Chad

...Obama.

After much reading, watching, listening, and discussing, I have finally chosen who I will vote for.  I want to share my reasoning here, not to try and persuade anyone, but rather in the hopes that my friends, family, and political opponents will better understand where I'm coming from and subsequently become less belittling of my views and those of others.  I realize I am potentially opening myself up to quite a bit of ridicule, but I feel we'd all be better off if people would discuss their beliefs and be more open with their thought processes.  The following will not be particularly insightful, it will not be an educated discussion of the issues, and it will not change your political views.  This letter is simply my attempt at starting the process of opening up lines of communication.

I started the decision-making process with an open mind and a goal of remaining unbiased, and I believe I was fairly successful in this attempt. I still don't love either candidate, but, having now officially chosen a side, this letter will by definition be biased. This does not mean that it will be antagonistic or hateful, however. I will try and stick to the known facts and my own, humble opinions.


Following are what I consider the major issues and my thoughts on each:

Gut Feelings
While I want to explain the logic behind my decision, I will admit it's not all logical. Emotions are part of humanity, and so I'll get those out of the way first. Going on gut alone, Obama simply looks and sounds more presidential. He is cooler under the pressure of a debate than McCain, his answers tend to be more coherent, and his overall presence feels more comforting.

Vice Presidential choice is not something I expected to sway me, but I simply cannot stand Sarah Palin. I tried to give her an honest hearing, but I don't feel she has any right to be in this election, and she very negatively affected my decision.  I would have been much more likely to vote McCain if Palin wasn't in the picture.

Finally, the negative campaigning of McCain and Palin turned me off from them. Yes, Obama has gone negative as well, but I have not seen it as much, or perhaps it didn't come off as negative as McCain.  I am left with the impression that McCain was the dirty player in this election, though I don't believe that's truly who he is.

Economy
Economy is the issue of the day as it so often is, though I think it had very little to do with my own decision. I will claim quite a bit of ignorance on this subject, but bear with me. I believe that economics is so complicated that no one truly understands it. By definition, the markets are unpredictable and uncontrollable. While Bernanke, Paulson, and the rest are indeed doing "things" in an attempt to help, I'm not of the opinion that they or anyone really know what is needed to right this ship.

So, if the economic leaders and scholars are arguing over what to do, how can either Obama or McCain possibly have a truly better plan than the other? Both can put up endless "facts" to back up their arguments, and studies can be found which support every possible side.  Since I refuse to believe either side knows what they're doing, it's ends in a tie.

Taxes
This certainly relates to the above issue, but the more popular argument in this category is "spreading the wealth around" vs. "giving tax breaks to the wealthy." I have to come out and quite selfishly say that Obama's plan benefits me more. I am not making $250,000 per year, and I don't even know anyone who makes that kind of money, so why wouldn't I support his tax plan?

One comparison I heard via email-chain is the idea of telling a waiter that you're going to take his tip and give it to a homeless man outside because that person is more deserving. This certainly sounds offensive, but isn't that really the whole point of taxes - the government takes money you've earned and spreads it around to many different programs and people as it sees fit?  Alloting limited resources is one of the most basic functions of government.

Republicans seem to imply the issue is not a matter of rich versus poor, but rather hard-working versus lazy.  In that case, maybe we should change the rules so the tax brackets break up by amount of effort a person has exerted in their life rather than how much money they make.  There are a lot of lazy rich people (Joe the Trust Fund Baby) and a lot of hard-working poor people (Joe the Teacher).  I understand the Republicans' desire to defend the hard-working rich, but why are they so against the hard-working poor?

For now, I'm happy to go with the candidate that takes less money out of my pocket.

Iraq
When we invaded Iraq, I fully bought the hype, and I was gung-ho for going in to get Saddam. I, along with most of the world, now recognize that we were fed a load of crap and that what we did was a big mistake. We've now opened Iraq to terror groups that did not exist there previously, and it's extremely important that we do not abandon Iraq and screw this up like we did with Afghanistan.

Given the lousy circumstances, we have two options for moving forward: create a timeline for finishing up in Iraq, or stay until someone (who?) considers the job done. Creating a plan of action seems like a complete no-brainer to me. How can we sit around without any idea of when this thing will end?

Pejoratively referred to as a "pull-out date," this simple concept is a basic tenet of living - it's called a goal. If you don't have a goal, you'll never get anywhere. This doesn't mean the goal is going to be met, but it helps you get there eventually. Similarly, I truly don't believe Obama would set a date to be out of Iraq and blindly stick to that date regardless of the situation. If we approached the date and things were not going well, the date and goals would be reassessed. The simple existence of a goal is what helps move things forward.

On this subject, there was an interesting bit of news that somehow seemed to slip under the media radar: a US-Iraqi security pact currently under negotiation includes withdrawal dates(!). Under the current agreement, US troops would withdraw from Iraqi towns and villages by July 2009 and from Iraq completely by December 2011. If both the current US (Bush) administration and the Iraqi government are willing to set goals, why would we not go along with this?

Energy/Environment
Being a tree hugger, this is probably the single biggest issue to me. Our use of fossil fuels, however, affects much more than just the environment. I would love nothing more than to see the use of oil, coal, and natural gas brought to an absolute end and replaced with clean, renewable energy sources. The results would be wonderful for our environment, our economy, our world politics, our national security, and our health. What one other issue would affect so much?

I believe Obama to be more interested in bringing this kind of change to pass.  With regards to McCain, I simply don't believe offshore drilling (or even ANWR) will make a dent in our oil supplies, and it will instead distract us from the real goal of oil independence. As for nuclear power, it scares me. Why spend money to go down these messy roads instead of developing cleaner methods?

Health Care
I briefly tried to understand this, but I'll be honest and say I don't get it. I don't know what the real difference is between the candidates' plans, and it sounds like another issue where even the experts will never agree. My plebian understanding is that the current, private system sucks and that many other countries are offering cheaper, superior health care via nationalized plans. I'm sure someone reading this will correct me, but  once again, it's an issue which can be supported or disproven by endless facts and studies.

Civil Rights and Social Issues
These are almost exclusively subjective issues, and suffice it to say that I fall on the liberal side of things here. There's really no point in putting forth an argument on something as controversial as abortion or gay rights.  I would, however, like to take one jab:

I absolutely understand how a person can oppose abortion because it goes against nature (or God).  I'm not saying I agree, but I can at least understand the argument.  What I cannot understand is how that same person can demand, as in the case of Terri Schiavo, that someone who nature (or God) has clearly taken from us be kept alive by artificial means.  Does that not completely defeat the point of nature's (or God's) will?  Either you're with nature (or God) or you're not.

Conclusion
The issues that face Americans and the world in general are highly controversial and divisive.  We all wonder from time to time, "How could he support such a thing?" or "Why would she make that decision?"  Well, now you know why at least one person is supporting Obama in this election.  It's not out of a hatred for America, a desire to see terrorists invade our shores, or a plot to eat America's babies one stem cell at a time.  It's because I've taken my limited knowledge, combined it with my life experiences, and I believe I am doing what is best for this country, given the very limited options.

Thanks for listening, and now I hope to hear from you.

I spoke with someone the other day who was convinced of Obama's terrorist connections with Ayers. She was reading a book called "Obama Nation" and whatever lies were in that book were the truth to her. I knew it was pointless, but I sent her a link from FactCheck.org which disputed the Bill Ayers connection. Will she read it? Maybe. Will it change her mind about that topic? Probably not.

Another person forwarded me an email talking about three crooked Fannie Mae execs who are now economic advisers to Obama. I checked it on FactCheck.org and, of course, it's bullshit. I sent that link to the person who emailed me (Karen convinced me not to send it to everyone on the original CC list). His response was that he'd already found out it was a lie. Had he sent out a follow-up email to correct his mistake? No. Did the fact that he knows it's a lie change his mind on the situation? Probably not.

I'm very frustrated with all the political lies being slung around on both sides, especially when those lies are repeated by normal citizens who treat them as the truth. Though I defended Obama in the above situations, I want to be clear that I am neither an Obama nor a McCain fan. I am simply a fan of the truth, a thing that is very hard to come by in an election year.

Now, I know better than to impose my political views on others, and I told the above people that I had no intention of changing their vote. My goal, however, was to get them to defend their candidate of choice with actual facts, not lies they heard elsewhere. There are some great sources out there for non-partisan information (FactCheck.org, ProCon.org, OnTheIssues.org), and I'd like to see them get some more use.

If you're one of these people who thinks they know everything, I encourage you to go and double-check that you've got your facts right. I've been amazed at how complex some of these issues are, and I don't know how anyone could really keep up with all that is going on.

Other issues simply don't have a wrong and right because they're almost purely subjective. Of course, that doesn't keep people from acting like their side is the only possible truth. In these cases, I'd simply ask that you think through opposing points of view and keep in mind that your opinion is not "better" than anyone else's.

In conclusion, please think for yourself, please don't knowingly spread lies, and please don't shut yourself out to opposing points of view. This country is in too much trouble for crap like that.



Following are some links to help inform yourself. I believe them to be non-partisan sites, but please don't take my word for it.

Think the Republicans are solely to blame for the current economic crisis because of deregulation? Think the Democrats made it too easy for people to buy houses they couldn't afford? Check out the following link to see just how much blame there is to go around:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/who_caused_the_economic_crisis.html

Confused by the proposed health plans and which one would suit you better? Me too! Check out this link for some details:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/health_care_spin.html

Wondering where a candidate stands on a certain issue? That one's easy:
http://2008election.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=1561
or http://www.ontheissues.org/Issues.htm

For Karen's birthday, I got us tickets to this Thursday's Fall Out Boy Concert at Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater.  Two days later she randomly called in to a radio station and won two more tickets as well as meet and greet passes to meet the band.

So, we now have two tickets for sale if anyone's interested.  They're pretty good seats, located in Section 101, Row R, Seats 27 and 28.  If there are any fans out there, let me know.  I'm not looking to make any kind of profit; just to help pay for the first set of tickets.

Though I was less than impressed with the first two songs I'd heard from their new album, Minutes to Midnight, Linkin Park is one of my favorite groups, so I was determined to pick up the album the day it came out.  I did so, listened to it a couple times, and determined it was crap.

I forgot about it for a couple days, but this morning I started singing some song that I couldn't place but which sounded great in my head.  I kept singing it all morning, and when more of the words finally came back to me, I realized it was one of their new songs.  I was surprised I even remembered it, and when it wouldn't leave my head I knew I had to go out the car and get the album.  I've been listening to the CD all day now, and while I still don't think it can compare to their previous albums, it is growing on me, and some of the songs are quite good.

Overall, the tracks seem much simpler and less intricate than their past efforts.  It's almost as if they didn't have as good a producer as before, or perhaps they just didn't try as hard.  Their sound is quite different on this album as well, mixing in their standard fare with political commentary, a song I could mistake for Blue October, one reminiscent of The Gorillas, and another with a very Korny base line.

If you're a Linkin Park fan, you know you've gotta pick up this new album no matter what others think.  If you're not a Linkin Park fan, it still may be worth your attention, especially given their new range of sounds.  You might just find something in there you like.

I think my last post about mecompose must have gotten lost in the tide of friend's posts because I only had one person friend my new account.  :-( 

So, I'm starting a new campaign (this post) to tell everyone about my new Live Journal account and to ask you to friend mecompose (just hover your mouse over that icon and friend me real fast). I'm posting any creative writing and humor stuff to this account from now on, and, while I do love writing for my own sake, I like it more when other people actually have an opportunity to read it.

Thank you for your time and support. You may now return to your normally scheduled friend's page.

Every once in a while I like to look back through my Live Journal entries and reminisce. More often than not, it's my creative writing entries that I'm looking for. I've built up a fair-sized collection, so I decided to open up a second LJ account dedicated to creative writing.

I've copied my creative writing posts over to this new account, and I'll be posting any new creative stuff to there, leaving this madchadder account for my whiny rants and everyday, boring posts.

So, without further ado, I introduce mecompose.  Please visit my new account and add me as your friend.  I've even posted a new poem in honor of the occasion.  Click here to read it.

I am convinced that Luckie is the cutest puppy in the world.  Screw Mr. Winkle, my dog is much cuter.  It's as if every move, every noise, and every look is precisely calculated for maximum cuteness.  I mean, Luckie even makes pooping cute!  Ever since we got him, he's been making the most adorable grunting noises whenever he poops.  I bet Mr. Winkle doesn't poop cutely!

The problem is, I don't think any dog could be this cute naturally.  Like I said, it's as if Luckie were packing every move he made with the highest possible level of cuteness.  What's scary about that is it wouldn't be possible unless he were thinking on a higher level than what we've come to expect from dogs.

Indeed, Luckie would have to plan his actions in advance, and he would also have to know what worked in the past and what didn't.  This by itself would bring him up to the intelligence level of an ape, but he doesn't stop there.  His pure determination to keeping up this ruse of cute dumbness shows that he has both immense patience and dedication.  In my eyes, this puts him above me.  He's better at what he does and he doesn't get tired of it.

Also, Luckie has the uncanny ability to always do the cutest thing for any particular person.  He has a sixth sense which lets him read people and know how to get to them.  No being I know of has this ability, and this is what led me to the discovery that Luckie is an alien.

Yes, Luckie is an alien sent to our planet to gather information about us in anticipation of an eventual invasion.  In fact, every dog is a part of that same mission.

This is not an original theory.  People have suspected their dogs of being from another planet for centuries.  I am simply the first one to prove it.  It is physically impossible for any dog to be as cute as Luckie is, so there is no other possibility but to assume his alien origins.

And that's exactly where Luckie went wrong.  You see, every other dog has played their roles perfectly throughout history.  Yes, even Mr. Winkle has kept up the ruse of imperfect stupidity and cuteness.  Luckie, though far more advanced than we, is actually the dumbest alien to be sent to our planet for spying.  He played his role too well, never suspecting that I was on to his little game.  Like I said, he's too cute, and that could never happen naturally.

So what do we do about the upcoming invasion?  Unfortunately, Luckie and his kind would die for their cause, so there is no point in trying to get them to break their act and confess.  Besides, who could hurt such a cute little thing like Luckie?

I have decided for all mankind that it is best to allow our dogs to continue with their ruse, but I wanted you all to be aware of the truth and to watch what you say and do in their presence. 

Perhaps we can, in turn, observe them and prepare for the coming invasion.  Or, perhaps we can work our way into their hearts so they will take us on as pets rather than killing us all.

Let's hope for the best.

I just got home from work, and I let the pups out of their crate and took them out back to pee. While I was out there -- and because it is such a nice day, -- I decided it was time to pick up some poop.

After a while of that most wonderful of pastimes, I noticed Kaiser was running around the yard without a collar.

I asked him where it was, and he said, "Luckie ate it."

I asked, "What do you mean 'he ate it?'".

"Just that," he replied before becoming entranced with some invisible threat to the household.

He was so busy with his guard duties that I couldn't get his attention again, so I went upstairs to look in the crate for his collar. I had seen Luckie chewing on Kaiser's collar in the past, and so I figured he must have been chewing on it, causing it to come loose and fall off.

In their crate, I quickly found a piece of the collar. It was a small scrap of chewed on leather with the buckle and tags. Luckie had chewed right through Kaiser's collar! That's why it fell off.

But it got weirder: I looked for the rest of the collar, shaking out blankets and toys, but nothing came out. There was no "rest of the collar" to be found. Luckie actually ate the majority of Kaiser's leather collar! He only left behind the small scrap with the metal pieces attached to it.

My dog is insane. And he probably has some indigestion right now, too.

Silent Assassin

Silent but deadly:
That's what they call me.
I receive my mission
And slip out quietly.

Assessing the terrain,
I spot my massed prey.
I plot my course
And enter the fray.

Before understanding
And fear make them hostile,
I waft up the throats
And into the nostrils.

Once I've gained access,
I seek out my first target.
It's at this point
Some ask "Who farted?"

I must work fast now,
For they've noticed my presence.
I can check off my hit-list
The olfactory senses.

Down their throats next
And esophageal tubes.
I clog up their lungs,
So they change different hues.

Blue into purple,
And sickeningly green.
This is my mission,
And I do it unseen.

In full panic now,
The targets scramble to flee.
But I've got a good grip.
There's no escaping from me.

Gagging, coughing, and swears,
Threats all disjointed.
As I tighten my grip,
Fingers are pointed.

But with lack of fresh air,
And no place to run,
They teeter and stumble,
Then fall one by one.

The room goes silent,
Bodies lying about.
And with their last breath,
I quietly slip out.

The targets: neutralized.
The assignment: done.
The weapon: abated.
The evidence: none.
I leave not a mark.
Try that with a gun.
Just pulling a trigger
Can't be as much fun.
Now, pulling my finger,
That's satisfaction!

Love lost is woeful sorrow.
Love found will come tomorrow.
Be not long in mourning loss,
Else be long in finding hope.
Only when the flailing stops
Can someone toss you down a rope.

Sadness allows the soul to clear
So it may refill and you may hear
The sounds of joy that will return,
Instead of sobs and painful cries
From which we'll heal but never learn
To avoid the lows and seek the highs.

When you continue down this path,
You dig a well with no escape.
You regret your rising wrath,
And rising tears seal your fate.
The blue of sorrow turns envy green,
Red rages forth from hate unseen
And mixes with the yellow fear
Becoming purple with lack of air.
You yearn to float up to the brink.
Heavy with guilt, instead you sink.
So, heed this line of clover wit:
Stop your whining, get over it.

I wrote the following in an e-mail to my fellow co-workers today and thought others might find it handy or be able elaborate on it.


Hey all,

I was looking at my computer’s Processes List to see how much memory was being taken up by each program and to determine why my computer was going slow, and I made an interesting discovery I thought everyone could use. The following works for IE7, though I haven’t tried it for IE6.

It appears that as you open multiple Internet Explorer browser windows and tabs, the program sucks up more and more memory and never releases it on its own, even if you then close some of the windows or tabs. The solution is to simply minimize all the IE browser windows and then restore them. This act will release any memory that is available, and it will let you keep working with minimal interruption.

An important offshoot of this is that Explorer, which runs all the folder windows (“My Computer” and everything else on your PC) is pretty much the same program as IE, so this same trick applies. If you have opened a lot of computer folders and then closed several, Windows will not release the memory those closed windows were using. So, just minimize each window, then restore them and it should free it up.

One odd but important note is that the “Show Desktop” or “Minimize All” button does not seem to work for this. You have to individually close each window for the memory to be released.

I hope this helps next time your computer gets bogged down some.

-Chad

I'm really enjoying this little guy so far.

I would like to introduce everyone to the newest member of our family: Lucky. He is a CKC registered Dachsund, though he's neither standard nor mini, as his parents were one of each. He'll supposedly grow to around fourteen pounds, but right now he is teeny and unbelievably cute. He's wrestling with Kaiser as I type, however, so he's no wuss.



Though we hadn't planned on getting another pup this soon, we had talked about getting one eventually. Eventually happened on Saturday at the Pendergrass Flea Market, of all places. This flea market, for anyone who hasn't been, is more like an indoor mall of junk. They had absolutely everything there -- hot tubs, electronics, swords, car parts, hair salons, Mexican wrestling masks, live chickens, -- but the only thing we found worth buying was the cutest puppy in the world. It was an impulse buy, but the breeder seemed reputable, my mom was willing to pay for him, and so far we have no regrets. He appears very healthy and is extremely outgoing and energetic. We'll take him in for a complete physical this week.



Lucky was purchased to be Karen's froufrou dog. She will likely dress him up in pink dresses and cause him much mental anguish in his life, but I still have my "manly" Kaiser, so that's fine with me. Karen picked the name "Lucky" after I mentioned he looks like the luck dragon, Falkor, from The Neverending Story. That resemblance added to Karen's love of four-leaf clovers, horse shoes, and Good Luck Bear made "Lucky" a suitable choice.



Lucky has a great personality and gets along wonderfully with Kaiser already. They wrestle and sleep together, and Lucky even ate from Kaiser's food bowl without even a growl from Kaiser. Neither my mom's eighty-pound labrador nor the vacuum cleaner scared Lucky off, so he's also a pretty brave little guy.



As you can see, he's also a pretty photogenic guy. Check out the two galleries of photos and videos I have of him so far, and stay tuned for Lucky updates.

Galleries:
Lucky's First Day Home
Lucky's Second Day

A couple of videos:
- A video intro.
- What a cutie!

As she mentioned, Karen got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's at Duluth Middle School in Gwinnett. She'll be teaching sixth grade social studies, and she's very excited. She got the call today and will go in on Monday, though she's not sure when she'll actually be in front of a class for the first time. This is awesome news for us.

Not only is Snakes On a Plane the best movie ever released, but it also spawned one of the best songs of the millenium. Check out "Snakes On a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship.

Expect complete crap and you shall receive it. Snakes on a Plane is fabulous. It's perfectly bad. It's exactly what I wanted. I loved it, and it's the best movie ever. There are at least two death scenes and a few other scenes that will stick with me for a long time.

I took what I consider to be some really cool photos of Kaiser recently when we went out for a walk on the Silver Comet Trail.
( Click here to see them )

Upon returning from vacation, I didn't feel like sifting through my photos, so I just uploaded them all. Half-way through that process, however, I realized that was stupid and that no one would bother looking through over 900 photos. So, I narrowed down the selection and edited a few of them while I was at it. The new and improved gallery is now up, but I still figure many people won't want to look through over 200 photos, so I'm some here with commentary.

( Read on... )

I'm trying to locate an old friend from middle school. Anyone know how to go about it? Searching facebook, classmates.com, his middle and high school websites, and google has resulted in nothing. Any other ideas?

The dastardly plan for world domination outlined in the previous entry was inspired by Lex Luthor's brilliant and well-thought-out plan in the new Superman Returns movie. Julie, Karen, and I devised our plan on the way back from the theater, and then we proceeded to create the maps in Photoshop. We brought the maps to Kinkos and had them printed out as well, but the employees' reactions were dissapointing. I don't think they quite realised what we were planning (which is probably for the best). Anyway, it was an interesting way to pass the time and we've got a really sweet plan for taking over the world if we ever feel so inclined.