The SjN Chronicles

Humankind's Last Stand

The date was May 1st, 1983. There had been advertisements airing on NBC for weeks about a new science fiction mini series known only as "V". The ads were somewhat cryptic and because of that, anticipation for the mini series grew. People weren't sure what to expect.

I fondly remember sitting around the television that night, armed with a Swanson's TV dinner (salisbury steak rocks!) and a cup of Kool-Aid preparing myself for the science fiction goodness that was about to befall me.

I gotta tell you, the series didn't disappoint me at all. It made quite the impression on my young mind. The idea of an alien race descending on Earth with peaceful intentions and then building up to realize that there are underlying overtones of world domination really captivated me.

One aspect of the series I loved were the parallels of Nazi occupation that went along with the film. There was even a Jewish family portrayed in the film that touched on the similarities between the Visitors and the old Nazi regime. It really got the gray matter working.

I won't go into too much detail in the event that you actually haven't seen it yet but at the time, the series definitely made it to my personal top ten list of must-see sci-fi flicks to catch. Heck, it could have made top ten for the kick ass visitor uniforms alone!

Fast forward 26 years. Saturday, October 17th, 2009. I'm sitting in my living room scanning my plethora of DVD's wanting to watch something. I come to my V Mini series DVD. I pull it from the shelf and slam it into my DVD player. I cooked up a giant batch of kettle corn and cracked open a root beer. Soon, I was relaxing on my couch munching away and getting lost in V. Now granted, the film DEFINITELY is showing it's age. Some of the special effects (well, a lot of the special effects) leave something to be desired. But hell, give the movie a break, it was filmed in 1983 after all! But surprisingly it still managed to captivate me and keep me there. I had a great time. As a matter of fact, I will be watching the second half "The Final Battle" today!

Style-wise, everything about the film was just so extremely cool for 1983. The uniforms, the ships, and this unbelievably awesome logo. To this day, I would LOVE to get this as a tattoo. Upon learing that it is actually a "science-fictionized" swastika however, I'm not so sure anymore.

I still think is cool ;-)

Anyway, if you haven't seen V, take a day or two, rent it and sit down for some good old science fiction fun.

Oh, watching the original might make the new series more enjoyable! Wha? New series?

YES!!

ABC is preparing to air a brand new series! Get ready, I'm hoping this turns into a GREAT remake of the original! Getting TiVo ready to rock and roll!

Well, I'm going to head downstairs and get ready for V - The Final Battle! Have a great Sunday everyone!

-=SjN=-

Children - It's okay not to like them

Children...

In today's society, it has become taboo to even utter the phrase "I don't like kids". Children have been placed on this unattainable pedestal that even god himself would have trouble conquering.

Well, I am here today to set the record straight. I don't like kids. Call me pathetic, call me self centered, call me a #&#^$#@! Whatever. I don't like them, I've tried to like them but you know what. I JUST DON'T! There, I said it.

You know what? It's okay. It's perfectly fine to not like children. It doesn't make you a monster, it doesn't make you any less human. It makes you someone who doesn't like kids. Period.

I would venture to guess that a majority of people feel this way yet stay quiet about it. Even parents! For every "cute" thing your kid does, I am 100% positive that there are a thousand things that your kid does that drives you up the wall. It's a fact of life.

One of the reasons for my disdain of children is that unattainable pedestal society places them on. Just today I was watching the news about a bus crash. All the news could report was the fact that some kids got injured! Paramedics, police, firefighters rushed to the scene to help the children!!! Finally at the end of the broadcast you heard this - "Oh, and 15 adults were injured and the driver died..."

Like adults are any less F'ing important.

I remember when I was a kid, I could run outside and do crazy things like ride my bike without helmets, elbow pads and knee pads! Imagine that! I broke bones, scuffed my knees daily and got bloody noses. It's part of being a kid. Life lessons are a very important thing growing up! Today's kids lack that. They are so sheltered and protected that they ultimately grow up being evil little monsters. Yesterday there was a news report that 3 teens, in their infinite wisdom decided to douse this other kid sitting by a swimming pool and set him on fire. ON FIRE! What the hell?

Nope. I seriously don't like kids.

And yes, I can hear you now. "Don't blame the kids, blame the parents" True. Totally true. But at some point kids must share the brunt of responsibility. They are not untouchable little angles. Parents today are not allowed to discipline their children anymore. Go ahead and try it. Spank your brat in the grocery store and see what happens. You'll either stir up a flash mob or you'll be visited by CPS. It's absolutely ridiculous. Then there are teachers. The poor teachers. With the absence of discipline in schools, kids run rampant. Schools are full of drugs, guns wayward sex and all kinds of vile activities. Give the teachers their paddles back and lay down some laws.

Now, to be fair, there are good kids. Kids that do what they are told, obey the rules and go on to be productive members of society. I applaud them. My problem is that number is incredibly small. I fear for our future.

Finally, if you don't like children, it's okay. Like George Carlin once said, "Children are like any other member of society, some winners and a whole lot of losers". It's just a fact of life. There is no rule written anywhere that states you MUST love children at all costs.

Go forth in your feelings. Don't hurt them, be nice, that's a part of being a respectable member of society but stay true to your feelings.

One last thing, it may be unfair to say I don't like kids as it's not 100% the kids fault. What really causes this feeling towards children is how we, as a society raise our children. Rearing kids without discipline, is a recipe for disaster (and NO, Timeout is NOT discipline). A good crack on the ass does wonders and establishes boundaries. Something that kids today know nothing about.

That is all,

-SjN

THE FLU SHOT MADE ME SICK!!

I'm serious here. If I hear this one more time, I'll gouge someone's eyeballs out.

Every year, the same thing. I hear the same QQ'ing from friends, family, co-workers and recently, DOCTORS. Not sure how our why this mass hysteria started over the influenza vaccine but it's got to stop. Approximately 40,000 people die every single year as a result of succumbing to the flu. Let me say that again because it's kind of important - 40,000 PEOPLE!!! An inoculation seems like a pretty simple thing to prevent ummmm, DEATH!

Listen,

It's real simple. The flu vaccine cannot. I repeat CANNOT give you the flu. The vaccine is comprised of dead influenza cells. These cells are unable to spread the contagion. This is how the vaccine works, a sample of that year's virus (it changes every year which is why you need one annually) is injected. This exposes your white blood cells (the military wing of your body's defenses) to the virus. Again, they are dead! Your white blood cells do their job, they attack the invaders. As the attack occurs, your white blood cells build antibodies for that virus. Essentially making your body impervious to that virus. Later on, down the road, when you actually do come into contact with the live virus strain at work, school or where ever, your white blood cells will already know how to combat that virus because of the build up of antibodies.

Presto! Your body just opened a can of whoop-ass on the flu.

There is a reason, I believe, people think they get sick from the shot. You see, when you are injected with the vaccine, your white blood cells get to work. When your white blood cells are doing their thing, your body goes through some changes. You may feel a soreness at the injection site. You may experience a slight fever which is completely normal. It's what happens when your white blood cells are doing their jobs. And you may feel a bit achy. YOU DON'T HAVE THE FLU!

I repeat. YOU DON'T HAVE THE FLU!

Another reason for the myth and this is important. If you got the flu shot and the next day, you come down with a horrible case of the flu. You must understand, the shot did NOT give you the flu! A typical influenza virus has a gestation period of 4 days. If you got the shot and the next day you got the flu, you already had the virus to begin with. The vaccine will not stop an already spreading virus in your body. It will however make the symptoms less severe.

What's really sad is that actual doctors believe this nonsense and what do they do? They spread this myth to everyone else. Shame on you Dr. OZ. You of all people should know better. What Dr. OZ should be telling people is that if you are allergic to eggs, you really shouldn't get the shot. The virus is grown and harvested in chicken eggs so that could cause problems to those allergic to them.

So folks, stop QQ'ing about the damn vaccine and go get one already. The pros DEFINITELY outweigh the cons.

Just my two pennies!
-SjN-

I told myself I wasn't going to do it...

But I lied. I have to chime in on the state of today's political scene.

In all honesty, both major political parties, republicans and democrats are nothing more that a festering, overflowing toilet of FAIL.

Yesterdays' blatant exhibit of flat out anti-Americanism demonstrated by the conservative right was the last straw for me.

When the announcement came down that Chicago would not be hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, the right boomed from the highest mountain tops their jubilee. From one end of the talk radio dial all the way to the other, the air waves were filled with pathetic conservative glee.

What is it with conservatives? I seriously don't understand them at all. Mind you, this coming from a former conservative turned democrat (why I did that, I don't know. Chalk it up to the lesser of two evils)! Why the change you might ask? Well, for one thing, I got sick and tired of the conservative yammering. Seriously, tune into any conservative talk radio show. If you didn't know any better, you'd believe you were listening to the latest episode of the 700 Club! I'll admit it, I'm not the most religious person in the world. I'd go so far as to say I'm not religious at all. Nothing turns me off more than god talk. I found myself more and more on the other side of the fence. For example:

• I believe that America should do everything in it's power to kill (not cutback) its dependency on foreign oil.
• A woman's choice to terminate a pregnancy is exactly that: HER CHOICE. Not some stiff-backed, holier than thou conservative in D.C.
• Alternative energy is the wave of the future. Drill-baby-Drill just doesn't cut it.
• And lastly, America is in DESPERATE need of health care (not health insurance) reform! You know what? I'll even say it this way - BRING ON SOCIALIZED MEDICINE!! How do you like them apples?

Screw all of you right wing snooty socialites. The lies and deception that emanates from the right whether it be about health care or the economy is nothing short of staggering. You can thank the "big three" for that. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity & (the biggest turd of all) Glenn Beck. These conservative cronies are solely responsible for the enormous partisan divide we have in the country. ((Sigh...)) But I digress.

Back to the 2016 games...

When the elation erupted from the right yesterday, it got me to thinking. Why are these conservatives so joyous? It's simple, they hate Barack Obama. Period. Forget giving America that much needed economic shot in the arm. Forget all of the jobs that would have been handed out to unemployed hard working Americans, forget the opportunity to show the world that we Americans truly love them and long to be among them rather than the portrayed elite isolationists that so many think we are.

Nope, OBAMA LOST IT! OBAMA FAILED! And as the pathetic Drudge Report headlined: "WORLD REJECTS OBAMA: CHICAGO OUT IN FIRST ROUND. THE EGO HAS LANDED." Can you believe this nonsense?

When it came to that outburst yesterday, it left me with one conclusion. Extreme right wing conservatives are not un-American. Nope, not in the slightest.

They're anti-American.

That is all.

-SjN

So, one time at Oceanside?

I stuck this ....... ermmm nevermind ;-)

ANYWAY! A part of my trip to Oceanside, California was a visit to the wine country of Temecula! There are around sixty wineries tucked into the beautiful hills and I was determined to try most of them!

Needless to say I tried my best but unfortunately I learned something about myself that I can honestly say I never knew.

I'm allergic to grape vines!

It started out wonderful. Beautiful country, cool breezes, scenic camera shots. The wine was unbelievable goes without saying. I took a tour that I found online that offered lunch, a visit to about 8 wineries along with included tastings. Awesome right?

Wrong.

About the third winery in, I noticed that my eyes began to feel 'puffy'. I didn't think much of it. I continued on enjoying myself. As time went on, I began to feel more and more drug out. Couldn't understand what the hell was going on! By the sixth winery I felt like I got hit by a Mack truck! Could barely see, nose running down my face and endless sneezing.

I was hating life!

Needless to say, I got through it the best I could. Not many pics as I couldn't see but as I suspected, as soon as I got out of Temecula valley, I slowly started to clear up. Unbelievable. By the next morning I was completely normal. I was pretty bummed.

But hell, I tried to look on the bright side. Good thing I'm not allergic to malt, hops and barley! I'd REALLY be pissed off!

Beach shots coming! For some reason, I'm procrastinating about getting these images edited uuugghhh!

Peace,

SjN

Preparing for the BANG!

  In November 2009 a very important event will be taking place. This event is an experiment that has the very real possibility of uncovering some of the fundamental mysteries that still surround many of the questions physicists ask on a daily basis in their quest to unlock the secrets of the universe. Some of these questions are:

- Of the 4 fundamental forces, are strong nuclear and weak nuclear forces unified?
- What is it that generates elementary particle masses? (I.e God particle/Higgs boson particle)
- Why is the fourth fundamental force - gravity so weak?
- Dark Matter. Why? What is its nature?
- Are there extra dimensions as predicted by string theory?

 Among others, these are only a fraction of the questions that the 'turning on' of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in November 2009 will answer. These are very exciting times for those in the sciences fields. The discoveries that the LHC uncovers have the potential of rivaling that of the Copernican revolution.

 Now undoubtedly, you may have heard much controversy surrounding the Large Hadron Collider so what I would like to attempt, in laymens terms, is to explain what the LHC is, what its capabilities are as well as dig a bit more into these questions that physicists are asking. I will also explain what the fears are that some, in certain circles, albeit incorrect, are speaking of. As November approaches, you will more than likely be hearing a lot about the Large Hadron Collider in the news and it is important that you understand what it is and what it is going to do. There will be those that use "scare tactics" as they honestly believe something disastrous will take place when it is switched on. With just a little education about the experiments, you will realize that there is nothing to fear.

First off, What is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?

 The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). 27 Kilometers in circumference and one of the largest scientific experiments ever attempted. 10,000 scientists & engineers from 85 countries work in collaboration to bring this experiment to life 100 meters under the streets of Geneva, Switzerland.

What is the Large Hadron Collider going to do?

 What the LHC will do is accelerate protons (hydrogen nuclei) to 99.999999 percent the speed of light (300,000 Km/sec). At that speed, the protons will traverse the 27Km ring eleven thousand times per second. The protons are then collided with another beam of protons moving in the opposite direction. When the particles collide, the resulting explosion will recreate the conditions that existed less than a billionth of a second after that big bang occurred.

Now, you may ask yourself 'why'? What's the point?

 This question probably gets asked more than any other question when addressing experiments like this. It's funny. Researcher, J. J. Thomson the discoverer of the electron was asked this same question by the British government in 1897 when asking for funding for his research. Thomson answered, quite simply, "I don't know. But I guarantee you that you will tax it within twenty years". He was of course correct as little did anyone know at the time, that as a result of his discovery, the electron which forms the basis of what we know as electricity formed the foundation of the world's economic system. We have Thomson to thank for technologies such as medical imaging, proton treatments for cancer, that jumble of circuit boards and liquid crystal you call a computer, the Internet itself. Quite an important discovery.

 Well, that's enough for now. In my next segment I will discuss the LHC's capabilities and explore some of these questions that are being asked by the scientific community. Finally, don't be intimidated by the "nerd speak". What is going on in Europe is ground breaking! I'm merely attempting to explain in "normal vocabulary" what is happening so everyone can understand and take part in the celebration that is scientific progress!

-SjN-

Common Sense -

"We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces."

-Carl Sagan

Well, I'm going to do it...

What am I going to do you might ask?

I believe I am going to go back to school. It's something that has been bugging me for quite some time now and I think it's time to scratch that itch.

I really want to go back to college with a heavy emphasis on mathematics. I'm currently setting goals now and I'll start short term. Goal one? Getting into class! Once I get that out of the way, I will start setting more long term goals for myself. Degree? Heck, who knows?

All through elementary, mid-high and high school, I always felt that math was my weakest subject and it's time that I correct that. "Why in the hell would you think that math is your weakest subject?" My wonderful wife asks. True, I do know a bit about math but to do the things that I want to do (I.e.. Physics) my mathematics foundation is a bit lacking.

So, I've been snooping around my local community college to see what I can find.

The good news is that due to the career that I am in, the office will more than likely pay for my tuition fees based on my GPA. Kind of an incentive to put the pedal to the metal you might say. Once I get some mathematics under my belt, I'll include some physics courses as they require a prerequisite of mathematics. I could probably pass an entrance exam to bypass that prerequisite but I really feel I need that instruction to build that foundation so mathematics it is!

Any of you other college-bound friends of mine have any advice to share with someone just starting to think about entering that mysterious realm of college life?

Help me!

-SjN-

Carl Sagan v2.0?

Alright,

Anyone who knows me is well aware that I'm a notorious physics geek. Nothing pleases me more (errr, well maybe World of Warcraft) than to dive into a good science book and learn something I didn't know during the previous 5 minutes.

It's enriching and frankly, healthy.

I've swam in the minds of the likes of Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan & Stephen Hawking. Not to mention Isaac Newton, Galileo and a plethora of other great minds.

Time to add a name to that "think tank playground" that I love spending time in - His name is Professor Brian Cox.

I discovered this guy a couple of weeks ago while watching the Science Channel. What captivated me most about Professor Cox is his uncanny way at explaining physics theory that most anyone can understand. Anyone that can get your average 'passerby' to understand Einstein's theory of relativity even remotely, gets kudos in my book. Brian Cox does just that.

Born on March 3rd, 1968, Professor Cox is a particle physicist, a Royal Society research fellow, and a professor at the University of Manchester. In his late 30's, I admire his achievements.

He literally reminds me of a young Carl Sagan. That fire of education in mathematics and the sciences burns in his eyes. I sit glued to the television soaking up that knowledge like a sponge. It's incredible.

Professor Cox recently wrote a book titled Why Does E=mc2 (and why should we care?). As a matter of fact, I just ordered it! If you have that occasional science geek hiding in you, I strongly suggest you hunt down Brian Cox! I haven't been this fired up over physics in a long, long time!

Okay nerd-out over!

-SjN-

EXTERMINATE!

Okay. Nothing makes me happier on a Saturday morning than to spend it "nerding out". This morning, I found myself in the Dr. Who universe and the most awesome villain known to Sci-Fi,

The DALEKS!

I'll be honest, when I was first exposed to them in my early childhood, I kind of smirked. I mean, they looked a bit ridiculous and hell, who would be the slightest bit frightened by a rolling 'ice maker' when you have much cooler baddies like Klingons, the Borg or the Sleestack? Well, the Daleks as I've discovered, have a tendency to grow on you. I personally place the Daleks right up there with the likes of Alien, Darth Vader and the Cylons when it comes to ultimate Sci-Fi villains.

These guys are bad ass and have absolutely no second thoughts when it comes to exterminating your tucas off the face of the planet. Seriously, if you were to ever run into one of these guys, kiss your ass goodbye cause you are about to be exterminated!

After doing some surfing around the web, I discovered that you have Dr. Who fans and then you have DR. WHO FANS!! Take Project Dalek for example. Here, we have a website dedicated, DEDICATED to the process of building your own, life sized DALEK! Not only is it life size, but it frigging works! Mobility, arm movements, voice modulator and well, everything but the kitchen sink!

Ummmmm, hang on one second, having a nerdgasm here...

Whew! That's better! Anyway, Project Dalek provides schematics, diagrams and all kinds of instruction so you too, can be the proud owner of your very own Dalek! ((Sigh)) What I wouldn't do to take on my very own Dalek. Imagine walking into your home after a hard days' work to see your Dalek neatly placed in the corner of your living room all lit up. Brings a tear to my eye.

Aaaand then there's reality. My better half put the kabosh on that REAL quick.

Okay, time to go back into my nerd universe and dream of one day building my Dalek and driving him through the local Mall. ;-)

Oh, and I'd sooooo name him George!

-SjN-