Archive for category Personal
The Virus Story: Operation Dust Bunny
Posted by clifgriffin in Evil, Personal, Technology on December 2nd, 2008
Note: I’m perfectly aware that what I wrote was not actually a virus. Virus definitions define it various ways ranging from a trojan to “potentially unwanted software”. In the purest sense it wasn’t a virus, trojan, worm, or any other derivative–which is fine by me. It wasn’t my intention to write a virus in the first place.
Every so often and a few of my close friends love to casually mention that I “wrote a virus”. This is usually in front of a cute girl or a large group of people who I don’t know very well.
This invariably leaves me in the position of either a) letting the remarks stand umodified, or b) qualifying the story with the facts. I usually choose b. A story like this might not be the key to a ladies heart (or anyone else’s for that matter), but I guess I get points for being unique.
It’s been a long time since these things happened so a lot of the details are hazy. I don’t think about it often and when I do think about it, it seems like it happened in another lifetime. Because of all of this, I’m going to write all of the details down to assist my memory, and possibly entertain you with the antics of a 19 year old with too much time and too little social life. Read the rest of this entry »
Mere honesty, please.
Posted by clifgriffin in Personal, Rant on November 7th, 2007
Shanna reminded me of something I have been thinking for a long time now.
Nearly everyone, devoutly Christian or quasi-Christian, lists Mere Christianity in their list of favorite books. The casual observer might not think this odd, but as someone who is reasonably intelligent and has actually delved into the pages of this master piece, I’m very skeptical.
Mere Christianity, henceforth refered to as MC, is a collection of transcripts in book form. It is not light reading and cannot be consumed casually. C.S. Lewis has a way of packing meaning, direct and indirect, into each sentence such that each page must nearly be read twice to keep up with his reasoning.
I fully admit that I have yet to finish MC. I intend to someday, but it is not a trivial task. It requires reflection and a healthy amount of critical thinking.
Bearing all of this in mind, my hypothesis is this: 9 out of 10 people who say Mere Christianity is their favorite book have not read it, or at the very least have not finished it.
A Ron Paul Supporter Is A Ron Paul Supporter Is A Ron Paul Supporter
Posted by clifgriffin in Personal, Politics on October 23rd, 2007
As the respective Republican and Democratic primary races began this year, I found myself more closely aligned with Ron Paul than any other candidate.
His no nonsense, libertarian views resonated with me and I was willing to tolerate his “peace” message. (Also known as “Get out of Iraq now.”)
I was able to tolerate it based on several factors:
- I essentially agree with him on the ill effects our foreign policy has had in the past. It is quite likely that Al Qaeda did not attack us “because of our freedom”.
- I also essentially agree that invading Iraq was a mistake.
While his foreign policy seemed overly simplistic and isolationist, I kept listening. I even donated twice to his campaign fund. I assumed that there was more depth to it. I assumed that his plan was more complex than “Step 1. Leave. Step 2. See step 1.”
Unfortunately, I was incorrect.
Ron Paul gets a lot right. He gets the role of government right. He gets personal responsiblity right. He gets the constitution.
However, simply leaving Iraq would be a bigger crime at this point than our unwarranted invasion. Often times when you create a problem, the responsiblity to fix it becomes rightfully yours. It might be easier to simply reverse direction, but it isn’t the moral thing to do. (The Bay of Pigs comes to mind.)
All of this considered, I began to distance myself from his campaign.
The other thing I realized in all of this is that the stereotypes about Ron Paul supporters are that way…because Ron Paul supporters are that way. They claim not to be a radical fringe movement, even as they use the word “neo-con” as if it is a universally accepted term.
Don’t get me wrong: It is inspiring to see people dedicated to a cause and excercising their right of political expression, but I can’t committ to this movement.
I have many friends who are still avid fans. I encourage them to continue their support. Ron Paul is a good man and an above average politician. I will not be voting for him in the primaries though, as it stands.
Who am I going to support?
I’m not sure. Indeed all Republican candidates are dissappointing this year. I’ll keep you posted.
Thoughtfully,
Clifton
Life is Like Shanna’s Car Breaking Down
Posted by clifgriffin in Personal on September 26th, 2007
Well, as I posted last time, I had come across a great deal at Best Buy on Logitech diNovo Edge keyboards. Originally sold for 200 each (and still sold for 160 on Amazon.com), many people across the nation were finding them as cheap as 39.99 due to BestBuy discontinuing the product in their stores.
I bought two of these at the Lynchburg store. (They believed me about the eMachine keyboard mixup thankfully.) I was able to secure them for 39.99 with my photo copied receipt I got from a guy on SlickDeals. (I didn’t even print it out…I showed it to her on my PDA.)
Having accomplished this on my lunch break, I quickly listed one of the keyboards on Amazon.com for 100 dollars. Within 45 minutes it sold. Making $60 on your lunch break without even trying, makes one want to make more money without trying. Over the course of work Monday I called several BestBuys in Virginia and North Carolina and managed to locate 3 of them at the Charlottesville store.
I sent out an email looking for friends who might want to tag along on a road trip to Charlottesville. Shanna volunteered.
As my car has a bad water pump and pump more coolant on the ground than through my radiator, I thought it prudent to pay her 20 bucks and use her car. This turned out to be a very bad mistake.
About 5 minutes outside of Lynchburg and 5 minutes after we had purchased 20 dollars of gas, her car officially died. The engine siezed. The transmission bled all over the ground. It was not a pretty picture. And let me tell you…it felt good to know that I was responsible!
Needless to say, I did not make it to Charlottesville that night.
However, I did successfully make the journey the next night. I purchased two keyboards and used my receipt from my last purchase to get them to mark it down from 139.99 (the price they were selling them at) to 39.99. (The manager on duty did a double take when she saw what she was approving, but went ahead and approved it anyway. I was pretty nervous they were going to deny me the courtesy price match.)
It turns out my car stays perfectly cooled at highway speeds. I did not have to put more water in in Charlottesville.
(Shanna, if you are reading this: I’m sorry. Also, I want my gas back.)
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