ASG! Article: This is NOT Sparta!

Another article! This time I got to cover Cambridge History Professor Paul Cartledge lecture here at SU about the accuracy of "300."

He's a well known and well respected ancient historian, so it was a pretty big deal to get to hear him speak. One of the more interesting events, in terms of topic, I've gotten to cover, and I think the article came out really nicely as well. Also, this was the first story I actually suggested on covering and then got to cover.

Give it a read.

ASG! Article: Large Hadron Collider and Black Holes?

So no excuses this time. No black hole or anything, I've just been busy.
And how do I return after a multi-week haitus? By redirecting you to a different article...
I'll end up doing this every time I get an article posted. It's from the Daily Orange, my campus' school paper.
I got to write about the Large Hadron Collider that was fired up last week. Some people are under the impression that it may create a black hole that will destroy the world, the universe and all existence (hi Dad). So it's pretty cool to get to write about the possible end of the world. It was a fun article, so give it a read.

Also just in case you were wondering if the Large Hadron Collider has destroyed the Earth yet, you can check here.

UPDATE: Well, it appears we'll have to wait a while for the end of the world... the LHC broke down. It'll be out of commission for about 2 months, so use this time wisely. You know, go skydiving or write a novel or something...

Did a Bit of Pre-Ordering

So on my latest trip to the mall, I put down a few deposits on a couple of games that I will definitely be picking up: Spore and Fallout 3.

Which reminds me... I never did give my impressions of the Spore Creature Creator. This is because, after about a week of enjoyment, the game broke on me. Now, I cannot run the application without it crashing. Most frustrating.

If this experience taught me anything though, it's that EA needs to get a better tech support. Right now, they basically have you put in a question, and then if they feel like it, they might answer you. The bigger problem is that when I go to submit the question, the button refreshes the page and doesn't add your question. Again, most frustrating.

Still, I'll be picking up the game. Hopefully it'll work for me.


Also, I have previously mentioned my near-unhealthy excitement for Bethesda's latest creation. The free Nuka-Cola bottle opener I got with my pre-order certainly didn't help. Can this game just come out already?

A Little Absurd

So since John McCain came out of left field with his VP choice, Sarah Palin, the media has been abuzz with speculation. A pregnant teenage daughter. An internal investigation. Some say a sketchy voting record (personally seems pretty clear to me).

Now a lot of people in the McCain camp is firing back saying the media is being sexist.
I must make this point very clear (as to avoid the same accusation): Sexism has got to stop being used as a crutch to ward off criticism. The second Palin came under fire, the sexism charge started flying around. "The media's being sexist." "They just don't want to see a woman in the vice president spot."

I don't deny that there is sexism still in America, especially in the workplace and in politics. And certain quotes against Hilary Clinton were pretty clearly sexist in tone (even though she may have over milked that cow). But this negative press Palin has been getting has nothing to do with her being a woman.

I'm sure there are some very hardline feminists who will instantly get behind the McCain camp if they hear the media is being "sexist". After all, the PUMA group uses sexism as one of its key pieces of evidence why Clinton lost.

But I would hope that the vast majority of Hilary voters will see this for what it is: a very feeble attempt to sway them to the Republican ticket. I say Hilary supporters because that's the entire reasoning behind Palin's spot on the ticket. With so many disaffected Hilary supporters who are already fed up with Democrats, and the race so close, you can't possibly tell me that McCain picking a woman is a coincidence. This was a very clear political move, to capitalize on a PUMA movement and also the attitude of "change". Palin is an outsider for sure, and I can't help but think that McCain is using her to prove he is willing to change the way Washington works.

Back to the subject, I don't agree with Palin's stances. I'm not a sexist, not by a long shot. I just so happen to dissagree with her. She's very conservative, while I consider myself to be moderate, and if anything, more liberal. And I don't dissagree with her because she's a woman. If she were a man, I would still dissagree.

It's really getting to be a bit much, don't you think?

If someone can find me a concrete example of sexism in the Palin coverage, I will gladly eat my words.

UPDATE: Huckabee's talking now and the RNC, and he's skirting the line. If he says "sexist media", I may explode.
UPDATE TO UPDATE: Well he didn't, thankfully. Called her coverage "tacky" and criticized it's negative nature. That's a perfectly fair assessment and I'm glad he didn't go down the sexism path.

A Few Technical Difficulties

And I'm being serious. I don't joke about technical difficulties. Not since my laptop has broken almost 10 times in less than a year. Not surprisingly, my computer didn't take moving up to the Syracuse University wireless network well.
But after a few days of troubleshooting (internet-less, no less), I think I've finally got the two to sit down and sort out their problems.
Posting will resume tomorrow, at the regularly scheduled time.

Team Fortress 2: Meet the...

...Sandvich! To couple with the upcoming Heavy update, the latest "Meet the..." video has been released. Aaah...smells like victory!



For those unfamiliar with Valve's series of animated shorts should become familiar. The humorous introductions to Team Fortress 2's various classes are required reading for any fan of Team Fortress, machinima, or just plain comedy. And at a few minutes a pop, you really have no excuse but to give them a look.

College Prez's Demand Drinking Age Debate...But Are They Just Dropping the Ball?

The AP recently put out a news story about a group of college administrators who beleive lawmakers should consider lowering the drinking age to 18. This group, called the Amethyst Initiative, is saying that the current legal age creates "a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking." In their written statement, the group argues "Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer." They also state that "by choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law."

This story genuinely surprised me. Of all people, I would have thought that college administrators would know how rampant underage drinking is, and how dangerous it can be. Imagine my surprise when my school's chancellor, Syracuse's Nancy Cantor, added her support to the list.

With all due respect to Syracuse University, this declaration that the drinking age should be lowered is nothing more than a way to dodge the responsibility of sobering up unruly students.

While it is true that the maturity levels of a 21-year-old and an 18-year-old are not huge, the current group of underage students have done absolutely nothing to prove they are mature enough to be entrusted with alcohol. I can recall hearing ambulances outside my dorm practically every weekend last year. Not to mention the times I've seen fellow freshmen, sophomores, and juniors slumped against walls, passed out from too much beer. Or worse.

To suggest that these student drink because it's a way to stick it to "the man" is looking too far into what is a simple explanation:

Students like to get drunk. Buzzed. Whatever you want to call it.

The group's claim that fake ID's are a detriment to society may be true. But how about instead of eliminating the need for fake ID's, they prosecute those who use and abide by them. The bar raids carried out by campus police this last year was a great way of deterring that kind of behavior.

If the drinking age were lowered, the amount of drinking wouldn't follow suit. If anything, a lowering drinking age would absolve colleges from having to prevent drinking, and put extra pressure on high schools across the nation. Because, by the group's own argument, 16-year-olds would now be upset that they're being excluded, and would drink in protest! The "clandestine" drinking society wouldn't dissolve, it would just shift down to younger, more impressionable students.

Not to mention the potential impact of a lower drinking age on drunk-driving, which under the current drinking age has decreased.

I understand that tackling underage drinking is a monumental task. But to lower the drinking age wouldn't be solving the problem, it would merely solve the college's problem of having to take responsibility for their student's poor decisions. Setting the age at 18 would just be rewarding students for breaking the law.

How about instead of lowering the drinking age, we raise the punishments. I've seen far too many slaps on the wrist from a school whose policy is a "dry campus". Second, third, fourth, fifth chances are all too much. That these schools are attempting to shift the blame off of themselves is deplorable. These presidents and chancellors should be taking a stand and setting hard rules for stamping out underage drinking.