Maison Gauche

In my youth, I would take apart various electronic games, un-soldering and re-soldering them, and taking pride in the fact that that the successful operation on the device worked. With respect to my first computer - a TRS-80, however, it would have been beyond all reason to vivisect such an investment. An old TV, a radio? Who cared. But my computer? No way. Back then computer magazines would advertise computers that you could assemble yourself. Although interesting, I did not have the confidence that to build a computer, nor the resources. Time jump to to the late 20th century, then an adult without any technical training, I often fixed tower computers and even built a few. Jump again to today and the advancements in technology, most computers are single-board devices. Alas, there's nothing to assemble and little that can be repaired. Not that that hasn’t stopped me. A few years ago while browsing the web, I discovered PDP kit replicas. Intrigued by the possibility of not only buil

Spoiler Alert Every election season I am confronted with the pernicious ‘spoiler’ argument. Democratic Party supporters renew their zombified pursuit, eating away their protagonist’s morality to leave only a fear-infested brain. Vote for the nominee or else. Vote for the anointed one or you are voting for the spawn of hell. Leftists must support the pre-ordained party nominee - he/she who has been anointed by the people, for the people and of the …. Well, no one goes that far (unless you work for MSNBC). The sole purpose of the spoiler argument is to kowtow the “ignorant” ones into the herd. Shame on you for your vain thoughts! The logic in the argument rests solely on “peer” pressure. Who wants to be a part of that peer group! In a society that trumps (no pun intended, not that there was one) individuality, the liberals want to crush it. Conform or be outcast. Well, outcasts unite! Every quadrennium should have proven that voting with the “liberal” crowd has achieved little, if nothi

If I had to give an analogy, The Armageddon Mandala would be like "The Illuminati" as written by William Burroughs; or perhaps "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" as written by Hunter S. Thompson. ....Oh wait, that was written by him... Anyhow... Gopal Mukerjee has written a wonderfully entertaining and exceptionally vile book (particularly for those of the feminine persuasion due to the excessive male humor). The adventurous and soon-to-be-psychotic reader should ready themselves for a ride that will take you in the most unexpected directions. The storyline is wonderfully conceived and one can never foresee the events that are about to unfold on not just the next page, but even the next paragraph. Admittedly, I didn't try reading the book while completely trashed, but then I would wager one might never regain sanity thereafter. You have been warned... The Armageddon Mandala starts with a most modest small-town dick, who.... ups, I just want to note that that was n

As the Presidential election draws nearer I can already hear the forthcoming denunciations against those on the left who would possibly consider voting anyone but Barack Obama. Every four years people like myself are compelled to defend their actions and their convictions. Well, this year it’s time to go on the attack. Every “liberal” who would erstwhile go on the attack will now be on the defensive. Although these liberals all tend to agree with the platforms of Nader and the Greens, they can never put their vote where their heart is. It is no longer the Greens and the Naderites who are to blame for elections issues. No it is these “liberals.” It will be on their heads should they fail to convince Obama to capitulate to the Green Party this year. What’s that? Imagine that Obama continues his campaign down to the wire, but at the last minute tells all his supporters the truth: That as President of the USA and as leader of the Democratic Party he is beholden to various corporate and fin

A good read to gain an insight and understanding into how individuals, particularly in the case the youth, are attracted to and recruited into extreme right-wing, neo-nazi movements. Perhaps the most appalling aspect was how Frank Meeink never had any empathy for the pain he caused to his victims. It was only with the revelation that he could have actually really hurt or even killed someone that Mr. Meeink began to re-evaluate his "politics." A necessary read for all progressives to better understand an enemy that is determined to eradicate anyone but themselves.

As a professional in the field of information technology, I am quite aware that information is more or less crafted per user. Until I read "The Filter Bubble," however, I didn't realize not just the extent of this filtering, but the ramifications thereof.  I would highly recommend everyone whose primary sources of information are derived from the Internet to read this book and take heed. People should well be aware of the extent to which the information you are provided with has in many cases been pre-chosen for YOU. This helps explain in part the reason why so many people seem so convinced of their own pre-concluded opinions. Interent searches, FB news items, Yahoo news, etc. will tend to predominately provide the individual with the information that that services has deemed of greatest interest to the individual. That is to say, diversity of opinion is, if not precluded, at least quite restricted.  The main question, the eternal question remains: what is to be done? It