Oct 22 2009

Goodbye my dear friend…

I received a phone call this evening that will undoubtedly change the course of my life from this point onward. A dear and trusted friend, indeed more like a brother, decided to take his own life this morning. He had been hurting a lot lately, and we talked often about his struggles. However, over the last few weeks, he seemed to be getting better. He was involved in another musical, and when I asked him about it, he had nothing but good things to say; his positive mentality toward the arts had returned. He was the greatest musician I had ever met, but to mention that one talent of his would be wrong as it would lessen the impact of all his other qualities.

Mike, we had some amazing times over the last decade. We played some great music, showed each other new artists, watched some quality films, had a blast at many plays, discussed all the issues of the times, danced with philosophies both familiar and foreign to us, pondered the emotional ups and downs of life, laughed at our own fallacies and shortcomings, discovered new places and new ways to look at old ones, and confided in one another the depths of human existence. I will never forget these times, and for the remainder of my days here I will regret not being able to talk you into sticking it out in order to create thousands more.

May you find the peace for which you were searching, and if you can part with some, please send it back here for the rest of us.

Goodbye my dear friend, and may we meet again at another time to catch up.

With love,
Zach

Sep 08 2009

I wish

I wish…

the justice system would actually promote, foster, and protect virtue instead of corruption; that the systems and safeguards the nation has in place would function based on the spirit of the law instead of the bureaucratic letter of the law; that our lives were not governed by the myth of meritocracy, but rather that those most deserving would obtain, instead of being shunned by a modus operandi desperately trying to placate the proprietors of wealth and subsequent power that they do not readily deserve; that we would eradicate not only the lexeme of “tolerance,” but also the surrounding mentality, and instead replace it with a disposition of love and understanding; that we as members of humanity could unanimously realise the tyranny of the “compete and conquer” mindset, replacing it with a “collaborate and coalesce” worldview; that we would sustain Carpenter’s “Bless the Beasts and Children” notion, helping those incapable of promoting their own eudaemonia, and that when doing so, we were not falsely accused of wicked, despicable, and self-serving motives, especially by the hypocrites engaging in such deploration;

I wish…

…that this dreadfully painful contention which I’m currently enduring would result in, if nothing else, this beautiful child’s recognition that somebody loves him above all else.

|:| Zach |:|

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You will always be a son to me, no matter what. I love you more than anything buddy, and that will never change.

“I will never let you fall
I’ll stand up with you forever
I’ll be there for you through it all
Even if saving you sends me to heaven”
–The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – “Guardian Angel”

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Sep 08 2009

Microsoft and Best Buy work together to spread FUD

I found this very interesting article about Best Buy’s training program. The RetailAccess program (sponsored by Intel) and the ExpertZone training program (sponsored by Microsoft) provide readings about the newly-released and upcoming technologies. Every employee at the tech bench (now called the Geek Squad) had to read these articles and take quizzes over their content in order to keep their jobs. Interestingly, a new article in ExpertZone compared Windows with Linux. However, instead of an objective comparison, Microsoft continued their trend of spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in a desperate attempt to maintain their market share. Some of the flat-out lies that they mentioned were 1) that Linux doesn’t support cameras, or portable media devices very well, 2) that we don’t have any way to play Windows-based games, and 3) that video chat isn’t possible. There were many more, including my personal favourite that Linux is too difficult to learn.

Don’t take my word for it though, check out the full article by Steven Vaugh-Nichols of Computer World, complete with screenshots of the “quizzes.”

|:| Zach |:|