MSN blows

Well, I've always had issues with the opinions posted on MSN.com and the selected news coverage on MSNBC. However, this article "Gasoline's New Math: Miles Per Dollar" is just ridiculously stupid.

Check this out:

It's time for new rules, and new math: Miles Per Dollar, or mpd.

The formula is simple. Take the old mpg, but divide it by the price of fuel. Unlike the vague mpg, mpd is a remorseless measuring stick, its pointy end aimed directly at your wallet. When gas was cheaper than the dirt it sprang from, 20 miles per gallon seemed pretty solid. Even when gas reached a dollar a gallon, you were still getting 20 mpd, traveling 20 miles on a buck.

Here is the problem:

This chart represents the average price of gasoline in Texas from 1979 to 2008.

Can you see the problem now?

1 gallon now = 1 gallon in a month
1 mile now = 1 mile in a month
Price of fuel now != price of fuel in a month (! is 'not' for those unfamiliar with coding)

So can someone please tell me how is the MPG standard vague and the MPD is a "remorseless measuring stick"?

Stupid asshats...

What a crazy world we live in...

At least 22 dead in Va. Tech shooting rampage

Wow, I was going through my RSS feeds before going to bed as usual when I saw this news headline. It is a sad day for all, and my heart goes to the families and loved ones of those students.

What pisses me off is that as many universities, VA Tech probably doesn't allow students to have firearms on campus including their dormitories. Which implies students are defenseless. People have firearms to defend themselves against ass-hats with firearms. The number of causalities could have been a lot less if students had means of self defense.

The Punisher: Episode I

Main Entry: pun·ish·ment
Pronunciation: 'p&-nish-m&nt
Function: noun
1 : the act of punishing
2 a : suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution b : a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure
3 : severe, rough, or disastrous treatment

I started training for next year's marathons six weeks ago. I have been lifting weights, running like a mad man, and trying my best to swim as much as I can, and to stretch daily. It started as highly motivated self improvement project, but slowly mutated into an obsession.

To be honest, I don't really know what my goals from training are, but I know that if I wanted to put muscles on, I wouldn't be running all that running. And if I wanted to run faster, I wouldn't bother with all that strength training. And if I just wanted to be healthy, I would just take stairs at work every now and then and I will be fine.

In those six weeks, I've seen a lot of improvement on my physical abilities. As I can do twenty pull ups straight and I can run 3 miles in about 18 minutes, or sprint a mile in sub 5 minutes. I tried to climb a rope for the first time, and it wasn't so easy, but I did it. I tried open water swimming, it wasn't easy, but I finished. I've lost an inch of my waist, and I've put an inch on my arms.

All of that sounds like I am in good shape and I am feeling great. Right?

WRONG!

I am not going to lie here, I feel like shit! My upper body is in constant pain, and my legs are always on recovery mode unless I am running. The only time that I am feeling good or no pain, is the time I spend going through the punishment of training. I have become my own punisher.

I hate to be a quitter, and if I go "emo" and quit training because I don't know my goals are, I will be nothing but another quitter. So you know what, I am going to crazy with it. I am going to set a goal of being the best possible shape I can ever be. I am going to transform my self into a Frank Castle. I will* put on nine extra kilograms by December, will* drop my body fat, will* swim a mile, will* bench 225lbs 10 times and I will* run a Marathon in sub 3 hours.

Fuck it! See ya in another six weeks!

We are all Doomed...

Back in 2005, I was excited when I heard that there was a Splinter Cell movie in the making. Not any more...

I've just finished watching the DVD of "Doom", and I was kinda surprised by how lame, and lacking to originality the story was. How many times are we going to expect the Space Marines to come to save the day from Aliens? I felt like I was watching a modern version of the Movie Aliens, with better graphics, cooler guns, and some new scientific imagination, but as I said before, it was lacking originality.

I think the problem with movies that are inspired by video games, is that they are quite stupid. Which makes me wonder, why do we -I personally- enjoy the games so much? Is it because when I am playing the game, I don't expect to think about the story line as much? Or is it because when I am watching a movie, I expect to see something that will make me feel that I made a solid investment with my 10 dollars?

On a side note, the idea of Marines in Space is a cool idea. But with the emergence of ballistic missiles capable of blowing up satellites, I am kinda pessimistic about the deployment of the idea. As I am sure the idea of having Marines flying over you might actually piss off a lot of people in this world, including Army folks!