The Grind

Posting a bit light this week, I've got deadlines leaking out of my ears.

Oh.......

Mixed reports today as to whether Libyan ex- leader (and primary source of entertainment at the house of T) is dead or not.

updates to follow soon.

Life in the caribbean Caribbean: A comparative study

Meanwhile over in the caribbean.............

Eat Crayons, Poop rainbows

The man that brought you the place where the internet goes to die, Christopher Poole.

Happy columbus day!

Monday blues

Why have you forsaken me again saturday?! WHYYYYYYYYYY!!!

This day in history

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the Cubana flight 455 that went down just off the west coast of Barbados.

The photo above is of just a few of the victims on that fateful flight.

Offended? if the cap fits.....

Apple users are a constant source of amusement here at the House of T. Often likened to a cult, and not the mundane, passive ones either. More akin to Jim Jones and the people's temple. As such, social network sites are abuzz with tributes and references to Steve Jobs and how great he was/is/will be for all of eternity as the people's leader.


Aside from the fact that a fellow human has passed and he deserves respect for his accomplishments, I can't see what all the fuss is about. I know general sentiment of this post may draw the ire of many an apple user, but, seriously, let's be logical about it.

May I, therefore, present to you the 7 signs that you're involved in a cult [courtesy of brokeassstuart further comments by the house of T];

1) Official, un-proveable yet meaningless claims about the “specialist”/”guru”/asshole guy that’s telling you what to do.

'Nuff said. I may get some hatemail for this one.

2) Dubiously Legit Titles

 iCEO?!? seriously?

3)  Wealth = Success = Your Ultimate Objective

Apple=hip[ster]=nouveau=d-bag= I pay myself only $1/annum per year to a) evade public salary scrutiny and b)bypass the legal loophole that I have to pay myself something to maintain my title. (Never mind I own enough shares to make me majority sharholder of a company that has more worth than the Uncle Sam)


4) Vague terminology and unnecessary euphemisms and/or acronyms

iMac, iTunes, iPad, iPod, iPoop? who cares? only a marketing department, surely, as well as those silly enough to fall for the bait of a name rather than proof.

5) Black and White

Mac or PC, one or the other, "but you can't have both apple users". This oldest trick in the marketing handbook. Don't believe me? ask any Pepsi drinker how they feel about Coke.

6) Why don’t you just tell me the name of feeling you’d like to see?

-----> there's an app for that.

7) Blatantly ripping off/re-appropriating aspects of other cultures to create mystique

Meh, this particular sign isn't really applicable to apple, however, I do have a problem with the presentation of "not-so-cutting-edge" technology in a shiny case being swallowed as the best thing since sunlight. (Japan is about to release a waterproof smartphone that will pwns the next 2 iphone releases and every other smartphone until 2015)
 
8) [House of T Bonus] Are you incapable of leaving?

"Y u no buys android??"


  
That said, want to know the house of T's 0.02c is on a tangible, valuable lesson that Mr. Jobs has taught us? 

Cancer is a real problem, that affects everyone. And no amount of'

• money
• praying
• rama-dama-ding-dong-ing a person does 

beats mother nature, so you can:

1. try educating yourself about it to limit your risk factors or 
2. support your regional cancer research institute and actually do something rather than being the dumbass sitting behind a screen typing meaningless messages that the dead wont read/care about.

#thatisall.

Arab Spring, Not just for Arabs P.2

Here's an interesting little story I stumbled upon, this may not seem so new in a few weeks, but there's a little publicised fact about a string of peaceful protests in the US happening right now and seem to be slowly gaining momentum across the country. the movement is currently going under the name 'Occupy Wall Street' and seems to be a manifestation of gen-Y's defiance to corporate greed.

Here's to hoping they can keep it legal and still achieve the objective.



**UPDATE**

Meanwhile over in Cali-Cali, more pressing issues are attended to, we see.

A rant worth listening to

Well said. And Hilarious.

I gotta piss

"My money's in that office, right? If she start giving me some bullshit about it ain't there, and we got to go someplace else and get it, I'm gonna shoot you in the head then and there. Then I'm gonna shoot that bitch in the kneecaps, find out where my goddamn money is. She gonna tell me too. Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you, motherfucker. You listen: we go in there, and that n***a Winston or anybody else is in there, you the first motherfucker to get shot. You understand?"

Pulp fiction was awesome.

What I wish my days were like

Enough said..

In today's news

Boeing plant employees prove that newsworthy drug busts aren't limited to the illicit variety. Old ideas seem to be having some sort of revival as;

1.  Medieval arabian folklore makes a surprise come from behind in possibly solving those pesky maintenance troubles for current froms of transport. 
2. Piracy Treasure hunting seems to also have it's upshots in million dollar paydays. 
3. Invisibility, more specifically, magnetic invisibility has joined the list of soon-to-be-true technologies that will have the TSA in tears and spy organisations doing backflips around the globe.

 Additionally, the Chong-guo ren seem rather interested in picking up where the 'good ol' boys' left off. Two criminals try to push all blame for a murder on to the black guy.

And Swedish moose confirm that friday night smash sessions aren't only for the bipeds, (at least he wasn't driving).

The Matrix explained

Better keep the dictionary handy for this one.

iWant

A fecking flying shark to scare the bejesus out of toddlers. Someone please give this inventor a nobel prize.

But, why'd you shoot him? He only had a knife!

Today's post is inspired by a letter titled 'The taser over the gun' sent to the Editor of the Nation newspaper and printed in today's edition.

"Both daily newspapers carried a story on Thursday, June 28, of a man shot dead by police. He reportedly was chased by police and allegedly attacked them with a cutlass and missiles. There was also the suggestion that he was “mad” – that is, mentally unwell.

It may well be that this is not the full story, but it is not the first time that supposedly “mad” people have been shot dead by police, and must lead to reasonable disquiet.

By dint of their disease, they may not be fully responsible for their violent actions.

A policeman armed with a pistol or revolver should be skilled enough to shoot such an attacker in the leg, disabling him.

A gunshot to the upper body is often fatal and readily accepted as an appropriate response by lawmen when faced with an attacker also armed with a gun, but questions may arise otherwise.

The ideal answer to this scenario is the taser, now in use in several police departments abroad. People have died after being tasered, but this is the exception. Tasers also cost less than the average magnum.

The public needs to retain confidence in the police as a friendly, protective force."

- Trevor Shepherd (Dr.)

I'm sure this topic has been flogged to death multiple times, but, I feel a need to add my 0.02c. So here's my review of your arguement in simple point form.

• Para 1 - Dr. Shep, you are correct, I do, however have reservations over your use of the word 'allegedly', that is subjective.
• Para 2 - That may also be true, what you have failed to mention is that they are more often than not 'allegedly' armed with cutlasses. (That must be quite a popular allegation with the RBPF.)
  
• Para 3 - Am I to understand that if I wake up tomorrow and begin to do a raindance whilst smearing myself with poop , I am not responsible for my actions thereafter? Including attempted murder?
• Para 4 - If you ever have operated a handgun, this was obviously done in a nice, controlled environment with a stationary target. Clearly you have never found yourself in a situation where adrenalin is pumping and a split second decision determines your life or death. I'm also quite sceptical about your knowledge of ballistics given your claims.
• Para 5 - I'm going to step out on a limb here and assume that your title refers to M.D. I don't have any figures to dispute your claim that upper body shots are mostly fatal, so I'll agree to disagree for now on that one. What the second part of your paragraph suggests, is that gun v. gun =ok, but, that gun v. knife (or in this case machete) is uncalled for? lol, if you are indeed a medical doctor, then you may be familiar with photos like these (careful, they're graphic).
• Para 6 - I have no problem with your suggestion of the use of tasers, and they are cheaper than handguns, however, you neglected to mention that there's only one shot, so the user had better say a prayer to the Gods of targeting before firing, cos' if they miss........
• Para 7 - Agreed. But, if ever have to call the police because there are 3 masked men invading the house of T with knives, and they show up toting tasers, I will not be a happy camper.
  

More things to make you paranoid

sheesh, check this article out via Al-jazeera

29th August 2011

Few people are lucky enough in their lives to meet someone that really influences their whole perspective on life.

I consider myself to be one of those few. I mean, sure, 99.9% of the population of this planet has encountered that girl (or boy) that they love or maybe a parent or teacher that says something that helps to carve you into the person that you think that you want to be at that given point in time. But, I, can actually say that I have been one of the fortunate few that have actually had the benefit of meeting someone that possesses sufficient influence to to propel an ordinary man straight into the halls of greatness.

I make no claim as to what my future holds in store for me, all I am saying is that I give credit where it is due, and I have never experienced sitting an listening to an individual that possesses so much subtle energy that I come away, literally on edge from a lecture.

This man was not a minister, not a professor, not a doctor or any of the professional disciplines that society holds in high regard. This man worked his way up from the common class (such as where I, myself am) only to the realms of upper management in a mid-sized firm.

I was invited to a presentation tonight, now I'm normally not prone to attending such presentations when the matter under discussion is something I generally have no knowledge about. I had planned to spend only a few minutes to hear what was generally being said and then make my great escape. That changed. Primarily due to the fact that this man strayed from the focus of the lecture and delved into avenues of little known Barbadian history.

In Barbadian primary schools we are taught social studies, this acts as a kind of precursor to history insomuch as we learn about indigenous peoples, what they were called, what they did and maybe if you were lucky, a synopsis of colonisation. In secondary school we are taught history, this expands further into the original indigenous tribes and their journeys, there is also more focus placed on the colonisation of the Caribbean territories and the journey of the slaves across the middle passage. Those who are so inclined to pursue it to the tertiary level where students upon students write theses upon theses on these what I like to call, colon studies. E.g. 'John Hearne's life and fiction: A critical biographical study' or 'Runaway slaves in Jamaica 1740-1807: a study based on newspaper advertisements published during that period for runaways'

Caveat: I'm not trying to knock anybody's paper, I'm merely using them as examples to try to put across a point. That point being, there seems to be a void in the educational system in barbados (And across the wider caribbean) in respect to more modern historical figures/events who have yet to be documented and have, in my opinion, had a far greater (?) impact on the globe.

This man's ability to stitch together the relationship between events that are pivotal in barbadian history are what has left me amazed. He is an elderly gentleman, but, his memories are so vivid that in listening to him speak I was transported back to his heyday and I saw events unfold in my head as he saw and experienced them.

After all of that has been said, I have not only discovered new material which I believe gives me a sense of pride in my nation, but also rediscovered my drive to complete 3 blog entries on Bajan involvement in pivotal events and conclude a major theme that these things all share, those events are:

1. The cubana/flight 455 incident
2. The H.A.R.P project
3. The Grenada intervention

and the theme being the external government involvement in all of the above.

Space & time

Here's what a rocket launch looks like from space. More specifically what the space shuttle atlantis looks like at launch from space.

In today's news...

Oslo has been rocked by a massive bomb explosion killing 2 people and injuring a reported 15.

James Murdoch was reportedly to have gone on the record saying "I'd tap that".

Hampshire police are investigating an accident on the M27 involving a Lawnmower.

And wrapping things up a 12' Great white shark in an effort to recreate that famous scene from JAWS has jumped into a research vessel leaving researchers "stressed". lol
I can tell you one thing, if I was sitting on the back of a research boat researchin' (as one tends to) and I see a FUCKING FLYING SHARK crash and it begins to flail around on deck:-


I'd be a little bit more than just fucking stressed.(photo courtesy Oceans research)