Let's Talk About Humankind

S.S. made me a sad panda.
That video put me into a moody state for the rest of the day. The video of the reenactment of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima was sad. This is just my opinion, but I disliked Harry Truman because of his decision of not just ONE, but TWO small cities in Japan. One was enough. If you were in the vicinity of the powerful white blast when the bomb activated, you were either vaporized or turned into carbon in less than a second. One moment you could be cleaning the kitchen, the next nanosecond you were nothing. POOF. Gone. Scary. Imagine become another vaporous element in a fraction of a second. You wouldn't feel that. At least it was quick and easy. Not painful. Babies, little toddlers learning to walk, young mothers... instantaneously gone.
And the radioactivity disease. The scientists who made the bomb didn't know the side effects! All they knew was that innocent citizens were gonna be vaporized! So even if you did survive, you got cancer. Good luck with that. 
And they were gonna bomb Tokyo! But luckily then Japan surrendered and no more people had to be turned into carbon. Which would be really unnecessary. 
I was watching those houses fall, with little schoolchildren in it... and this wasn't even a fluxing NATURAL DISASTER. This was HUMANKIND'S fault. We as HUMANS could have stopped all these deaths from happening. This was something we could control, not some spastic earthquake in the Pacific. We couldn't prevent that. We could have, however, prevented civilians from being rotted from the inside out. It makes me scared for the Earth.
Which leads me to my hypothetical conclusion: the human race is a little bit too destructive.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want to be a psychopath who wants to eliminate EVERY LAST person on Earth. Humankind HAS wiped out millions of animals and caused the extinction of many more. "And my theory is, the mosquitoes and all the other bugs we squashed because of how annoying they are will come back all big and stuff and ready to kill us, saying 'The human race is too dangerous! We must eliminate them!"
But it's not everyone. Some actually DESERVE to live. Others don't. Which is weird in ecosystem-atic terms. Because they can actually make their own species hate each other.
Humankind has to be the most complex society on Earth right now. It's strange when you think about that everything that we use in our everyday life, has been thought by human minds. Mathematics, language, even science...! Like, what if our scientific knowledge was just false, concluded because our limited minds could only think of it from just observing with our limited minds! What if science was only what we could understand? Like everything else, science may be another thing humankind has established. Apparently, our minds are really really really inventive.
Other animals do perfectly fine without this stuff. They coexist peacefully with each other; predator eats prey, predator eats other predator... it's a simple and good system. Everyone has a role in their environment. "The governmental environment," as a good friend would say. If WE would see a bear in our backyard, we would be like, "Get the HECK out!" *shoot*

Unless you love nature, modern humankind wouldn't probably get along with wild animals. A person that actually coexists with nature... I've never heard of it. Who would live in the wilderness with the animals. Become part of the food web, the top predator, eat prey, be naked... it's actually really hard to imagine a person like that.
And there's a flaw in there too: Humans cook their meat. A flaw of the human diet, rendering living in the wild harder. Wouldn't that me awesome if we could just eat it raw? We don't need an additional ingredient to actually eat without dying of some bacteria from your dripping piece of raw steak. But that's not what happens to carnivores in nature! They do perfectly fine eating raw stuff. Humankind's ancestors, before they learned to use fire, seemed to also be part of the food web: they would have to eat stuff raw since there wouldn't be a way to cook it. That's also another conclusion of mine: The human race's digestive/immune systems have kind of deteriorated.
We, as modern humans, would so not be able to access this kind of stuff with coexisting with nature. I call this the modern human food web:

1) Cows grow
2) We butcher cows on a faraway farm
3) We send it to Publix (haha)
4) We buy it and cook it and eat.
5) We grow vegetables
6) We ship them to Kroger (murder Kroger)
7) We buy it and cook it and eat. Yum!

Our ability to actually live in the natural food web of an ecosystem has kind of diminished. These days, you don't go out hunting in your own personal woods for food. That's what currency is for: to retrieve your food! No more needing to struggle in the woods with a rifle! Just go to your local Publix and get something! So people with no money just have to starve and die! But of course you could to the woods- WAIT, there ARE NO woods, remember, silly? You live in the freaking CITY, where are you gonna find some wild woods that you can sneak in with your rifle, huh? (Another flaw.)
Hehe. Just imagine the digestive systems of our evolved form! They probably have to eat meat OVERCOOKED. Yet they are gonna be like way smarter than us and have no hair (maybe a bit for eyebrows, like how our ancestors started becoming more hairless from the apes to this point). Eck. They'll probably have to live in sanitized plastic bubbles because they're germophobic and their skin becomes irritated when a germ lands on their skin. But you can't escape from GERMS! Haha!

Alex L.

Write your opinions/comments on this rant!

Tribute to Yue-Yue

The Chinese girl left bleeding in a road after being run over by two different vehicles and then ignored by 18 passersby has finally died.

Previously told that she is brain dead after being run over and ignored by 18 people. Parents to face agonising decision whether to switch off life support machine, chinese government agency confirms child is in deep coma and ‘clinically brain dead’ and toddler’s condition improved earlier this week but has now deteriorated.
Announcement of her death quickly became the most talked about topic on China’s version of Twitter, Sina Weibo.

Horrific video footage emerged earlier this week of two-year-old Wang Yue – known as Yue Yue – being knocked down by a van in Foshan, a city in the southern province of Guandong.
Today they are walking proof of a country lost in a deadly moral vacuum. Uncheck pollution, uncheck corruption and the uncheck rich-poor gap pale into significance following this deplorable act of unchecked selfishness and apathy.
Many Chinese are today asking searching questions to try and answer the nation’s moral bankruptcy.
Bless to Chen Xianmei, the garbage collector who helped Yue Yue, The China Daily reported that Chen Xianmei was given a 10,000 yuan ($1,588) reward by local officials. A local company was also said to have offered Yue Yue’s family and the rescuer 50,000 yuan ($7,945). “Besides the reward, we would like to offer Chen a job with stable income so as to encourage this kind of activity,” an anonymous assistant manager at the company told the paper.
According to the Shanghaiist news website, the first driver, who had just broken up with his girlfriend, was on the cell phone when he hit Yue Yue and was not contrite.

You saw that girl on the CCTV footage, she didn’t see where she was going, you know. I was on the phone when it happened, I didn’t mean it

the website quoted him as saying.

When I realised I had knocked her down, I thought I’d go down to see how she was. Then when I saw that she was already bleeding, I decided to just step on the gas pedal and escape seeing that nobody was around me.

If you are questioning, why those heartless people didn’t help at all?
Xinhua report that “Good Samaritans” in China have often ended up paying the price.
One driver who stopped to help a woman was ordered to pay her compensation of 108,606 yuan ($17,261) after a court ruled he may have been responsible for her fall.
The news site reported that the Chinese Ministry of Health had issued guidelines to the public saying, “Don’t rush to lend a hand to the elderly after seeing them fall over. It should be handled by different measures in different situations.”
Tan Fang, a professor with the South China Normal University in Guangzhou, has set up a foundation to provide assistance to Good Samaritans who get in trouble helping the elderly. “The people who rescued others, at the risk of their own lives, haven’t been treated fairly,” Mr. Tan told USA Today.
But, I’m sorry. There’s no good excuse for doing nothing…helping someone in need shows that you have a heart… Would I risk my life to save someone, Yes I would… I’m not going to think if I help this child they might try to blame me.. I value life, not money… there is nothing that is more precious than the life of a child… but if you value money over life then take your money and burn in hell… To this little Angel.. I’m so so sorry that this happened to you.

What the FLUX is wrong with the driver?

To that, R.I.P. Yue-Yue.

(crying)

URGENT MESSAGE

Transcript:

Citizens of the United States, We are Anonymous.

This is an urgent emergency alert to all people of the United States. The day we've all been waiting for has unfortunately arrived. The United States is censoring the internet. Our blatant response is that we will not sit while our rights are taken away by the government we trusted them to preserve. This is not a call to arms, but a call to recognition and action!

The United States government has mastered this corrupt way of giving us a false sense of freedom. We think we are free and can do what we want, but in reality we are very limited and restricted as to what we can do, how we can think, and even how our education is obtained. We have been so distracted by this mirage of freedom, that we have just become what we were trying to escape from.

For too long, we have been idle as our brothers and sisters were arrested. During this time, the government has been scheming, plotting ways to increase censorship through means of I S P block aides, D N S blockings, search engine censorship, website censorship, and a variety of other methods that directly oppose the values and ideas of both Anonymous as well as the founding fathers of this country, who believed in free speech and press!

The United States has often been used as an example of the ideal free country. When the one nation that is known for its freedom and rights start to abuse its own people, this is when you must fight back, because others are soon to follow. Do not think that just because you are not a United States citizen, that this does not apply to you. You cannot wait for your country to decide to do the same. You must stop it before it grows, before it becomes acceptable. You must destroy its foundation before it becomes too powerful.

Has the U.S. government not learned from the past? Has it not seen the 2011 revolutions? Has it not seen that we oppose this wherever we find it and that we will continue to oppose it? Obviously the United States Government thinks they are exempt. This is not only an Anonymous collective call to action. What will a Distributed Denial of Service attack do? What's a website de face ment against the corrupted powers of the government? No. This is a call for a worldwide internet and physical protest against the powers that be. Spread this message everywhere. We will not stand for this! Tell your parents, your neighbors, your fellow workers, your school teachers, and anyone else you come in contact with. This affects anyone that desires the freedom to browse anonymously, speak freely without fear of retribution, or protest without fear of arrest.

Go to every I R C network, every social network, every online community, and tell them of the atrocity that is about to be committed. If protest is not enough, the United States government shall see that we are truly legion and we shall come together as one force opposing this attempt to censor the internet once again, and in the process discourage any other government from continuing or trying.

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive censorship.
We do not forget the denial of our free rights as human beings.
To the United States government, you should've expected us.

From AcAnimate

SPREAD THE MESSAGE!

2-Year Old Girl Run Over TWICE in China

Yue-Yue is run over by two trucks, AND ignored by like, 18 people before she's finally found.
Translation:
Yue-Yue is hit by two trucks. The first truck, obviously, hadn't paused and continued on, brutally damaging the young girl's internal system and spine and nervous system. Total 18 people had past by and ignored the girl, in which the video can identify most of the faces. The second truck, I'm guessing, hadn't noticed Yue-Yue lying on the road like so many others, damaging her even further with like, ten tons. She was lying on the road for two hours before she was actually noticed and interacted with. Notice how her spine jiggles when the lady straightens her up. Then her mom runs over and takes her to the hospital. And she's still living.
Yue-Yue is now in intensive care at the hospital. Her condition is very, very bad.

They can see the second driver's face, but they can't identify the first one who hit her.

One thing is, that driver is jacked up. 

What You're Missing Out On the History of Geometry

This section in the Alex Lin's Lore of The World was invented by me. Obviously.
I will give you a fun, history lesson on one of the most hidden pieces of our past.
Introducing...
THE LINE PEOPLE!
"I told you this ornament came from the border of Mongolia!"
Giselle and I were in Shanghai, waiting for someone to pick us up after we got back from Taiwan. I wanted to prove that it was just another thing made in a factory in CHINA.
"Well I have proof!" I said, after a long, pointless argument. "Do you see these... these LINES etched on the bottom of this ornament? (There were these weird lines engraved on the bottom. The ornament was an Asian tent, whatever they're called).
"Yeah."
"This is the language of the... the... LINE PEOPLE, known as the, er, LINE LANGUAGE!"
(Confused look on Giselle's face)
"See, I'm an EXPERT at line language! Here, let me read it to you," I said. See, the thing is that these were just a bunch of lines intersecting each other at random points. The lines kind of look like this (except they weren't black, just etched into the bottom of white)

"THIS ORNAMENT CAME FROM A FACTORY IN CHINA," I read to her.
"Line people?'
"Well, yeah, line people! You haven't heard of them?"
"No."
"Okay. So, the line people was a tribe of... people who lived long ago! It was said that they were the ones who invented lines and applied them for their own communication. Experts... could like... glance at a bunch of lines intersecting each other and translate it out loud and stuff."
"Why were they really called the line people?"
"Well... because they, MOVED like lines! They could only move three ways: vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Yeah!"
"Fine!" Giselle liked, stared at the lines on the bottom again and looked at it. "I can read Line language too! THIS ORNAMENT CAME FROM THE BORDER OF MONGOLIA."
"No, no, no!" I said quickly. "You're reading this wrong! You're reading this is SQUIGGLE language!"
"Squiggle?"
"Yes! See, in the tribe of the Line people, some people started... squiggling... and... the leader, um EXILED them from the tribe! And they formed their own group called the Squiggle people and made their own language, based on line language. So you could easily read a bunch of actual lines out loud in Squiggle language. That is a common mistake for beginners of the Line language!"
"Are they enemies?"
"Why, of course! Since then, the Line and Squiggle people have been mortal enemies! They fight in a big battlefield in a showdown of line and squiggle movement! There's always blood and victory and cupcakes!"

Which side do you choose? Will you side with the Line people, or squiggle over to the Squiggle people? The choice is yours to make!
(If necessary, I'll make some fanfics about this).

UPDATE: Alex's Lore of the World is now changed to The Alex Lin Wiki: Lore of the World :)

Gadgets Causing Plane Delays

 On every flight we've been on like the ones we boarded in China required us to

"Turn off all devices with an on/off switch to avoid interfering with the plane's wireless communication."

I'm always wondering, do devices really interfere with the plane's navigation?
Flight attendants say that such a ban is in place because- well, during takeoff and landing, any device with an on/off switch must be "turned off because transmissions will interefere with the pivotal navigation of the plane".
The weird thing is that it should only be gadgets that send off transmissions, like a device using the internet or a cell phone. An e-Reader should be okay, an iPod, or even a phone in airplane mode. Which I believe so, since this rule only covers gadgets that give off transmissions?
According to Toure on Time, he once asked a flight attendant why this rule is in place. She replied, in a small voice, that there was really no chance of said devices to throw off the radar. It was "really to make sure everyone was paying attention". To me, this was a strange reply.
Studies by the Radio Technical Commission of Aeronatics found no data proving that devices could really throw off the plane's radar. I believe that this is still a bad conclusion. There are more and more devices being released yearly, and other gadgets they haven't tested. In an experiment like this, you can't have a group of gadgets to test on and call it your sample size. Every gadget is different. You have to test on the entire body, meaning that the RTCA's conclusion is not all of it.
PEDs (Portable Electronic Devices), however, that are not specifically listed as an item that's banned are determined alone by the airline if they are usable.
The RTCA's advise to turn off your gadget once you reach the altitude of 10,000 feet; any other height below this mark COULD interfere with the plane's radar as the cockpit crew tries to fulfill crtical arrival and departure times. But of course, only most gadgets follow this rule.
Which I must say that your gadget could be turned on anytime if you rode a small private jet. Even airlines in the Middle East and Asia allow you to freely turn on your gadget. And the big guy, Air Force One, reserved for presidential staff and reporters, allows you to do the same. That's also a bit weird.

Addressing Cell Phones

Cell phones are different. They give off LOTS of transmissions, far away from the user. That's how strong they are.
The FCC bans over 800 of these phones, since it's kind of obvious that these really could interfere with the plane's navigation radar. I won't talk about this much, since you really shouldn't be using these things on the plane because that would pose as a safety hazard.
Airlines may allow some phones on airplane with "airplane mode", which cuts off all transmissions from the phone so you can't connect to the Internet or make calls, rendering it just like a regular device (which of course you must apply to the rules for any non-trasmissioning gadget).

But of course I do feel a twinge of annoyance when we do have to turn off our gadgets. It's really annoying to have a person blabber all day because they really couldn't use their e-Reader. But it's only or like, ten minutes the entire flight! You can use them when you're in the air.

But here's something: Nick Bilton of the New York Times reveals that PEDs (the non-transmissing kind) send out so few microvolts that the amount of interference seems almost inconsequential, meaning it's probably impossible for interference to happen because it sends how really really small transmissions. Microvolts.

A veteran pilot once told ABC news that the electronic equipment in the cockpit are "heavily shielded. Stray signals cannot get into those systems". Score one for PEDs?

Toure (again), according to his post, refuses to turn off his gadget/phone. Dude, you really want to take that small risk? Do you really want to throw off the plane's radar just because you're so stubborn that you can't use it? A plane is like a dictatorship. You have to listen to the rules. And yet you still want to put thirty other passengers at risk because you're so insolent about not switching your phone off! Here's a quote:

"After getting molested by the TSA, making my way through a long line filled with annoyed people and snuggling into a tiny seat, the last thing I need is to be cut off from my iPhone and iPod and left alone with my thoughts. Thoughts like, I wish I’d stayed at home."- Toure

Guys, that's one message: Just obey the rules like your parents told you to.

(Write your replies on both perspectives!"

New Year's Readables of 2011

Who's heard of Copernicium?
Woo! New element! Now my favorite! Obviously named after Copernicus. Duh.

I Died From Cantaloupes
A bunch of contaminated cantaloupes killed more than 20 Americans.

Learn to Love Hurricanes and Twisters
Hurricane Irene and the Joplin tornado had to be the worst disasters in U.S. history. Irene was an expensive little gift from Mother Nature, costing more than $7.3 billion in damage. And the tornado? Killed 161 people. Wow.

That Annoying Friday Song
Okay, its probably not that annoying. It's okay. It got Rebecca Black famous. Of course, with a side of death threats.

John Pike the Police Dude
You don't remember him? He was the one who sprayed all those student protesters with pepper spray. And they were all like, "We're sitting on the ground, just doing nothing," and Pike is like, "Oh, let's spray these kids with some pepper spray! Hehe."

The Homeless Guy With A Voice
Ted Williams! I don't know, but he has this really deep voice (that's how I can describe it, anyways) that sounds musical, almost. The man who had a history with booze and drugs is now on the Today show.

The Royal Wedding
Two, actually. But I actually just payed attention to the one with Kate and Prince William.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs
How could he die? He was so great, the center of technological innovation of our generation... I thank him, and I will surely remember him for my Macbook that's still waterlogged and the iPhone and the iPod and the iPad.

A Cure For HIV and AIDS
Yes, finally, some light to shine on this case! I think HIV and AIDS will be inevitably destroyed in a few years. I mean, stem-cell transplants! With the drop of AIDS deaths falling from 2.2 million to 1.8. million in 2010, I think we're on the right track.

Planking
I don't really even KNOW where that started. For those of you who haven't heard of it, its when you position yourself horizontally, straight and on your tummy, basically. People are doing this weird but cool thing in like, these really weird and dangerous places. But its really cool.

iPhone 4S
WHY DON'T I HAVE AN IPHONE 5 IN MY HAND?!?!?

Those were a bit of reflections from 2011's little events and thingies. Oh yeah, don't forget:

The Death of Osama Bin Laden
The Death of Muammar Gaddafi
Occupy Wall Street
Arab Spring
Moscow Protests
The 9.0 Earthquake from Japan and its Nuclear Meltdowns
The Mexico Drug Wars
The Tabloid Scandal

And much more. If you have any quite important events, please list them in the comments. I'll edit them in.
I almost forgot! Of course:

CONGRESS HAS DECLARED TOMATO PASTE AS A VEGETABLE

There. :)