a Span? (of a bridge… get it?)

pzizz iPod blog

2006-06-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Remember Pzizz? Well, MacZOT! gave me a free copy. Now I need Pzizz no longer. So here will be my 100th post: my experiences with Pzizz (and if I do this for ≥5 days, I am elegible for an iPod winning drawing!)

Night 1 (5/31):

Well, my first night with Pzizz was hard. The music itself was soothing; I dozed off a few times when the person talking wasn’t saying anything. He woke me up :( If you guys don’t know, that guy tries to give suggestions on sleep, well, he disrupted my sleep. I hope tonight will be better…

Night 2 (6/2):

The second night trying Pzizz was the same. Maybe I shoud look for a preference setting to turn off that man speaking. I’ll try again sometime… and sleeping after turning it off IS easier than not turning Pzizz on at all.

MacZOT Fan, Am I, But I Do Not Need “Pzizz”

2006-05-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

MacZOT.com Fans want Pzizz because "According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep deprivation and its effect on work performance may be costing U.S. employers some $18 billion each year in lost productivity. Another study pushes this cost to over $100 billion." - link to full article

Two Math Conjectures

2006-05-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hehe… I’m not quite sure if these are already conjectures, or if they are false, but I made two conjectures anyways.

Base conversion (pretty sure about this one):
- oldbase number in newbase = log(newbase) number * 10
- Ex: 2 = log(2) 2 * 10 = 10
Prime Numbers (not so sure):
- x^2 - x + y is prime, if x and y are prime and x ≠ y
- Ex: 2^2 - 2 + 3 = 5
Highly Composite Numbers and the nearest prime number have a difference that is always prime

Please find counter-examples or even prove them… EDIT: Freakman found a counter example for #2, 344^2 - 344 + 653 = 118645. So now both x and y have to be prime. That should work, né?

EDIT: Seems like the third one was proven (it wasn’t mine, it was Bill R. McEachen’s (billymac00 AT excite.com)). Nice!

More edits! This post, so far, has gotten the most publicity, so I have moved it up into the near-past so it remains on the first page. Originally posted 22:30 11/26/2005. Also, I presume Conj #1 is part of the rule for base conversion… Logs are used for these kinds of things.

1 Year Anniversary

2006-04-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Yay! This day marks the first year Zaudragon++; has been online. Now I have to change the header! Heh… I should post more often, eh?

Books

2006-03-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Recently I’ve been reading the Robot/Empire/Foundation series by Issac Asimov. It’s the best series of series I have ever read, and everyone should read at least one of the series. Wait, that didn’t make much sense. I’m reading the Robot, Empire, and Foundation series by Isaac Asimov that take place in the same Universe at different times, so I’m reading all three series. Easy enough? Good. This series is going to keep my occupied for quite a while!

Ski Week in Idaho

2006-02-25T16:47:00.000-08:00

Eh? You think going to Idaho just to ski is ridiculous? I think it was rather fun; a lot more fun than Tahoe (we usually go to Heavenly). Our ski place in Idaho was Sun Valley, supposedly the first ski resort in the United States. Our friends live near Sun Valley, so we stayed with them. I think our overall costs were less than going to Tahoe, even if we took a plane; no lodging costs! Yay…

Bands I Like

2006-02-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Just a huge list I will continue to change:

The Alan Parsons Project
The Beatles
Cream
Derek & The Dominos
Genesis
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Led Zeppelin
Metallica
Nirvana
Phish
Pink Floyd
Queen
Rush
The Who
Wings
Yes

Paper 1: Kanem-Bornu

2006-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Well, here is a paper of mine about the empire of Kanem-Bornu. I wrote it for Eighth grade History, so here it is!

Kanem-Bornu: The Forgotten Empire

Takumi Murayama
January 6, 2006

Throughout Africa, many different kingdoms and empires rose, fell, and flourished. During this time before the European colonies, one of these many empires was the empire of Kanem-Bornu. Kanem-Bornu was one of the largest of these empires, with an area larger than that of Western Europe (Martin 83). It was located around Lake Chad in the interior of Africa, including present-day south Chad, north Cameroon, northeast Nigeria, east Niger, and south Libya (Davidson 307, Encyclopædia Britanica). However, Kanem-Bornu, while a major trade center in the Sahara desert, is frequently forgotten, ignored, and overlooked by historical documentation.

Kanem-Bornu has a very extensive history as a major trading empire(Diagram Group 41). According to legend, Kanem-Bornu was founded in 800 C.E. by an Arab named Dugu. The Kanembu people of this region were ruled by the Sayfuwu and Duguwa dynasties (Bornu, Diagram Group 41). At its height in 1230, Kanem-Bornu had a population of at least 10 million people (Martin 83). These people spoke the Kanuri language, and the government forced other conquered peoples to speak Kanuri as well. The capital was located in the city of Njimi, and later was relocated to Birni Ngazargamu (Bornu, Encyclopædia Britannica). The empire is noted for being “able [to] successfully…withstand external aggressions” (Martin 82). An example of resistance is the opposition against the European imperialists during the 1830s (Kasule 78). Finally, in the 1900s, Kanem-Bornu was colonized by Great Britain, and Kanem-Bornu was gone forever, including the most powerful military in Africa (Bornu, Davidson 307).

The military of Kanem-Bornu was so well known that Europe even knew about it in the 16th century. These warriors were much like the middle-age knights of Europe, with a cavalry that traveled in formation “with great precision and expertness.” According to an early British report, they wore “coats of mail composed of iron chain, which covered them from the throat to the knees.” (Davidson 307) One would think that the British reporter was afraid of these fierce warriors. This army was also able to drive Songhai from present-day Niger, and create a territory of hundreds of square miles (Zurlo 26-27). This large territory increased the number of neighbors, resulting in trade and the introduction of Islam.

Kanem-Bornu’s thriving trade was the result of converting to Islam in 1150 (Diagram Group 41). Islam was encountered first when Berber merchants traveled to the empire in the 800s. Like other kingdoms and empires, the conversion to Islam united the people of Kanem-Bornu with themselves and others. (Esposito III-181) Kanem-Bornu’s location also made it a center of Islamic civilization. The ties with other kingdoms increased, resulting in trade between them. Exports included precious items such as ivory, slaves, eunuchs, livestock, saffron-dyed cloth, gold from local mines, and kola nuts. In exchange, Kanem-Bornu received necessities such as salt from the north, copper, metal tools, and horses. The fall of Songhai in 1591 made Kanem-Bornu the most powerful empire in sub-Saharan Africa, and total trade controls was theirs. (Diagram Group 41, Encyclopedia of African History and Culture) Kanem-Bornu became very wealthy because of this trade between other kingdoms, especially the west Saharan kingdoms nearby, the Nile/Red Sea area, and the original trade partner, Tripoli (McEvedy 46). Wealth is fame, is it not? Kanem-Bornu was rich, so fame should have followed suit (Diagram Group 41). One should recognize, notice, and pay more attention to the empire.

It is peculiar how Kanem-Bornu is overshadowed, ignored, and forgotten. This is true even though the empire had much control, a longer lifetime than other kingdoms, and even feared by Europeans such as the British (Bornu, Davidson 307, Kasule 46). Ignoring such an important and large empire is analogous to leaving out India. India and Kanem-Bornu both had long histories and large territories. However, there are many books on the subject of India, while the subject of Kanem-Bornu is rarely discussed in books.

Despite its great achievements, Kanem-Bornu is still discussed sparingly. Sources rarely explain Kanem-Bornu by itself, and instead reference with a short description among a multitude of other kingdoms. Perhaps, Kanem-Bornu did not have intricate artifacts and art, fantastic ruins, buried treasure, or any written records. However, these details do not merit how the empire is overlooked so often. Such a great military, trade, and religious power should have been the fantastic example of empire to replicate. After all, Kanem-Bornu was the “grandest and most enduring of all the West African states” (Martin 82).

Works Cited

“Bornu.” Africa: An Encyclopedia for Students. 2002 ed.
This source provided a general overview of the history, trade, and achievements of Kanem-Bornu. Not recommended for it is unorthodox; Kanem and Bornu were talked about separately.
Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms. New York: Time Incorporated, 1966.
This source provided interesting information focused upon Military and Trade. It had a richer, more intelligent vocabulary and language, and is recommended as a source of quotes.
Diagram Group. Peoples of West Africa. New York: Diagram Book, 1997.
More of a childrens’ book. Easy to read, full of pictures, easy to understand. Recommended for easy reading.
Esposito, John L. The Islamic World: Past and Present. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004.
Excellent for Islam projects, but not for kingdom of Africa projects. Not enough information about kingdoms and empires of Africa. When doing an Islam project, this is a must, but is not suited for projects about African kingdoms.
“Kanem-Bornu.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2002 fifteenth ed.
More general information. Rather close to other sources. However, being an encyclopedia source, the information was short, concise, and easy to read. Recommended as a first source to get started.
“Kanem-Bornu.” Encyclopedia of African History and Culture. 2001 ed.
Good basic information, but already researched information is there. Some interesting things were added to the pool of knowledge, including the exportation of eunuchs, and form of government. Recommended for basic information.
Kasule, Samuel. Macmillan History of Africa. New York: Macmillan, Inc., 1998.
This was mostly a repeat of what was already researched. Not recommended for it has some missing/slightly off information.
Ed. Martin, Phyllis M. and Patrick O’Meara. Africa. 3rd ed. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1995.
This source also provided a general description, but with greater detail than that of Source 1. Helpful items included location, quotes, a population figure, and a size descriptor. Also recommended as an early source to get started.
McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of African History. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1980.
Pretty, with many maps and illustrations. Easy to understand, and in chronological order instead of the by-kingdom/empire order used by other sources. Recommended for its ease of use, interesting facts, and excellent index.
Zurlo, Tony. West Africa. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc., 2002.
Interesting trade and military information, but may include exaggerations. Not recommended, as prior knowledge of the area is needed.

MacWorld

2006-01-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

The Macworld for Apple Computers happened today. Actually, all this week. But today was the bulk of the updates. Mac OS X 10.4.4 is out with new widgets. There are new versions of iLife and iWork (as suspected). Intel Macs came out (early). The MacBook Pro has an iSight, too. Having Intel processors makes the speed 2x-3x faster on the iMac, and 4x-5x faster on the MacBook, Steve Jobs says. And we now have more movies on iTunes. That was it. NO NEW IPODS! I bet some of you naïve folks thought a new one would be out :P