Thursday, December 19, 2013

Killjoy

There are countless of lawbreakers in the world, we all know that. Some were just common folk getting in a jam in their life, starting their criminal career. Some were country-known leaders, charged of corruption and other "political" crimes. At the top, there were world-known terrorists with a place on the world's criminal "most wanted" list. I've made a post like this before, except that it was about what different "tiers" of criminals did. So why not make a little change?

So today we're going to discuss about world-known terrorists who've been on the run from the CIA, MI6, and many other terrorist-hunting organizations. So enough chit-chat, let's start the list already!

OSAMA BIN LADEN
Let's start with the most famous terrorist: Osama Bin Laden. Notorious for his role as the puppeteer of the 9/11 attack, he is one of the most famous outlaws in the modern history of mankind. He is also charged with the mass murdering of citizens and the military. After a few years of his chaotic reign, Obama finally decided to ambush him and assaulted his compound, killing Bin Laden and a few of his rogue stoogies.

ADOLF HITLER
Although not exactly the kind of "terrorist" Bin Laden was, he's still counted as a terrorist and many statistics support that fact. He is responsible for causing the deaths of approximately 23 million people, including Jews and countless military and people in concentration camps. You'll be glad to know that Hitler too, eventually got murdered. Not by his enemies, but himself. One day, hostile forces managed to crash down his place in Berlin, and Hitler knew he was screwed. So instead he decided to go "You'll never take me alive!" mode, so he commited suicide.

That'll be it for today. I'll be back with part 2 of this post, which is just around the corner. Until then, see you all umtil the next post and peace out!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Misuse part 2

Hey guys, and we're BACK! Today we shall continue the list of misused devices used for destroying instead of helping humanity. Enough talking, let's cut to the chase!

ALCOHOL
One of the most obvious examples; used in medical business, hand sanitizers and many other human-saving devices. Also used to make beer, wine and many other alcoholic drinks. Humans have used alcohol to help save and end (or terribly screw up) lives. Sometimes used to instantly cure a wound or sometimes used to knock people out when added to a tissue. In drinks, it has the ability to make you go drunk and screw up your daily life. Oh yeah, and worst of all, it could also be used as quite an effective alternative to gasoline when it comes to setting stuff alight and is also almost as flammable (in fact, maybe even better). Of course! That previous statement about gasoline just gave me an idea for the next item...

FUEL
Honestly, this may be the most useful at the same time most havoc-wreaking item on the list so far. Think about it: fuel has been used to power our vehicles, our homes and many other everyday mechanisms. Without it, life would be so much harder. But with this priceless luxury also comes a darker side; it is also used to power countless war machines. Missiles need fuel to launch itself into the air. Tanks need this vital component to move their colossal "wheels" and factories need it to manufacture firearms and other weapons for countries at war. All this talk about weapons remind me of the next item on our list...

"DISGUISED" WEAPONS
These items include electric guitars, baseball bats and power tools. In short, things that aren't meant to be used as weapons but sure are lethal enough to be. You know what? Scratch that statement about fuels that fuels were the most deadly misused weapon. "Disguised" weapons are the most lethal. There are countless tools out there that could be used to actually maim or even kill. See that nail gun over there? That would be a good alternative to a pistol. That guitarist over there can clock a crazed hooligan with his electric guitar in a single bash. And I won't even have to tell you what that lumberjack with the chainsaw could do to you if you tried to assault him.

Well, that should be it for this post. Hopefully this will give you a good idea of how abusive people can be. Until the next post! Bye for now!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Misuse

These days there are so many devices that help our life. It makes our everyday activities much easier, makes us hardly have to move, and does a whole lot of other good things to us. But some people can use these devices for evil. To illustrate my point, let's get straight to it...

SATELLITES
These extremely useful, massive floating mechanisms are used to navigate our way through GPS, talk to a friend via telephone, watch TV, and God knows how else it can be used. But people can think up  monstrous ways to use these contraptions: Launching warheads, broadcasting military messages and many more rogue functions. It has mostly been used as an instrument of war instead of an item to help with our everyday activities. Now let's see, what other innocent item has been turned into a machine of war? Oh yeah...

POISONS
Yes, believe it or not, poisons wouldn't be the deadly agent that is used to knock off people if people didn't use it to spike their enemies with it. Some poisons were actually essential parts of life. Arsenic is used in making computers, phosphorus is in our bones, and many other poisons have been used in essential things in our daily lives.

Until some mischievous dude decided to find out what happened if he gobbled up some antimony (alright, maybe not exactly antimony, but a poison) and died in agony. Then ruthless killers started going, "I've heard that a guy down the street swallowed some antimony and died! Let's use this as our new weapon; the 'POISON'!"

Ever since then killers all over the world started bumping each other off with different deadly substances and now we know poisons as the deadly toxin used mostly fo murder.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back with part 2 soon. For now, goodbye readers!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Human Endurance Part 2

(Read Human Endurance before this) Hello again audience. Today we're going to continue the post of the "human lightning rod", AKA Roy Sullivan. So without further ado, let's get straight into it.

Strike 5: Guided Missile
August 7, 1973: This one was quite unique. While Sullivan was patrolling a national park, he saw a storm forming above. Recalling his unpleasant memories of storms, Sullivan decided to play it safe by hopped into his truck and drove away from the storm. Miraculously (well, maybe I shouldn't say "miraculously", "unfortunately" is more descriptive), the savage storm seemed to follow poor Sullivan. Eventually after a game of chicken with the storm, Sullivan decided that it was now safe to leave his lifesaving vehicle. He was wrong. The storm unleashed a lightning bolt (which Sullivan actually saw striking him) that set fire to his hair (kind of reminds you of Dumb Ways to Die, doesn't it?), surged down to his lower body (or to be more precise, his legs) and knocked his shoe off (this gives a totally new meaning to "knock your socks off", doesn't it?). The shock wasn't powerful enough to incapacitate (definition for younger children: stun) Sullivan, which was good because his hair was still on fire then. He then crawled frantically with all his leftover energy to his truck and poured the bucket of water over his head, which he always kept in his truck for emergencies.
Strike 6: Guided Missile #2
June 5, 1976: Pretty boring. Sullivan saw another cloud (AKA another potential harbinger of death), tried to flee, but got struck anyway (for some unknown reason, this one's strangely hilarious). The bolt injured his ankle.
Strike 7: "Water" Shame
June 25, 1977: While Sullivan was peacefully fishing on the side of the pond when yet ANOTHER bolt of lightning struck him, singed his hair and burnt his chest and stomach. After fighting a bear off with a branch, he went to his truck to seek medical assistance.

So the next time you get met by some disaster, remember Roy Sullivan: The human lightning conductor who had to experience the pain of getting struck by lightning 7 times and living to tell the tale.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

The Evolution of Weaponry Part 2

(Read The Evolution of Weaponry before this post to understand things better) Good news everybody! The employees at Radio Shack managed to dissect the ballista blot from my time machine and the energy core is functioning well again. Which means... We'll continue our journey through time and discover more about the evolution of weaponry throughout the ages. So without further ado, let's jump straight into the time machine and continue on our journey!

AMERICAN REVOLUTION (~17TH CENTURY)
Whew! Where am I? There seems to be a battle raging around me (and coincidentally, that's what keeps on happening) and a cannonball almost smashed my time machine to smithereens (let me take cover behind the lines to avoid being crashed by a cannonball or massacred by a musket). So anyway, let me give you guys a little background of the battles during the American Revolution (let me scooch over to the attacker's side a bit; ah, that's better). So right now, these attackers are starting to use more advanced weaponry: Muskets, cannons, axes, daggers and more assorted weapons of havoc. (BANG) Just now what you heard was a squad of redcoats (these are what the British were called during the Revolution) firing their muskets into the Americans' defenses. Now they're reloading their muskets (oh yeah, almost forgot to tell you: the firearms back then in the Revolution were still very old, so you could only fit one musket ball (yes, they still didn't invent bullets yet) into a musket at a time. You could only shoot the musket once, then you'd have to reload the musket again (and not to mention that before you insert another musket ball into the musket, you'd have to clean up all that scattered gunpowder used to fire the musket) before you could fire the musket again. Then you'd reload the musket again and so on) and preparing to fire again.

Enough of the invading British troops; let's move onto the bluecoats (the bluecoats were the soldiers of the American Colony during the Revolution), who are defending their side's base (let me move in a little closer; ah, that's much better. I can see everything clearly now) The Americans are holding off their offenders with their own bluecoat infantry (only this time the bluecoat infantry are using cover to take refuge from the redcoats while they reload their muskets (and occasionally, pistols. But typical infantry had little chance of wielding pistols back then. They were mostly used by what we know today as "elite soldiers" who also wield swords and two-handed axes). Other than that, the besieged bluecoats are also ravaging the redcoats with the help of their cannons (here's how it worked: the cannon was jam-packed with gunpowder, and a cannonball (yes, an ordinary, common-or-garden cannonball. Basically just a round ball of stone or metal back then could be used to splash enemy forces. It's a pity these cannonballs weren't explosive, let alone incendiary. That kind of warfare wasn't invented yet). It was interesting to investigate the warfare of the American Revolution, but we've better move on. Back to the time machine!

WORLD WAR 2 (19TH CENTURY)
Right now I'm hiding from sight behind cover in a beach with hundreds (no, thousands) of American and German troops wielding rifles and tommy guns (I've successfully snatched the uniform of a deceased American soldier, so as long as I stay on the US side, I should be fine) determined to spill some blood. Both sides are using a modern-looking soldier uniform and are wearing either (a) a beret or (b) a helmet. I see a lot of things that belong in today's world, such as tanks (although they aren't as advanced and "modern-looking"), planes, and many other older references to today's army (OK! OK! Enough time traveling! I'm staying in the modern day, with no pesky interferences from the past!)

2013, MODERN DAY
Well, that was exciting! Now that we know what it was like to fight without guns and planes and such, I feel way more thankful to be in the now, and hopefully you'll be too. Oh well, see you until the next post!

Why Time Travel Should Never Exist

Going back in time is a luxury that we have always dreamed of. We could change the course of history, find out what's going to happen in the future, and many other cool stuff. But scientists have not yet discovered a possible way to make time travel possible (Oh yeah, remember about that "time travel machine" (read The Evolution of Weaponry)? That thing was actually an advanced simulation device that made 3D "holograms" that was basically just a more interesting way to learn about known history. I really should demand a refund), and I bet it's going to stay that way FOREVER (anyway, if you were wondering why, it's because that if time travel WAS possible, then right now we'd be seeing people from different ages messing up our history, wouldn't we have?), and you know what? I really hope it stays that way. Why? Well, grab your popcorn and a soft drink, 'Cause we're about to FIND OUT!

If time travel did exist, then we'd abuse it and (unknowingly) instantly plunge the universe into its doom. To make things clearer, here's a little fictional story about what would happen if we actually managed to turn back the tides of time and explore the pages of history:
Once upon a time on the planet Earth, There lived a scientist who discovered the way to create a time machine. The glorious guy instantly showed his marvellous invention to the world, but because of its dangerous capabilities, it was used by the authorities only because they knew what chaos it was capable of wreaking if it fell into the hands of a person who didn't know how powerful this time-bending device was.

Eventually the scientist (who was now quite famous) was still unsatisfied that his time machine wasn't so popular because it couldn't be used as an appliance that could be used by everyone. He wanted to be known as the guy who made time travel possible. Finally his greed of fame (and money) overpowered him and he blurted out the method of how to craft the almighty time machine (without any forethought of how dangerous it was if it fell into the wrong hands). Soon the time machine was no longer an authority-only used device: It was now quite common, and can be seen in a lot of houses.

ENDING A: IF NOBODY DOES ANYTHING ABOUT THE TIME TRAVEL
People used the awesome time machine to travel back in time and stuff, but the nuke hit the ground when eventually, they had changed so much things in history that the world has totally changed. They interfered the cavemen, wreaked chaos in a gladiator pit, and many other countless changes in history that I don't need to mention (the point is, they changed history so much). In the modern day, the world that they know has been plunged into total anarchy because of all the events in history that have been jumbled up thanks to the carelessness of the time travelers. Earth is led into total chaos and darkness, triggering the apocalypse.

ENDING B: IF SOMETHING IS DONE
But if there is still some sensible people in this world that knows what chaos time travel can trigger in the wrong hands, chances are that they will try to stop this madness from happening. For example a man named James foresaw the future and noticed that if no action was taken about time travel abuse, the world would soon plunge into an apocalypse. So he decides to do the only thing that will stop the end of the world is to kill the time machine's inventor before he had the chance to create the time machine. To make a long story short, James succeeds in assassinating the insane inventor, in the process erasing everyone's memory of the time machine's invention (remember, if the time machine's creation was prevented, how could they still have all that memories of using the time machine?) including him. All is well with the world.

So there you have it: the risks of time travel. Take it from me, if anyone ever invents the time machine, we'll be doomed the microsecond it sets foot onto the Earth. Heed the post and realize the dangers of it. Face it: time travel's just too risky to handle, even for the most careful person on Earth. Because no matter what action is taken to prevent unfortunate mishaps, a stupid mistake is just behind the corner, waiting to end the world with the help of time travel.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

It's Just a Matter of Perspective

Throughout the existence of the human race, people have always been quarreling about the true definition of good and evil. Rebels and governments, outlaws and law-keepers and so on. People understand the main concept like this: The rulers (basically the government, policemen and people like that) are the good guys while the outlaws are the bad guys.

But the decision of which side is evil and which side isn't is all just a matter of perspective. Pretend that there was a city that was ran by a government that was currently fighting a rebellious gang of outlaws. If we examine a little closer, we might actually be confused of which one is bad and which one is evil. Here's a comparison:

REBELS' POINT OF VIEW
The rebels are fighting against the law because they have witnessed how the government runs the city. They say that the rulers of the city have been a harsh, cruel government and that their belief in true justice is in the fact that the citizens of said city should have their (assumingly) cruel rulers overthrown and replaced with a "looser" government that had a less strict definition of justice: significantly more freedom, not such a rule-riddled city with peacekeepers guarding every few kilometres of the place.

GOVERNMENT POINT OF VIEW
The government believes that the rebels are misguided thinkers that want to wreak chaos among the city. The government's definition of justice is a strict, ruled city where any lawbreaker caught crossing the line would be punished. To them, this will keep the city in its current, peaceful position with no complainers and such. To them, the rebels are trying to overthrow the government in order to plunge the city into chaos, where the rules were loosened and the people had a chance to show how their freedom by plunging the city into anarchy or something.

The "perspective" thing also applies to our normal lives, when we have to choose which side is the one that will lead us to the right way and not the wrong one. For example, Zack, who's an expert in school, gets lots of good grades and stuff, has the choice to decide whether or not to "help" (tell the answers) his friend Jim in his homework. Both choices are right and wrong in some way. Observe and find out which is the right way.

TELL JIM THE ANSWERS
If Zack tells Jim the answers to the homework, he will be helping Jim in the homework and prevent the teacher from getting him screwed
CONCLUSION:Jim will thank Zack for saving his life and Zack will have helped his friend, thus tightening their friendship. However, Zack's help will trigger Jim to develop an unhealthy dependence on Zack, thus making Jim a lazy little brat who will no longer know what to do should there be a situation where Zack won't be there another time to save his butt.

DON'T TELL JIM THE ANSWERS
If Zack refuses to tell Jim the answers, Jim will either think:
a) "Ah, never mind. Zack is a disciplined guy anyway, so it's understandable that he's doing the right thing. I shouldn't run to anybody for answers when I have a problem anyway." In this case Jim will possibly get screwed, but at least he knows that he can't run to smart people and leech answers of them to save their butts.
b)"I can't believe that smarty-pants Zack wouldn't help a friend in need. Although he is a disciplined guy who's the teacher's pet, what he really is is a boy who thinks he's so smart and will let other people sink while he swims to safety." In which Jim will hate Zack and (probably) not consider him a friend anymore, in which case Zack should tell Jim that he's just doing what is right (although this probably wouldn't work) and that he can help Jim in his studies, but not tell him the answers, in which case Jim won't learn anything.

So there you have it: Evil is just how you look at it; you need to have some forethought before deciding which one is actually the wolf in sheep's clothing and which one is sheep in wolf's clothing. Hopefully this post will help you before just and fair because out there, there are so many wolves are in sheep's clothing (and vice versa) and we must know which one is the sheep and which one is the wolf.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Is Simplicity Bliss?

Humans have always wanted their lives to be much easier, way more comfortable. That's the reason they invented cars, computers, and millions of other life-easing inventions. But while we sit back and wait until they make life as easy as cake, let's enjoy how hard life is (I know this sounds a little insane, but hear me first before you make any comments, OK?

Everyday we keep on moaning on why life is so hard: Why we have to do so much painstakingly difficult work in order to achieve our rights. But (amazingly) we might find some beauty in this. How? Well, let's take a look at the small test case here:
-Jim is a hardworking office worker who is just another cell or nerve in a whole body of the company he works for. He has to work extremely hard in order to get paid a decent paycheck in order to life a decent life that he can at least live through. Everyday he praises his minuscule job as a typical, common worker. He thanks God for giving him the small amount of money that he uses to construct his life with. His low-earning job has got him praising it even though it is so insignificant. But let's turn the story around: Say Jim doesn't have to work so hard for his money; he only needs to sit around and wait for that money to roll in (literally) without doing anything. Here's what'd happen:

Now Jim (with his money pouring in without him having to do anything) will no longer praise that small amount of money that has led him to a decent life. Now that his money and his life is handled (let's just say he doesn't have to work so hard now; his life has become simple), instead of prospering and being grateful, Jim will now continue to more "advanced" goals. Now that his life and his money is handled, he wants EVEN MORE simplicity. He doesn't appreciate the fact that his money problem is handled, he now looks forward to making his life easier (despite the fact that he's already got everything he needed). When his goal for making an even simpler life is achieved, he will keep on trying to make his unnecessarily easy life as pampered as possible. This will go on and on until his death.

So if you're wishing for a more sophisticated and simpler life, heed this: simplicity, in too large "doses", can make us lazy. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but just in case your car get's broken and you have to walk home or you have to stay back in school to catch up on some work, cheer up because at least doing this will make reaching home a much more satisfying reward. After all, the painstaking difficulty of getting a reward is what makes that reward so valuable, isn't it?

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The Evolution of Weaponry

Today modern people have wars and battles so easily; It's the 21st century and we go to war using jets, guns, and other lethal modern weaponry. In fact, we're so engrossed in the technology of today's battles, we kind of forgot what it was like when we DIDN'T have today's awesome arsenal of butt-whooping weapons. So for today, let's take a trip back in time, traveling to, well, more "ancient" times when guns and many other modern battalion-battering beasts didn't exist yet.

ANCIENT GREECE (800 BC-6TH CENTURY AD)
Right now I'm in the middle of a battle (hold on, got to hide... OK, I'm in the bushes. That's better... Oh yeah, let's continue) of some opposing Greek armadas (hold on, let me bend in for a closer look), where I can see thousands of Hoplites (the other word for "Greek soldiers") armed with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other (alright, let's move on to the defending Greek side).

On the defending side, I see a whole army of Greek archers (they look just like the Hoplites but armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows instead of a shield and a spear) carefully aiming and shooting arrows all over the oncoming army. I also see a few towers used by the invaders to climb up the defenders' walls (these towers are also outfitted with a battering ram, a bronze tool used for ramming (that's how it got its name in the first place) walls and other enemy defenses. Let's move on to the next age before I get stabbed by a spear or attacked by an arrow or something.

MIDDLE AGES/MEDIEVAL PERIOD (5TH-15TH CENTURY)
Finally, away from the spears and the arrows, uh, hold on OH MY GOD SOMEONE JUST SHOT A CROSSBOW BOLT AT ME! (Fortunately it missed, and now I'm safely hidden in cover, away from those medieval crossbow psychos. Anyway, let's continue with the post). OK, safely hidden from those nutty knights. It looks like they're in chain mail and they're on horseback (just an FYI, the horses use armor as well). Well, this is interesting...instead of the same old weaponry for every soldier, I'm noticing a bit of "originality" here; some the soldiers don't use the old uniform lances and pole-arms. Some are wielding maces, swords, and many other different types of weapons.

On the defending side, I see something related to the Greek age: They also use a type of castle wall to evade the invaders from well, invading (this has apparently turned into some kind of warfare trend: High fortified walls) and placing some turrets (both machines and men) on some castle towers (let's lean in for a closer look at the defenses). I see that both the fortifiers and the offenders are using siege-craft such as trebuchets, ballistas and many other types of catapults for invading and protecting (OK, now excuse me while I travel back in time to the 21st century. My time machine is getting wasted by some knights, and it is running out of power and if I don't go back, I might be stuck here until I die).

THE PRESENT (2013)
Well, that was exciting! Going back in time, examining different wars of the ages, it's going to be hard to adapt to the present times, and I won't be able to go back in time again until I repair my time machine, which could take either days, weeks, or even MONTHS! (it depends on the damage: a ballista just misfired and its bolt has impaled the machine's energy core. I just got back in time back in time (get it? back in time; I'm travelling back in time, just in the nick of time! Ha!). After I take this thing to Radio Shack, I guess we'll have to wait until it gets back in top condition before I start time traveling again. Until then, peace out and see you (I mean, READ my POST) until my time machine gets fixed!

Friday, November 15, 2013

Rogue Jobs

When times get foul, some people resort to criminal measures. Millions of people have fallen prey to criminal acts, and it has been corrupting the world everyday. This post has been mainly used for telling you about various types of criminals that pester us everyday. So without further ado, let's get straight to it!

MINOR CRIMINALS
The weakest and most common type of criminals, they can be any member of a crowd. Some of these include pickpockets, convenience shop robbers, and any other evildoer you know as a "petty criminal". These guys aren't exactly a very big threat and can easily be remedied with the local police enforcement, but their common and continuous existence make them very annoying criminals. If you were in a very tight spot and cannot get a decent job, you might actually turn into one of these people (god forbid).

BIG TIME CRIMINALS
These guys are classified as armed robbers who plan their crimes ahead. Bank robbers are a good example. Basically these guys are the people who automatically attract police attention (and by "police attention", I don't mean "cop car" level police attention; we're talking "Grand Theft Auto 4-Star police attention, where not only the police come after you with their typical 9mm Berretas; we're talking SWAT, armored trucks and (occasionally) the army and their arsenal of awesome weaponry and vehicles). These guys are rare (due to the fact that very little people actually have the guts and money to pull of these suicidal stunts.

TERRORISTS
By far the biggest group of criminals to ever exist, these mighty mayhem-makers brew up world-news level crimes. They may take control of the White House, hijack Air Force One, plunge the world into an economical crisis, and much more. For these, the country that is being assaulted b the terrorists will call the army, SWAT, and even troops from overseas to help the country contend with their extreme problem. They arrive in massive teams, use top-notch technology to do the crime, but fortunately incidents like this happen very VERY rarely.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Big Time Crime

Nowadays do any of you notice how crime has really taken its toll on the world? Terrorists, pickpockets, and many other criminals that haunt today's world have been making life harder. Today we're going to try and pick a decent era in history where there weren't so much crime and murder. Without further ado, let's start investigating...

WILD WEST
Back at the Wild West. Ah, how peaceful and- wait... Hold on, TAKE COVER! I almost forgot! Back at the Wild West, it was probably even worse than today. Even the pettiest of criminals would be wielding a six-shooter (at the least) and some crimes were carried out by gun-toting horse riding criminals! Oh jeeeeez... I think we'd better find another place in time where there weren't so much baddies...

16TH CENTURY

FINALLY! I couldn't stand another second in that chaotic city full of insane cowboys and sheriffs. At least now we're... Hold on a minute... Oh NO. I seem to be in a Spanish galley and- OH MY GOD, THERE'S A FREAKING PIRATE SHIP HEADED OUR WAY! Ah yes, now I remember! In around the 1650s, pirates started raiding innocent merchant ships, hold on (dodges sword), and this has been going on until 1730 (stabs pirate) but I've got to go now, This ain't exactly the safest place to talk...

1880s
This is the perfect place to resort. No psychotic pirates trying to chop us to pieces, no insane trigger-happy bad guy trying to fill my guts with lead... Finally. Now I can get some rest. Wait, hold on, what's going on there? Better hide in a bush just in case somebody comes snooping... Oh man. It's Ned Kelly and his gang of bushrangers. In around 1880 the bushrangers got a powerful leader, Ned Kelly, who I'm seeing right now in his metal jacket and helmet. Wait a minute... NO! NO! (gunshots) THEY HEARD ME TALKING! OK, I've decided that the present isn't exactly so bad after all, considering what I've gone through...

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Human Endurance

Has any of you ever wondered just how durable the human body can be? Well sometimes the truth can dazzle you. Today's post is mainly made to show you just how powerful the human body can be.

In this post I'm going to introduce you to one of the most "powerful" people in the world: Roy Sullivan. "Who is this guy anyway, Jason?" many of you might ask. For those of you who don't know (and I bet that's pretty much the majority of you), Roy Sullivan is the record holder for "human lightning rod". He has been struck by lightning seven times (all at different times, of course. If he was struck by all seven bolts on the same day, you can imagine the pain) and is still breathing as we speak. Here's a log of his lightning strike survivals:

Strike 1: Tower Power
Sullivan's first strike dates back to April 1942, when he was sheltering in a fire lookout tower in the middle of a thunderstorm. Towers weren't so safe back then (I'm guessing that Ben Franklin wasn't born in 1942, but that's just a guess) because there were no lightning conductors on towers back then. Sure enough, the lightning struck the highest thing around: the tower Sullivan was "hiding" in. The tower caught on fire. Sullivan, realizing the tower was no longer safe, stepped out of the building and out into the open. A few seconds later, a flash of lightning made him a human lantern for a few miliseconds. Can you see the delicious irony of this all? A guy tries to take cover from a thunderstorm and got the first lightning strike of his life! The bolt left a scratch on his foot, hit his toe and left a hole in his shoe (that must've been his "holey" shoe from then on. Ha ha).
Strike 2: Lightning Con-"truck"-tor
July 1969: Sullivan was driving a truck in the middle of yet another storm. Despite his (almost) guaranteed protection in a truck, a lightning bolt bounced off several trees before finally hitting Sullivan's open window, striking him. The strike burnt off most of his facial hair and knocked him out. As for the truck, well, it kept moving until it neared a cliff edge.
Strike 3: Back At the Barnyard
1970: This one was quite boring. Sullivan was out in the yard when ANOTHER lightning bolt came to spoil the peacefulness. It struck a nearby transformer before jumping onto his left shoulder, searing it.
Strike 4: The Omen
1972: When lightning struck him the fourth time, Sullivan started thinking that some force was trying to destroy him and he started to get that fear of death. For months he started to take extra safety precautions, such as bringing a bucket of water around believing that water was a better conductor than him and the lightning would strike the water instead of him. Every time he encountered a storm while driving his truck, he'd pull up and lie down on the front seat until the storm passed.

I'll continue the rest of the post ASAP. I hope you readers aren't too disappointed, though. Peace out!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Treasure

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been updating for so long, so I've decided to put an end to your misery (that's supposed to be another way of saying “killing you”, geddit?). I've decided to make more “informative” posts, and today's post is going to be about one very general (but I guarantee you, very satisfying) topic: Treasure (and NO, this is not the Bruno Mars song). Historical, full of information about the past, but the main reason people try to find it is because of the MONAAYY!!! (Yeahhh!!!!!) Okay, give me a sec. Got to cool down after that little exaggerated comment.

(Almost) everyone's dream is to find a dinosaur skeleton or a diamond mine hiding under their backyard (This is possible if you lived in some potential dinosaur-habitat country, but otherwise, you'd turn into a dinosaur yourself searching for one of these ancient animals in the city), which is pretty much impossible. Therefore this post is kind of a guide to any hopeful treasure-tracker out there trying to dig up a valuable artifact or something (before you read the guide, I would like to inform you that I am not responsible for any losses or damages caused by it).

The first thing every good treasure-tracker must know (come to think of it, this is something ALL treasure-trackers must know) is that treasure can come in different forms. Most people claim that “treasure” is another word for “valuable gems and ores” like emeralds and diamonds or platinum and gold (read this bit unless you think that it's there's nothing special about finding a new type of dinosaur skeleton under the soil of your backyard).

A treasure can also be a mechanism from the a few decades (or even centuries, if you can find one) ago (do not worry; you do NOT need to find one that still works, a disabled one will be valuable enough, but if you can find one that still works, that's even better). The reason an old rusty item from the past can be such an eye-magnet to the right person is because that people can use that old ancient thing to study the civilizations before us. Many archaeologists have made fortunes selling everlasting artifacts from hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of years ago. Vases and buildings dating back from the times of ancient Greeks, manuscripts and terracotta warriors from ancient China, and many other priceless pieces of history from different eras have been sold by archaeologists to the highest bidder and they have lived as rich and wealthy (eh, come to think of it, “rich” and “wealthy” means the same thing) tomb raiders (nice job name, huh? Got that from a game). So please realize that treasure means more than just a batch of gems hiding in a cave (or more precisely, a mine).

Another thing a treasure-tracker needs to learn is that the secret to a successful treasure hunt is to find the right place for the right treasure (which is another way of saying, “Don't try to find Atlantis in Antarctica.”). If you're trying to find a ship from the renaissance or some other old naval vehicle from back then, look at the bottom of the sea (maybe I should have skipped that bit, it's too obvious). If you're looking for bones of prehistoric creatures, it's best to search in the previous places where they were last documented to live (say, if you wanted to find the skeleton of an  Australopethicus (some kind of old ancestor of ours), try to search in a place that matches its habitat (possibly a grassland or a savannah, search in the internet for further places to search for the appropriate place to find the appropriate treasure). Consult to science and history books and other informative sources for greater success on your next treasure hunt (OK, I'm sorry, I just realized I just said the same thing twice, but at least I told you about the “history and science books and other informative sources” thing on the second time I said it).

Let's stop the tips and try to listen to a famous tale of popular treasures (or at least, the site of a few popular treasures). Here's a story about a historical site of priceless objects that archaeologists (or more precisely, thieves) used to get rich:

THE TITANIC
(I'm still not sure if the Titanic was exactly a robber's nest, but people got lots of cash salvaging it, so I'll use it anyway) The Titanic was a ship known for its overestimated strength and its destruction (it is highly recommended that you read this part if you don't have the foggiest idea of what the Titanic is, and I'm pretty sure that's pretty much all of you readers, but to you people out there who don't know what in the world the Titanic is, here's its story). The Titanic was built in the 18th century, and it was the largest and most durable ship of its time (it was the 18th century, so you can bet it wasn't as strong as modern ships. Anyway, read on). It was so gobsmackingly large and awesomely powerful-looking it was dubbed “indestructible” by the Shipbuilder magazine (and NO, don't ask me about this matter because I also didn't know that magazines had topics about shipbuilding, let alone back in the 18th century, but apparently there was and still is). It was so special, that to celebrate its release into the sea, a bottle of champagne wasn't smashed on the ship's bow (they did that to most ships back in the day and I THINK they still do it now, I don't know) to celebrate its maiden voyage. No, instead they guided the vessel out to sea using smaller boats.

Ironically, the titanic Titanic (nice wordplay, huh?) sank on its first voyage. “Why?” you might ask. “Did it get incinerated by numerous bolts of lightning? Did it get shot down for trespassing restricted territory? There must be a “titanic” reason this hip sunk.” you might be wondering. Uh, no. It's “death” wasn't exactly awesome. It hit an iceberg (for those of you who might be shocked of its lame destruction, pause at this point to gasp at the irony before continuing to read). I know, right? So anyway, the Titanic DID get thoroughly scavenged by an amazing archaeologist named Paul Henry Nargeolet who sold almost all the Titanic's items for millions of US $.

That concludes my treasure-hunting guide. Hope you guys will find a use of this. See you til' the next update!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

God's Assistance Part 1

(I recommend reading the post Acceptance before reading this post) Hello again audience. As far as I know, a lot of people don't have so much faith in the Lord. Therefore I have created posts of stories from the bible to strengthen your bond with Him, and this is the second post so far. So let's get straight down to business.

Have you wondered if God was the one to count on if you needed someone who would really lead you the way, vanquish all enemies who stand against you and your destiny? Most people doubt this, but according to the Holy Bible, the Almighty One has really done this (At least back in the Old Testament). In one story, he led Israel to freedom against their cruel captors, the Egyptians. Here's the story...

Thousands of years ago (think B.C.), the people of Israel were ruled by Egyptians. The reason the Egyptians were ruled by Egypt was because that the Pharaoh feared that Israel would soon conquer Egypt if left alone. For this reason, the Pharaoh ordered his country's unfortunate neighbors to be slaves. This way there would be no rebellion against Egypt. After years of brutal work and mistreatment, God decided to put a stop to all this evil.

God sent a former Israelite fugitive named Moses to the Pharaoh to send a message from God to let the Lord's people go. The Pharaoh refused to comply to His request, so He sent a terrible chain of disasters upon the evil Egyptians.

1. The Red River
God started his first offense on Egypt by turning all the water sources in Egypt into blood. In the River Nile, the crystal-clear river turned into an unbearably disgusting flow of blood. With all the water sources useless, you'd expect the Pharaoh to give in and let Israel out of captivity, but NO, the relentless ruler still refused to let his prisoners go.
2. The Frogs
Next, God sent literally sent a whole country of frogs to infest Egypt (I bet the Egyptians were "hopping" mad). The annoying amphibians scared the citizens, pestered the Pharaoh, and horrified the officials. The Pharaoh pretended to give the Israelites permission to leave the country, and God called off the plague the next day. However, when the frogs were cleaned from Egypt, the Pharaoh instantly recalled Israel back to Egypt (Let's call this tactic "The Fake Promise" to put it in shorter terms, OK?)
3. The Parasites
(If you're terrified of massive colonies of insects, I suggest you skip this bit) "Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt." God said to Moses. Moses did so, triggering every grain of dust to transform into lice (or gnats or fleas, it didn't really say in the bible). The incredibly irritating insects assaulted Egypt, causing everlasting chaos (and hygiene problems) among the whole country, "bugging" the people. After doing "The Fake Promise", the Pharaoh still kept the poor Israelites in the country.
4. The Flies
Following the lice attack (which is, by the way, a VERY GOOD reason to take baths), God unleashed a swarm of flies to Egypt (what was the big deal with bugs back then? They seem to be the star of ancient annoyances!). The Pharaoh exercised "The Fake Promise" a third time so he could keep Israel in Egypt.
5. The Cattle Tipper
(This plague may be the reason that livestock are potential carriers of disease) This plague is a bit "futuristic". After irritating the relentless ruler, God decided to turn up the pressure a bit and start using murder and life-threatening threats. This time God unleashed a kind of cattle-killing disease (think anthrax) upon the Egyptians. Although the epidemic didn't kill the Egyptians, you can bet than they were less than happy when they saw their farm animals sprawled on the floor (At least they were able to salvage meat from the cattle and have a few tons of steak to eat. It always pays to look at the bright side). Hmm, I wonder if this was the start of livestock-carrying diseases? Anyway, you know what happened next. Fake promise, Israel still stays in Egypt.

I'll continue the story in another post. Sorry for any inconvenience caused, but don't worry. I'll post the next part on the next update. Peace out for now!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

It's Not My Fault. It's Fate.

Do you believe in fate? For those of you who don't know what fate is, here; take a look at the Jason's Dictionary:

Fate: Your destiny; it cannot be changed, because it's your destiny; what you are going to do, what will happen. For example, it was my fate to type this post for you.

You've got to admit, fate can be a little misleading at times. God controls our gates/destinies, so it's possible to use this as an excuse for what's currently happening. Take this conversation below:

Teacher: John, why didn't you make your homework?
John: It was my fate not to do my homework. You can't blame me for that.

It can also be used to exploit people.

You: (trip a person over)
Unlucky victim: WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
You: I didn't do that on purpose. It was your fate.

But that's not the main reason I composed this post. I made this post mainly because fate confuses me. Why? Well, here's a little paragraph on why fate is such a confusing thing:

If God already controlled our destinies from our births to our deaths, then why does he count our sins and good actions? Since he already controls our fates from the beginning, he will be the one who's going to decide if what we're going to do next? Then that means we are puppets, unaware if our next act is going to be evil or saintly. Sorry if I sound like an atheist, but I'm just expressing my opinion.

So that concludes another post on the wonders of the Lord. I hope you will give this one some thought and help me solve this saintly dilemma.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Acceptance

Many of you must be wondering if God is truly the ultimate leader, the sheep's shepherd, who forgives whatever His sheep does. Some people out there, I just know it, just don't seem to 100% believe in this theory. Well if you're this kind of guy, I highly recommend you to read this post. If you're not this kind of guy, it's still a good post to read nevertheless. So here's a story of how much God cares for us (before you read this story, here is the "cast": God is the father, and we are the father's foolish son. Enjoy the story)

Once upon a time, there was a rich father who had two sons. One day the younger brother asked for his share of his father's inheritance (for those younger readers out there, inheritance is the items your parents will give you after their passings, and whatever you do, do not ask for your share of your parents' will until the time has actually come, unlike the reckless little kid in this story). Amazingly, the father granted his son's unbelievable wish.

So after receiving his money and valuables from his father, the young son bade goodbye to his father and moved into the city (he previously lived in some kind of suburb). He squandered all his cash on wild parties, (probably) eating in fancy and insanely expensive restaurants, and in scientific terms, living the wild and extremely comfortable. But eventually after all his insane shopping spree, he went bankrupt.

Now here's some additional information to help you understand the story even better: when the young son ran out of money, he also ran out of friends. After all, back at that time, (and maybe today it still goes on today) there is an important rule in having friends: You must be RICH. Back at Jesus's era, as long as you were a rich person, loads of people will want to be your friend. Why? Well, people are much more primitive that time (no offense if this hurts anybody) and this is their concept of friends: "A good friend is a rich person. A rich guy can invite you to wild parties, afford you expensive gifts, etc, etc. If the guy's not rich, don't befriend him. He can't afford you anything."

And that was precisely was happened to the poor, unfortunate kid. Once all his cash went down the money drain, all his friends dumped him. Since they knew he could not afford expensive dinners anymore, they abandoned him right when he needed them most. Some friends these guys are. Anyway, the son tried to find a job in the city. But unluckily for the kid, he couldn't find a decent job and ended up as a pig-watcher. He had such low wages that he sometimes had to resort to devouring pig food in order to temporarily contain his hunger.

Eventually he got sick of being such an unfortunate citizen. He eventually returned to his father's house, where he planned to say, "Dad, I have squandered all my inheritance on unnecessary stuff and totally disgraced you. For that, don't take me as your son anymore. Just allow me to be one of your servants.". Then at least he would get decent pay and have a life.

But when he got home, his dad didn't get mad at him: instead he forgave the son for his recklessness and threw a party for his son's return, for "My son has been lost and found: he was dead and brought back to life!".

So there. If God is the father, that means he will always give us a second chance no matter what. But that doesn't mean you can push him far. That's it for this post. See you til' the next update!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

One Step Ahead

The world is like Facebook. Everyday people constantly update it and every single second it always becomes newer and newer. And just like Facebook, if you don't catch up, you would get left behind. This is the typical life of the ordinary citizen. Now, you might wish that you were one of those life-changing people who actually helped make life even easier than it was before. But being an inventor who makes life-changing newfangled contraptions isn't going to be as easy as snapping your fingers. Life as an inventor means competition, rivalry, and other unlimited terrors. But if you pull it off successfully, the rewards are going to be tremendous.

If you were an inventor, once you have a brainwave about a potential human-helping device, you've got to start to work on your new creation ASAP. Instantly hammer, drill and craft it into perfection. Why, you might be wondering, if you're an inventor, you have to workon your new invention so quickly? Well, I'll tell you why. That's because if you take it slow, sooner or later your invention is bound to be unknowingly created by someone else, and if they manage to patent it and send the bill to engineering and stuff like that, they'll get credit for the invention you were actually working on. They will get invited to parties and stuff like that just because they created that invention before you. You will be completely forgotten because you didn't show it to the public before the other guy did. All your hard work will be flushed down the toilet just because he made it public before you. Geddit, right?

There are famous examples of inventors who made the same invention at the same time. Take Alexander Graham Bell, for example. Another guy named Elisha Gray coincidentally invented the telephone roughly at the same time in different places. To top it all off, their telephones were also made of exactly the same materials! Spooky, eh? Well anyway, we all know that Bell invented the telephone, but that's because he just sent the patent to engineering before Gray did and the failed scientist's efforts were forgotten. Science can be horribly cruel sometimes.

You also can't be famous for being the guy who discovered HOW an invention could be made. For example, We all know that Edison invented the lightbulb, right? Well, history may be correct, but not entirely. Many people back then did DISCOVER that light COULD be made in the form of some kind of a lightbulb, but they didn't MAKE the actual light bulb. They just remained as another common-or garden human on the planet. Edison managed to actually CREATE the lightbulb, and he became world famous. So you can't get famous for developing an idea for an invention.

So if you're a keen inventor trying to help the world, please read this. This post will help teach you a thing or two about new invention. Anyway, thanks for reading. Jason out!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Horror of the Past: Murder Devices Part 2

Yesterday I promised you guys that I would come up with part 2 of horrible killing devices back in the old days (read part 1 of this post if you haven't), and here is the promised result. Last post we did "formal" murder contraptions, which is really another word for machines used for public executions. Now we are doing "informal" murder items, which are easily purchased back in the day. Without further ado, let's start the list...

THE IRON MAIDEN
(Not to be confused with the band) In this monstrous device, the victim is locked inside and forgotten. Now these procedures may get a bit deceiving, maybe a bit boring. But when you look at the item used to put the victim in, you'll feel more sorry for the chosen person. A LOT more sorry.
Get the picture? Now repeat that boring old procedure, only with the Iron Maiden: Put victim in, forget about him. I told you you'll be sorry for the poor guy in this thing. Even worse, the Iron Maiden's spikes are placed in strategically painful places. For example the spikes weren't so long, so it'll stab the victim and allow him/her to bleed to death. There are also spikes specifically directed to pierce the eyes.

THE THUMBSCREWS
Now I told you readers that this post will be about murder devices, but just for the sake of giving you additional information, I've decided to make an exception. Welcome the thumbscrews. Definitely more of a torture than an execution device, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to work this machine. Observe:
I sincerely apologize if the design wasn't as practical as you expected, but I guarantee you it's still extremely painful. Chances are that if you try this on a person he'll probably say more vulgar things than "SCREW you!"

That should be the end of the medieval torture weapons. I'm sorry if you readers didn't see as much machines as you expected, but I'll gladly find out about more if you want.

Monday, September 9, 2013

The Horror of the Past: Murder Devices Part 1

The world has turned into quite a gruesome place, but that's nothing compared to hundreds of years ago. Sure, technology and all the great devices meant for good today is used for bad uses instead of helping the world, but trust me, there are a lot of stuff that will make people awfully glad that they lived in the 21st century.

Today we are going to compare the horribleness of today's and yesterday's terrible killing machines. Just take it from me, just thinking about these primitive murder machines you will face in the old days is enough to make you lose your head (literally, if you do get killed by some of these things). After you look at this post, you too, will have to admit that these medieval murders could make the gas chamber look like a perfumery. Let's start the list:
(INTRODUCTION: These murder devices will be divided into two categories: Formal and Informal. Formal for the machines used for public executions, Informal for the ones even you could buy back in those days. Just an FYI: This post will be divided into two partsThe "informal" category)

FORMAL

THE GUILLOTINE
Used in the times of the French Revolution and countless other olden eras, these are one of the most (in)famous execution devices. For those of you who don't know, the guillotine is basically a massive door-like device (Picture a door) with a giant hole (Picture the said door 3/4 parts "holed"). A massive blade is attached to the top part of the device, supported by a rope (picture the "holey" door with a big bad blade on top of it. The blade is held up high with a rope. Let go of the rope, and the blade falls down). the "unholed" part of the door has a head-sized hole to put criminals' heads into. Here's a small picture of how the guillotine:
Get the idea? If you don't, do some more research on this thing.

This treacherous execution method is long and cruel, as you are killed by a slow fire. You have a few minutes to make your final thoughts before you turn into ash. This method of murder is to tie the sentenced person onto a stake (NO, I am perfectly aware that I did NOT misspell this. They don't tie you to a piece of steak and set you on fire, we're talking STAKE as in WOODEN STAKE) and set him ON FIRE! And if that wasn't cruel enough, do remember that you're actually ALIVE when they burn you (IF they burn you). As far as I know, many famous people have gone this way, Although the only person I DO know suffered this fearsome fate is Joan of Arc. Here's an "old painting" (I said "old painting" because I got this picture from Google Images, so it's not 100% "old painting") of a person being burnt on a stake:
Well, that's the end of part one. But don't go away! Part 2 of this post is just around the corner and it's got more ingenious soul-destroying contraptions. See you until the next update!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Jason's Guide to Surviving Your Job: Stealth Soldier

(I recommend you to read Bad Jobs: Stealth Soldier as this post is a sequel, or part 2) Hey reader! Another update. I promised you guys who read the previous post that I would make a guide of sneaking around hostile territory in the extreme case you ever become a stealth soldier. Well here it is! The awaited post has finally arrived. This post is mainly directed to all those brave souls out there who want to try "cool" (and suicidal) jobs, such as a bomb squad member, assault soldier, etc. Now before innocent people start to rush into their insane jobs blind and clueless, I hope that I'm making this post at the right time to either stop them from killing themselves/to help them understand the risks and give them a few tips about their daring jobs before starting their ominious occupation. Today we are discussing the risks of being a sneaky and stealthy stealth soldier (maybe I shouldn't've told you that bit; you know that already from the title. Anyway, let's begin).

RISKS
Sneaking around restricted enemy grounds and taking out any hostile that comes near isn't my idea of a fun job, although that is a very good theme for video games. But we must know what it's like to be in the real thing: To be trapped in some terrorist lair, with the extremely dangerous task of acquiring crucial and confidential data deep within the bowels of its innermost fortresses, out of hostiles' reach. Charging in with guns blazing is out of the question, so that's when being sneaky and cunning really comes to good use. But the problem with stealth is that once you get spotted, your vulnerable body will be pumped full of lead and you'll just be another body of a foolish soldier who tried to unsuccessfully infiltrate terrorist HQ (of course, unless you actually manage to escape all those flying bullets and disappear into another part of the lair and get the enemy to continue their frantic search for you).

TIPS (this bit may not be totally reliable, as I take this part's sources from video games, but that's pretty much where all this post's sources come from)
Things you'll need in stealth mode:
-Silenced pistol (a normal un-silenced pistol will trigger instant enemy attention)
-Black suit (obviously black is the best color that blends in with cover, and it's cool too)
-Soft-soled shoes (For treading around silently in the shadows. No matter how silent you try to be, you'll still be detected if you don't use the correct footwear, say tap shoes)
-Night vision goggles (for the night. Otherwise, you'll be as blind as a bat, only without the sonar)
Techniques you'll need to use:
-Silenced eliminations (when near an enemy, don't shout "YAAAAH!" and pounce on him like a rabid bloodhound. For a non-lethal takedown, strangle him into fainting. For a more cautious approach, use a knife for a more fatal silent elimination. Don't try this at home)
-No explosives (too loud, use only when it could be drowned out by another sound)
-Most importantly, constantly try to make up back-up plans if Plan A goes wrong.
Silent takedown from Hitman

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Bad Jobs: Stealth Soldier

Hello once again readers. I decided to continue the epic saga of Bad Jobs. It's mainly because that I'm worried that if when some youngster decided to pick a job, he'd choose a cool career that he say is "cool", but unbeknownst to him will endanger his life. Now I've made these posts of Bad Jobs to stop that very "accident" from happening. I'm trying to make a innocent soul know how deadly this "cool" job is so he'll know the risks of doing it instead of walking into his job blind. Now in this post I've decided to explain about a job that requires great skill in hand-to-hand combat, silence, and the ability not to crack under pressure. This deadly job is that of a stealth soldier (note that I didn't simply just say "spy". Well, that's because a spy's job isn't half as deadly as the stealth soldier. Here's a small comparison:
SPY:
-Mission: Eavesdrop on the enemy to gather valuable intel so the spy's country will know what they're up against.
STEALTH SOLDIER:
-Mission: Silently traverse enemy headquarters, trying to stay undetected. Get spotted, get killed.
Need I say more?)

Fortunately being a stealth soldier isn't half as deadly as being part of the infantry for your country (for further references, check out my first post on Bad Jobs: It tells you of the dangers of being in the infantry). One, you probably won't survive a few minutes out in the battlefield as a common-or-garden private soldier, whereas you have more chance of surviving as a stealth soldier in a big room where the enemy security are struggling to search for you. Two, it's much more... hmmm... How should I put it? Let's say "fun". Why? Here: If you are part of the infantry (unless you're a war veteran or something like that), you're just another easily dispatched barrier to the enemy. As a stealth soldier, you can strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, who are absolutely terrified at the fact of some guy pouncing on them and strangling them to death.

But being a part of the stealth army isn't all it's cracked up to be. You also have an equal chance of getting spotted by the enemy and gunned down instantly. Or even worse, they'll process you of the information you know about your country's confidential secrets. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot: Then they'll kill you. That's why you've got to have nerves of steel and guts of titanium. But all in all, it's better than being just another tiny speck in the army's footmen. For more tips for surviving as a stealth soldier, Check out Jason's Guide to Surviving Your Job: Stealth Soldier, which is just around the corner.
OK, It may not really be like this, but you get the idea, right?

Monday, September 2, 2013

True Martyrdom (Part 2)

So here comes the awaited sequel of True Martyrdom. Before we start, let me tell you readers something: If you've read the first part of True Martyrdom, do continue reading on. For those of you who haven't read the first part of this thing, it is strongly advised for you to read the first part of this religious saga. So anyway, let's cut straight to the chase.

ACT III: TOTALLY-INSANE "GOOD"
Easily the greatest level of loyalty humanity can show to the God Almighty, very few people can manage topull this off. Only people chosen by God, who have shown true loyalty to Him, are able to actually make this come true. Before we start the list of angel-raffed, lightning-touched, holy followers, Let's start with a small warning:
Disclaimer: I am not responsible to any damaged caused by these following acts. People who have done the following acts have died, received heavy humiliation and are disgraces to the public at their time. Try what these people did at your own risk.

DAVID
I sincerely apologize if plain ol' "David" wasn't specific enough a name for you. Well, let me explain now. David was one of the kings of Israel, and he was a true follower of the Lord. Why? Well, there are MILLIONS of reasons that indicated he was a true disciple of the Lord. Here are the reasons why:
-Ever read the story of "David and Goliath"? It's a very famous story even to those people of other religions other than Christianity. In this story, David kills a collosal giant named Goliath with a sling that held a rock. You could say that it was a one-hit-kill (one hit kill, headshot, call it whatever you want). Afterward, David beheaded Goliath with his own sword (mind you, GOLIATH's own sword, not David's, that is). He was mighty famous because Goliath was known for his outstanding skill and durability in battle. This is just one example of his faithful acts. There are many more glorious stories of him, but let's stop here, or I won't be able to finish the post.

JESUS CHRIST
Now, readers, instead of making the same old mistake with a typical "Jesus" (Had I not been more specific about "Jesus Christ" and named him plain, drab "Jesus", you might think that "Jesus" is a guy that lives in Brazil or some black guy (no racism meant). Anyway, read on), I named this (literal) manifestation of God "Jesus Christ". Now you obviously know what "Jesus" I'm talking about (and if you read many of my previous posts, they revolve around Jesus Christ as well). You know, as in "died on the cross" Jesus? Jesus as in "fed a hundred people" Jesus? You're definitely familiar, right? He is the ultimate symbol of God. He suffered massive amounts of pain in the sake of forgiving us humans. He died on the cross for us. Let me give you an awesome fact about Jesus: (here comes the confusing bit) He is actually a normal human being either:
a. "Possessed" by God and sent down to Earth via Mother Mary (Jesus's mother) and grown up to be the most holy man in the world, if not the universe.
b. Just an extremely God-devoted man who was chosen by God to lead mankind.
(just an FYI, I choose B)
Don't say being the most holy man on the face of the Earth is as easy as snapping your fingers. You must resist inhuman temptation, go to extreme pain, and in scientific terms, do anything that God defines is right. Just in case you were wondering, he could've evaded getting beaten into worm food on the cross, but he didn't. He valued our lives over his. He knew he was going to great torture, but he chose to do the greater good. If he didn't die on the cross, People wouldn't be welcomed in heaven. So who could possibly be the ultimate beacon of light who could lead us in this world full of evil?

So that brings me to the end of my True Martyrdom series. Hopefully this will be a helpful guide to the world's most holy people or something.
A snapshot of Jesus on the cross.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

True Martyrdom (Part 1)

Hey guys, and welcome back to Jason's blog. To those of you who are wondering how far some people would go to defend God's name, you have come to the right post. Why? Well, this post tells you about the levels of faith in the Almighty God some people will go to. Just in case you were wondering, I got the idea for this post after today's church ceremony, where this time the priest tells about some people's loyalty to the Lord. So here we go...

The priest explained that in this world there are three levels of "goodness" that defend God's name. Here they are:
ACT I: TYPICAL "GOOD"
All of us humans do good deeds from time to time. For example we'd help a guy with his/her groceries, help an elderly citizen cross a busy road, help another person with his homework, etc. Act I are just the common-or-garden good actions that are done every day by you and me. Obviously these aren't so hard to do, but they do shape up the majority of the good deeds we do from day to day, and is by far the easiest way to receive a one-way ticket to heaven. Sure, these may help give a good, clean visage on the Him, but it's not really as big a religious act compared to...

ACT II: OUT-OF-YOUR-COMFORT-ZONE "GOOD"
Requires a bit more guts to do than Act I, but it'll count more when you get to the afterlife. If you're feeling a bit brave, you might as well step out of your comfort zone and do some even crazier, gut-full acts. For example, if you're a timid and cowardly person (no offense if you are), you could try standing up to the school bully (who always punches your face in unless you give him something ranging from a few bucks to all your school lunch money), even if you might end up with a "few" bruises. After all, God would agree it was the right thing to do (don't do this unless you're feeling very brave or very stupid. After all, this isn't as easy as it sounds). Or, if you're the kind of guy who doesn't really like to smile or have some fun, you could actually TRY to cheer up a bit, therefore encouraging your other gloomy pals to be a wee bit more positive. Or, if you don't really mind about passing out in front of hundreds of people (this is for all you readers out there, as most of you people might all have this same fear), you could take up public speaking. The possibilities are limitless and they count more than those (seemingly) insignificant deeds mentioned in the first act (although they are also harder to do). God will appreciate your new, positive habits that makes you step out of the warm shelter of your old, boring habits.

I'm sorry if I caused you readers any inconvenience, but for the dramatic effect, Act 3 will be continued on another post. I want you to wait until the WAITED MOMENT COMES! (that is, tomorrow) It will tell about stories of holy people such as priests, prophets and other holy ambassadors of heaven who went into unspeakably insane acts for the sake of their God!

Okay, enough of the spoilers. See you in the next post. Peace out!
A crucifix (a miniature model of the cross Jesus was nailed on)

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Shame Part 2

(You might want to read the post Shame Part 1 before reading this) Hey guys, I promised you a few days ago that I would complete my post about the embarrassing events that happened to me (e.g. the swimming incident), and here it is. The wanted post's sequel has returned. So I can hear many of you asking, "So what was the second event that happened?". Well, you're about to find out...

On Monday (the same day as the swimming incident), my school has a kind of assembly that gives important announcements and today, speeches were given about the election of vice captain. Candidates stood up and gave amazing speeches with great expressions. But it was after the speeches when the embarrassment started...

In the school there is a policy that you must wear black shoes. And when I say "black shoes", I mean TOTALLY, fully black sneakers without any markings of any other color. They're quite strict about their "shoe policy", too. If you can't manage to get totally black shoes, you must put black paint or a black marker to cover those revealing marks. If you don't, the consequences can be dire. I once heard that a kid in school didn't follow the rules by rebelliously NOT trying to cover up the other-than-black colored markings on his shoes. Eventually a teacher took his shoes and painted the markings (messily) for the kid. It wasn't very tidy, but what do you expect from a maddened teacher who's sick of looking at your unlawful greaves? So remember this sentence: "Teacher can turn fantastic footwear into ink-smeared sabatons".

Alright, let's get straight to it. The embarrassing moment started when a superior teacher marched up onto the stage after the vice captain election speeches. He made a few compliments about the growing discipline of the school, and went straight to the shoes. Here's the shoe bit:
"-but I'm still noticing many of you still having other-than-black markings on your shoes...". I noticed that as he said this, his eyes were directed at my fellow classmate (who was obviously not following the shoe rule) who was wearing black shoes with VERY REVEALING white "decals".

But that wasn't it. It's not just the "shoe rule" that made some people want to hide under their chairs. The teacher also dropped this little bomb:
"-and it's also amazing that ALMOST everyone didn't bring their bags or water bottles into the theater (there is also another rule that it's not legal to bring water or bags into the theater). Compared to the results in the previous year, this start is amazingly rule-obedient.". This is a very huge praise, but not to the very few people who DID bring their bags and water bottles into the theater. I noticed that every time the "shoe rule" and the "no water bottles and bags" statements were fired away, people in the place started looking around for the rule-breaking (supposedly) outlaws.

This brings me to the end of my small summary of my first embarrassing day at the school. I might make other posts like this if possible.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Shame (Part I)

Embarrassment is a very weird thing. People laugh at other people's pain and embarrassment, while when the teasers THEMSELVES get laughed at because of a shameful fault, they try to defend themselves. You might be wondering why I brought this topic up today instead of some other psychological problem or a book report. Well, it's because my day at school today was revolving on this post's topic: Embarrassment. It's what made my day in school, well, exciting and at the same time embarrassing. Here are the horrible highlights of today's shameful screw-up:
(Disclaimer: There's only one shameful happening today, so this post will be divided into tow parts. It might not be as hilarious as anticipated, but nonetheless still spine-busting-ly funny.

-Today I expected it to be a chance to impress my friends (and my coach) with my supernaturally incredible athletic ability in swimming (It's not such a big surprise that I'm significantly more skilled at swimming than my friends, seeing as my brother and I have been taking swimming practices from a very young age. Our practices started in the morning from Monday to Saturday from 4-6 a.m. with occasional evening practices from 4-6 p.m.), and I prepared to dazzle my friends (despite the fact that they hardly pay attention to me. Anyway, read on). But that practice was more of an embarrassment than a display of pure talent when I discovered that I WAS THE ONLY GUY IN THE CLASS WHO WORE SWIMMING SHORTS. The rest of the class were wearing swimsuits. You could imagine the looks on their faces as they looked at my revealing swim gear. The rest of the practice went downhill after that. At least one of my friends tried to console me by saying: "It's OK Jason. At least it was swimming shorts. It could've been worse. You could imagine if it was a THONG." (This was actually quite comforting, because I've ever worn one of those extremely skimpy swim trunks.

Since this post is continued, I'll continue with the afterword on the next post. Sorry for the brief afterword, But I promise I'll make up for it.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Overseas Vacation Without a Family

Everyone I know loves vacation as much as the next guy, but although I've went to quite a lot of places on vacation, there's one rule that exists in all my vacations: I always go with my family. So I've never went on some kind of trip out of the city (let alone out of the country) without my family. So that sparks quite a problem between me and my family when I received a letter from my school to go to a camp in Jogjakarta (for those of you who don't know, Jogjakarta is a long way away from my home in Jakarta you will have to take a plane there). Today my family was quite excited (and a bit unsure) about their son going out to some camp out of the city. The next paragraph will tell you about their responses to this never-before accomplished trip:

My mom was the first one to read the letter. She was quite doubtful about me going to camp, but she was quite fine with my new experience. She questioned my dad about the camp and if I should go to it or not. My dad had a totally different response. "If you ask me, it's going to be quite an exciting journey for Jason! He gets to socialize more, make more friends!" My dad cheerfully responded. He kept on explaining the upsides of this camp until my mom told me to break the ice. "Tell Papa the price of the camp." She said. And so I told my dad that for five days in the camp, it will take up Rp.7.000.000 (approximately US $700). His reactions went downhill from there. Let me tell you something about my family: They love to express their feelings in a hilarious way, so if we're showing our jealousy, we 'mock' each other.

It was one of the longest comparisons between privileges of my parents and me. My dad 'jealously' exclaimed, "Rp.7.000.000! And look at this! You get to fly in Garuda Indonesia! Even I didn't get to fly in Garuda! (That's quite true, because if we fly, we usually fly in either Lion Air, Air Asia or Citilink Airlines) And look at this! You get to stay in FOUR STAR HOTELS!!! When I went with MY school overseas, we had to stay in a small, cramped INN! Look at this! You have breakfast at KFC before you go! (Shortly after this statement, he slapped me on the knee) And look at this! You visit the SULTAN'S PALACE! (Another knee slap) CANDI BOROBUDUR! (I managed to dodge his deadly strike this time) Rafting in the Elo River! (No physical attacks. Phew) He jokingly expressed his jealousy on and on. He was joking, so I didn't take his ranting seriously. After he finished debriefing me, he noticed a 'parental agreement' at the end of the letter. "Oh HO! So both parents have to sign the agreement, eh? I won't have to sign the agreement if I don't want you to come! I never thought of that!" (For a moment there I thought he was really thinking of not enlisting, but luckily he was also joking about that bit) he exclaimed jokingly. But the punchline of the whole thing was the money issue. My parents found a part in the letter that stated that parents who had issues may contact the school 'treasurers' about how the money should be handled.

My mom saw the part of the letter about the money issues and joked, "If it's possible for the money to be paid as instalments, tell Jason to dress up as a beggar and start working on the streets as a homeless boy! That's bound to get us enough money for the camp!Haw haw haw!" (At this, I could picture myself in ripped clothes out on the streets carrying a sign, "PAY ME AT LEAST RP.7.000.000 TO GET ME OFF THE STREETS"). Luckily, my dad 'protected' me from getting owned by my mom ("Just do it like this: Ask for a 7-month instalment, and every month we take it off Mama's shopping money! HA HA!).

But despite their sarcastic and hilarious arguments, my parents were still happy to send me off to the camp. Although they said that they were less fortunate when it came to THEIR overseas journeys, they were happy that I finally got the chance to see what was it like to survive out there without mommy and daddy. I'll be going on the 23th of September and I'll be back on the 27th. I'll probably write about the journey when I get back. Wish me luck guys!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Bad Jobs: Army Infantry

In my previous post I explained about my (almost) foolproof plan to get a job when I'm all grown up. This post is mainly focused on the jobs I definitely don't want to sign up for. (unless there's no other job to sign up for) One of them is the army. If any of you reading this post doesn't know the dangers of enlisting in the army, let me explain: War is not like a game of Call of Duty. The difference between a first-person shooter video game and a real-time, deadly experience in the battlefield is as follows:
Death
Game: Everytime your video game character dies, you can always choose to respawn either from your spawn point (in multiplayer) or from your last checkpoint. (in a singleplayer mission)
Real life: Everytime you die, you'll wake up playing a golden harp.
Difficulty
Game: Choose the difficulty yourself: Private, Commander or General.
Real life: Your superiors choose the mission AND the difficulty for you.

And the most frightening thing in the battlefield:
Deadly Surprises
Game:  You can die multiple times, so when you encounter an unexpected enemy monster (big bad tank, snipers, artillery strikes, land mines, etc) you can easily anticipate the enemy's next surprise attack after you respawn.
Real life: You need to stay alert. If a big fat vehicle equipped with a cannon and a machine gun rampages out of a building, you'd better hope it doesn't see you, or you're as good as dead. Its wild cannon can turn you into worm food with a single pull of its trigger, while the machine gun can mow multiple soldiers down faster than a kid stomping on ants. If you didn't know a team of hostile snipers were in the same area as you were cluelessly wandering, they would put a bullet in your head and that's it. But out of all these deadly surprises, I hate surprises that make you die before you even know it, such as land mines, which can be accidentally stepped on while cautiously trudging through the fight. Artillery strikes and mortar team assaults are particularly nasty, since at the time of the sudden bombing you might be admiring your survival a few seconds before the whole area you're in goes boom boom pow.

Obviously you already know how much I hate being in the infantry. If you're wondering why I don't hate being in the army, just the infantry, it's because these standard, low-armored, under-armed, typical ground units are dispatched with ease. There are lots of other places in the army I'd rather be than the infantry, such as the general (I get to watch the battle in a Real-Time-Strategy camera view) or a vehicle driver (unless in a tank, where I'll DEFINITELY be the tank's gunner, with the sweet cannon and the big guns. I won't be in a vehicle with less protection than a tank, like a truck. Too risky to be either the driver or gunner) or even an aircraft pilot. (the only downside is that being a pilot takes truckloads of flying practice, and if I actually FLY the plane in battle, it's easy for me to be taken down, but at least it's better than infantry)

So that's why if I had a job, I wouldn't want to be part of the land troops if I could be something else. I hope that this post can be used to help prevent other young souls commiting suicide in the army when they grow up to get a decent job.
Awesome, isn't it? Well, you're the ground troops, not the tank. (Sorry)

Monday, August 19, 2013

Working My Way Up In Life

There is one question I constantly ask myself: "What am I going to do when I grow up?". I've seen many other people experience either the beauty or torture of being adult: To be independent: To survive on their own. I have lots of worries about being an adult. I have seen lots of people who weren't ready for their adulthood and suffer fearsome fates when they grow up and possibly, die. Here's what I think about being self-dependent, about being the master of my own fate:

I've always dreaded having to feed my own family, to provide shelter and supplies for a whole group of people. Judging from my parents' observations, a too-spoiled kid, who's given anything he wants and never spares a thought about the less fortunate people than him, won't be exactly the richest guy around. Quite the contrary, if he's lucky, he'll manage to find a job application as a common-or-garden office worker with low wages to feed his wife and brood. (that is, if he does have a family) If he's not that lucky, someday you might find this guy out on the street begging for money and probably using some kind of beggar trick to persuade passersby to "donate" him extra cash.

My parents were quite good when it came to surviving adulthood, as it was proven through this computer I'm currently using to type this post. Fortunately, I've got a plan on how to (almost) guarantee survival for my later years.
Jason's (Almost) Foolproof Plan to Surviving Adulthood
 The first and hardest part of my plan is to study my way through school until I'm old enough to get a decent job. (way easier said than done) Than I plan to fill in for a minor job (possibly as a dishwasher or some other employee in a restaurant or some office) and while I'm at it, I'll go sign up for journalism at the college. (this is where my plan starts to fall down) Hopefully through my experience in writing, I'll be able to work as a better kind of worker, like a newspaper journalist or if I'm really lucky, an author. So far I'm only at step one, (Surviving School) but I'm sure I'll survive and have a good life. You readers out there can also use my plan for your own ends, as that is the main point of this post.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Book Report 2: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

(Reading Book Report 1 will help define the first paragraph)
Other than reading way-too-hard books such as Angels & Demons, I started to read less adventurous books by sixth grade. Now this post is another book I have managed to complete in a single day: (Not such a big surprise there, considering I was already in sixth grade and the book looked like it belonged in the "young adult" section of the bookstore. Anyway, read on) The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson. At first I never knew that James Patterson was famous for creating other such mind-numbing books such as Cat & Mouse, Along Came a Spider and other adult literature. But since I didn't know that yet, I thought that this guy was an expert young-adult book creator and had hardly any experience in adult literature. So anyway, here's how the book goes.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X reminded me of Superman. (come to think of it, more to Man of Steel than Superman, one of the only differences being that the main antagonist isn't fighting for the survival of his planet and the main character is a more of a teenager than an adult) Why? Well, here's a short synopsis: Daniel X thinks he is a normal kid, but as a toddler he's definitely surpassed the intellect of other kids years above him. Then one day when he was around six, his parents got killed by an intergalactical alien terrorist who was apparently so evil and skilful he's probably received death sentences in a few star systems. Anyway, after this ruthless murderer finished killing Daniel's parents, it proceeded to attempt to pound the boy into oblivion. But amazingly Daniel used his newfound powers to evade the psychotic killer.

A few years later he found the reason why his parents were killed. They were like bounty hunters (only without pay) who were given a list of the most ruthless aliens in the universe to kill. They were dispatched by the number 1 alien on their list (the one who came to Daniel's house) before they could finish the job. Daniel proceeded to finish his parents' duty and the main antagonist was the next alien on Daniel's list. To make a VERY LONG story short, Daniel managed to subdue the alien and the antagonist's underlings surrendered after seeing what Daniel did to their leader.

There is a very interesting thing in the story: Just like I told you before, the story was a lot like Man of Steel (or Superman) because of the following reasons: (in the brackets you will see what that part of the story reminds me of)
-Before the final confrontation, Daniel X meets the inhabitants of the original planet he came from. (Superman)
-The main antagonist is hell-bent on destroying Earth. (Man of Steel, except the bit about "hell-bent on destroying Earth". In Man of Steel, General Zod wants to destroy Earth for Krypton's survival)
-Daniel X is the weirdo of his school. (Both Man of Steel and Superman)
-Daniel's parents die. (Again, both Man of Steel and Superman, except that Superman's dad got stabbed by General Zod while Superman's mom died with Krypton)
There are thousands of other similarities, but God knows how long it'll take for you to read this post if I put in EVERY SINGLE similarity between this book and the Superman saga. I hope this post helps in some way. Thank you for reading and see you until the next post.