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First of all, thanks to Brian for telling me about YouTube having converted to wide screen. Pretty crazy. I guess that means I can now watch full screen YouTube videos without my monitor freaking out on me.

For those of you who missed the sensation two and a half years ago, Charlie the Unicorn is a ridiculous cartoon created by some kids with too much time on their hands. Seriously. Of course, I loved it. And so did everyone else. Apparently, it’s the 28th most watched video on YouTube. So, chances are you saw it. If you didn’t, take 4 minutes to watch it. It’s bizarre.

Now, I just discovered that about six months ago, a sequel was released. I don’t like it quite as much as the first, but hey, it’s hard to follow up a stellar act.

The funny thing is that I totally had this idea years ago, but technology at the time wasn’t good enough to make the idea feasible. Oh well. I’m glad someone’s done it:

Two mobile applications, NMobile and Trapster, are providing drivers with up-to-date maps of speed-enforcement zones with live police traps, speed cameras or red-light cameras. Each application pulls up a map pinpointing the locations of speed traps within driving distance and an audio alert will sound as vehicles approach an area tagged as harboring a speed trap. Both applications rely on the wisdom of the crowds for their data with users reporting camera-rigged stop lights and areas heavily populated with radar-toting police officers via the iPhone or their web-based application, creating the ultimate speed trap repository available to you when you need it most — while you’re driving. To thwart false alarms and eliminate inaccuracies, Trapster enlists its community of nearly 200,000 members to rank speed traps on their accuracy. NMobile founder Shannon Atkinson declined to provide detailed data, though he did estimate that ‘well over 1,000′ users had downloaded the application since it became available last week. The company insists they’ve received only positive feedback from law enforcement officials and police officers regarding their products. ‘If the application gets people to slow down, I think it’s generally considered to be a good thing,’ said Atkinson.

(HT: Slashdot)

If you are a fan of video game music, you’ll really appreciate this. If you aren’t a fan, you still might think it sounds nice.

But regardless of who you are, you gotta think these people are nuts.

ps. Dad, have Mom check this out, as she should recognize the songs.

Next semester will be my final semester of undergrad. Kill me now. Here’s the schedule / course lineup (all times are PM):

BUS495 BUSINESS CAPSTONE M/W 2:30-3:45
ECON495 ECONOMICS CAPSTONE M/W 4:00-5:15
ECON442 HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT T/Th 4:00-5:15
MBA735 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS T/Th 5:30-6:45
MATH182 CALCULUS II T/Th 7:30-9:10
ECON457 LAW AND ECONOMICS Sat 9:00-11:45

Yeah. It’s exactly what I was hoping for, PLUS I managed to find a Calc2 class that would meet my schedule. This will be 19 credits. Wee!

I got this email from my dad and thought it was pretty good. I may or may not have alluded to it in my recent blog posts, but those of you who have spoken with me in depth on the subject know this has been the only legitimate reason I could see for any freedom-loving person or organization (including the LDS Church) to support legislation such as California’s Prop 8.

I still think it would be better to clarify to the world that a yes vote on Prop 8 is the lesser of two evils, and that whether you vote yes or no, you are condoning the government overstepping its bounds. But hey, whatever. Anyway, on to the info regarding gay marriage that I thought was worthwhile for everyone to read:

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has just completed a study of 1000 state laws and concluded that at least 350 of them would likely trigger liability for conscientious objectors, including religious organizations, should same-sex marriage be recognized.

Their conclusion was that “Legal recognition of same-sex marriage—whether imposed by courts or enacted by legislatures—poses a great threat to freedom of conscience that has been honored in this country before the Founding.”

They recommend that “legislatures amend state antidiscrimination statutes now to include robust exemptions for those with religious or other conscientious objections to same-sex marriage.”

They conclude that, “Lawsuits will likely arise when religious people or religious organizations choose, based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, not to hire individuals in same-sex marriages, refuse to extend spousal benefits to same-sex spouses, refuse to make their property or services available for same-sex marriage ceremonies or other events affirming same-sex marriage, or refuse to provide otherwise available housing to same-sex couples. This wide-ranging conflict between governments and conscientious citizens would take years of litigation to resolve, assuming that it could be resolved.”

The state provisions that trigger the threat to religious liberty include anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation, gender, and marital status. The report notes that “Because gender discrimination laws are on the books in all 50 states, moral objections to same-sex marriage could be treated as a form of gender discrimination in every state.”

Thirty-seven of these states have some kind of religious exemptions in their laws, but most of these are quite narrow and only apply to certain categories of religious activity.

I’m reading F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom right now. In the current chapter entitled Planning and Democracy, there were two parts I particularly enjoyed. Keep in mind this book was published in 1944:

The effect of the people’s agreeing that there must be central planning, without agreeing on the ends, will be rather as if a group of people were to commit themselves to take a journey together without agreeing where they want to go: with the result that they may all have to make a journey which most of them do not want at all.

And a few pages later…

Hitler did not have to destroy democracy; he merely took advantage of the decay of democracy and at the critical moment obtained the support of many to whom, though they detested Hitler, he yet seemed the only man strong enough to get things done.

Interpret however you would like.

I’m on track to finish the fourth (and final) book in the Twilight saga. If you don’t know what the Twilight saga is, well… I’m sorry. Leave the house once in a while.

I haven’t followed much of what’s going on with the first movie that will be coming out next week. I’ve watched some trailers, but that’s about it. Today, while sorting through my RSS feeds regarding movies and entertainment, I noticed a headline about “the rest of the Twilight series” that caught my eye, so I clicked. Here’s part of what I read:

In “New Moon,” Edward leaves Bella, sending Bella into a depression and a friendship with another vampire. In the third book, “Eclipse,” that relationship triangle evolves, while evil empires begin to pursue Bella.

Another vampire? Really? I hope the site (The Hollywood Reporter — seems legit) is just reporting the news incorrectly. But based on the atrocities Hollywood committed on the Lord of the Rings franchise, I can only imagine…

But that doesn’t matter for the first book/movie, Twilight, which comes out next week. Like I said, I’ve only seen a couple of trailers. But let’s look at who’s putting this movie together…

The screenwriter for the film has done what? Party of Five? The OC? Ally McBeal?… seriously?

What about the actors? Bella was in Jumper (Oh goodness) and Edward played a minor role in one of the Harry Potters.

Has anyone else watched the trailers and felt like you’re watching a terrible teen-drama? That’s how I feel.

And as if all this weren’t bad enough, just look at this picture of the Cullens sitting at their lunch table:

Conclusion: They look really gay. Especially the guys.

Everyone — everyone — should watch this 48-minute presentation about what to do when talking to the police.

[HT: Elliott Griffin]

[Update: I accidentally copy/pasted the wrong link when I posted this last night. The link has since been fixed. Thanks, Jori!]

In case you weren’t aware, President-elect Obama hopes to require all school-age and college-age people to perform a yearly quota of community service.

But it gets better.

Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s Chief of Staff, wrote in his 2006-published book The Plan: Big Ideas for America,

It’s time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, All Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service. … Young people will know that between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service.

… and we’re still debating if this will be mandatory or voluntary? Come on.

Today is my sister Jori’s birthday, and Wal-Mart celebrated by opening its newest store next to my house. Happy Birthday, Jori!