TSA: Why the terroists have won.

As many of you have heard, the TSA has started to roll out new procedures for security screenings at airports. These procedures include X-Ray scanning and pat downs. How I feel about this issue is posted in the video.

I am mad as hell. What has happened to our country!!! When we have to pat down grandma's breasts to let her fly, then we have gone to far. When we have to go through x-ray machines that have been not tested at the same standards as medical x-ray machines, we have gone to far. When the TSA has deiced that we have "Given up our Constitutional rights at the door," we have gone to far. Here is another video about some of the issues with the new procedures.

The definition of a terrorist by our government is as follows: "[An] act of terrorism, means any activity that (A) involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life that is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State; and (B) appears to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping." The government has cited that terrorists are trying to attack us. That is why we have these new procedures. By our government's own definition, terrorists are influencing the TSA policy at our airports! That is terrorism! Our government is so upside and backwards on terrorism, we have decided as a nation, that we must sacrifice our liberties for the illusion of security. Enough is enough people. Terrorism is a real threat. It is an issue that we must take seriously; however, we must not sacrifice that freedom the terrorist want to destroy. These increased security procedures help the cause of terrorist more than our own safety.

Finally, Ron Paul is the only politician man enough to stand up for the people’s rights. He has sponsored a bill recently that would take away the new procedures. Below are a few videos of Ron Paul taking about the issue of the TSA.

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The New Dallas

About three hours north of Dallas, is a little place called Oklahoma City.  Now while most of us would never dream of visiting the desolate place for fun, many SMU students call it home. This thanksgiving break, not being able to go back to NY for thanksgiving, I was invited to see this city, was I blown away.

In New Yorker during 1976, the cover was of New Yorker's perception of the rest of the country. It displays 9th and 10th avenue, the Hudson river, then a brown blob that represents the rest of the United States, the pacific ocean, and finally, the Asian continent in the far distance. While I would argue that New Yorkers aren't that stupid, they do have the blind belief that New York is the greatest place in the world. They believe that no place on earth is close to New York. While I do not have this belief, I do compare all cities to New York as my golden rule of a city.

Since moving to Dallas, I love it here. It is the perfect of big city life, in a more suburban setting. I might not always enjoy how spread out Dallas is, it is better than living on top of other people all the time. Many people might know this; however Dallas was not always a big city. During the 60's and 70's, it was about the same size as OK City just three hours north.

From talking to many people, they consider OK City to be the ugly cousin of Dallas. Talking to one person, they called it "the only settled area of Oklahoma." These misconceptions scared me before my visit. After visiting, I was blown away. OK City will be the next Dallas in a few decades.

While visiting, I was most impressed with the downtown areas and the neighborhood of Nicolas Hills. Downtown is a wonderful place. With large skyscrapers, great walking areas, and the Ford Center. It is hard to believe that someone could become bored downtown. Nicolas Hills is a great neighborhood just outside of the boundries of the city. The best way to describe the area is a mix between Rye NY and Highland Park TX with Midwestern charm.The people that I meet in the city were sophisticated and  to earth. To say the least, they are some of the nicest people I have meet.

I have two words for Dallas. Watch out. With the growth of OK City the past few years, I could see it becoming a bigger place than Dallas. If anything, I could see Dallas' growth stalling, while OK still keeps growing. OK City is a great place and I hope to visit again soon.

Apple Event 10/20: Live Blog

Hey their folks, I know that many of you are getting ready for Apple's Back to Mac event. We are going to have live blog going on during the event so keep an eye over here. All the events start at 10:00 am Pacific/ 1:00 pm Eastern. So tune in and get great insight here at The Moore Hall Post.

Pre-Game:

Many blogs and internet sources have been citing those good old apple rumors to see what will be new for apple. Many have speculated that Apple will be releasing a new OS X and a new MacBook Air. Two products that do need an update. Keep an eye on the blog and we will keep you posted and ansewer any comments that are questions.

 Jorge

Pre-game blogging:

11:40:

Not for awhile have we seen a live stream from apple. They are offering a live stream of the event on the link below. Now, I don't want you all not to see this live blog; however, I'll be watching it on my Safari while blogging on Firefox, while checking ESPN on chrome. Sorry IE, not love for you. You can only watch the live stream on a safari browser or on your iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

Apple Live Stream

Live Blog Starts at 1:00 pm Eastern

1:00 pm:

Steve Jobs is handing over the meeting over to other execitives?

1:06

Mac: #1 in customer satisfaction. Many different ratings.

1:07

318 Apple Stores now.

1:08

Back to Steve now. Oh Steve, come now. He just asked everyone to silence their phones... Remind anyone of the wi-fi issue?

1:09

New iLife, same apps in the suite.

1:10

New Full Screen mode, Facebook Enhancements, New Slideshows, Leap in iPhoto books, Letterpress cards. Demo now.

1:13

 iPhoto Themes:

Places: Very cool theme

1:15

Very cool uploads from flikr and facebook. iPhoto will add your facebook photos to iPhoto. Great way to save you old photos.

Slideshow Theme:

Holiday Mobile: ummmm? Not that cool.

1:17

iPhoto in application email feature. It looks pretty useful.

1:18

Sharing Panel: Uploads your social networking information, posts, comments, ect.

1:20

New Book features are very cool. The new book shelves are like the iBook app.

1:25

iMovie '11: New Audio Editing, One Step Effects, People Finder, News and Sports Themes, and Movie Trailer!!!!

1:30

The new editing tools look very easy and fun to use.

1:35

Trailer features: Outline, Storyboard, Original Scores, People finder (Awesome!!!).

1:36

The trailer they just showed was one word: Awesome!!

1:37

The trailer feature is so cool. I was just sold on the new iMovie!

1:40

Garage Band 11

1:42

Grove Master: Human Rhythm Spell Checking for Rhythm.

1:43

Flex Time: Pull out the vibes.

1:45

Folks, I have to go; however, I will have a recap tonight. Have fun with the life stream!

Update: 11/1/10

I have not been able to give an update on the event. I will try within the next few days.

Update:

Hey guys! Well like everyone expected, the special surprise was the Macbook Air. To be quick and to the point, it is smaller, lighter, more power, longer battery life, and much lower price. Am I a fan? No. The Macbook Air is priced at $999. For that price, you can by a Macbook for the same price. A Macbook has better specs, about the same size and weight, and more options. If you buying the Macbook Air, you’re only buying it to be cool. End of the story. If you own a Macbook Air, Get over yourself.

Bad Books is a good read!

Hey folks. I have come back with a great album that you should pick up. Now. I mean now. Not next week, or next month. I mean go into your couch, scrounge some loss change and buy this album. Now you are asking: "Jorge, what are you talking about? You haven't even told me anything about the album, not even the bands name!" Well, Let me help. The band is called Bad Books and this is their debut album. Being released today, it has hit the alternative airways.

Bad Books is made up of Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine. Manchester Orchestra came out with their hit Shake it Out a few years back. Manchester mixes in their little more edgy alternative style with Devine's more folk side to create an edgy while homey mix of sounds. The album reminds me a lot of bands like Steve Sclar or a folk version of Wild Night. It is a nice change for Manchester Orchestra to move from their jamming riffs to more folk sound. It shows how talented they are to go from the edgy side to the folk side of alt-rock.

Now for my rating. While these guys are a edgy folk rock, they are inches away from a amazing album. I love this album; however, their just that extra something that is missing. The extra something is the meaning of their songs. Yes, they are beautiful, they are nice, they are really really nice folk songs; however, folk needs meaning. Nice melodies doesn't cover up the fact that the word Gaza and Fuck are randomly placed in some of their songs.

For Bad Books debut album, I have to give it 3.5 stars out of 4.

Recommendation: For 2.99, the album is a steal. Go and download it now. You will be angry when it’s selling for much more later.

Here are some of the songs on the album.

Please Move:

You wouldn't have to ask:

Holding Down the Laughter:

90's Flash Back: Gin Blossom

Who liked the 90's. I liked the 90's. I think a lot of the best pop rock that has ever hit my ears was made in the 90's. One of those bands that still make think of better days is Gin Blossom. While, Gin Blossom hasn't played on my iTunes in awhile, I still miss the great guitar playing and harmonic filled songs that make you smile.

Recently, I came across the fact that Gin Bolossom is releasing a new album called No Chocolate Cake. Seeing their name, I had to review it. Now, first off, No Chocolate has the same great guitar riffs and lyrics that you remember from classics like Hey Jealousy and Follow You Down. It will bring you back in time to a happier and less stressful world.

Second, their new songs like Wave Bye Bye and Don't Change for Me are classics of Gin Blossoms and I wouldn't be surprised if they are on a Greatest Hits album some day. These songs with their upbeat pop sound and nice vibes has to cheer anyone up. With this choice of style, it also has become the down fall of this album. All the songs sound the same. Almost every Gin Blossom song sounds the same. The best way to describe their sound is that they are the 90's version of Nickleback. All the songs sound the same and do not push the edges of music.

To sum this album up, I can't not give this album more than a C+, if you love Gin Blossom or want a blast from the past, got out and buy this album. If you were expecting anything new or different from Gin Blossom like I was, you'll be disappointed.

The Southwest Affect

One of the trending stories on my radar recently was the Southwest Airlines merger with Airtran Airways. Now with Southwest Airlines being based in Dallas, a lot of folks have been asking me how this will be affecting their travel on Southwest. Will it raise prices, how will service be affected, will my bags still fly free? We won't truly know how things shake out till both airlines are operating as one airline; however, Southwest has told the public that most things will stay the same.

Question 1: Will Southwest start flying out of DFW now because Airtran already does?

No, under the Wright Amendment, Southwest would have to give up gates at Love Field to start flying out of DFW. Also Airtran’s presence at DFW is little to none compared to American Airlines and Delta. It would not make sense for Southwest to give up gates at Love, receive less gates at DFW, and pay more in airport fees.

Question 2: Will my bags fly free?

Yes, Southwest wants to extend the same policy to Airtran. While Airtran currently charges for bags, once they are a single carrier, Southwest will start their bags fly free policy on Airtran flights.

Question 3: Will Southwest fly to more destinations from Love Field?

Yes and no, this is a gray area question. If you don't mind connecting through Houston, Austin, or one of Southwest's cities focus cities bordering Texas, then yes. Southwest route overlap with Airtran is little to none. If you want more direct flights out of Love Field, you're out of luck until 2014 due to the Wright Amendment.

If you have more questions about the merger, comment and I will answer as soon as possible!

Also for quick facts, Southwest has made a nice pdf for your view pleasure:

http://www.lowfaresfarther.com/docs/SpreadingLowFares_FactSheet_2010.pdf

Final Thoughts:

Even though I still have some questions on how they will handle another hub in Atlanta and what they are going to do with all the Boeing 717s, I think this will be good for all parties involved. Southwest will keep most of the Airtan employees; customers will receive lower fares and more destinations, and finally, Southwest will have access to more revenue streams. All good things.

Northern Bias?

First off, I would like to apologize for being away for so long. I have been working on a few different projects and haven't had a chance to write on the blog very much. One of the events that have taken my time recently has been the TCU v. SMU weekend. The boulevard was great, the game was great, and just about everything about the weekend was amazing. I believe that most other Mustangs would agree with me in saying that the only thing that could have been better was the result of the game. There was a glaring fact though. Even though we all had fun, we didn't realize the consequences of our actions.

The trash. The trash all over campus was conspicuous. I have never been as disappointed in my life in a group of people. I'm not sure if it is cultural shock from being from the North, or just that we all didn't care. The amount of trash on the boulevard and in front of Dallas Hall was unacceptable. It is unbecoming of a group of young adults to treat our campus in that way.

Growing up in the wilderness of the Adirondacks, I was always taught to leave the wilderness better than you found it. That included picking up stray cans while hiking, leaving extra firewood at a lean-too, or cleaning your campsite so it was better than you found it. Those values taught me that you must be a steward to the land. If you want your children to enjoy the same thing you do, then you must preserve what you hold dear.

Now do not get me wrong, I'm not one of those card carrying Sierra Club members, but I do believe in treating the environment in a responsible manner. So I ask that in the future, if you see a can on the ground, be a good human being and pick it up. It's that simple.

Update:

The Daily Campus this morning has a halfway decent opinion piece on the trash issue. I would have been a little more critical of SMU; but they don't want to destroy their already lacking readership.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps Review

Four words: Greed is not back. Wall Street 2 is a cheap Chinese knock off compared to Oliver Stone’s original. With Michael Douglas being a weak version of Gekko to Shia LaBeouf crying like a three year old girl most of the movie, Oliver Stone should never try to do a sequel again.

I loved the original Wall Street when I saw about five years ago. Michael Douglass and Charlie Sheen were all brilliant in this Oliver Stone classic. This rehash of new and old story lines just didn't mix well with fans of the original Wall Street. Stone brings his viewers through a rehashing of the financial crisis in 2008 and mixes it with Gordon Gekko’s motto, “Greed is Good”. Stone also blends the storyline with the marriage of Gordon’s daughter, Winnie, to up and coming proprietary trader Jacob Moore played by Shia LaBeouf. The tension created between to two due to the fact that Gordon is Jacob’s hero strains their relationship. This tension leads to Jacob crying more than the average person should.

Through his jumbled plot, little to no action, and no growth of the hero Jacob, this movie is little more than Oliver Stone’s version of Mystery Meat Friday. Take everything that was good and wholesome the past few years, blended it, and then make it into a half baked movie for a few extra bucks. I thought I would never say this; however, Oliver Stone sold our for the money. Plain and simple. Folks, save your money, if you’re looking for a real film, go watch the French Connection or The Last Picture Show.

Rating: C

Recommended Viewers: If you are a diehard fan of the original Wall Street, go out and rent it when it comes out on DVD. Otherwise, save you money. You’re not missing anything special.

Show some love for Camelback Music and Split Second

The music revolution is coming. Where Internet and underground music is coming together, great new music is being born. Two examples of this camelbackmusic.com and Split Second.

Camelback Music is a new music blog that provides great music to its readers. They specialize in indie rap, pop, and techno. They are usually about six months ahead of the curve of music. They found out about Chiddy Bang, Ian Carey, and Split Second before anyone had even heard of them. My friend Cam Mullen, who owns the site, showed me "Like a G6" about 8 months before anyone else was jamming out to it. If you want to listen to the music that your friends will be listening too in 6 months, go to camelbackmusic.com.

Split Second is a rap group with hits like Sundress, Lexi ft Cam Mullen, Fall from Grace, and my personal favorite New Hotness which sums up Prep School life fairly well, were all only possible through the internet. They were able to record in the closet of their dorm room, post their songs to the Internet, and gain a loyal following. Polos and Solos is one the best albums I have heard in a long time. Lead by Xavier Louis Reed (Taft), Douglas Profenius (Taft), and Jared D. Jackson (Trinity CT), this group is dropping a new album very soon.

The end of the story is that Camelback and Split Second wouldn't have been successful without the Internet. At most, they would have been regional busts from the Northeast; however, with the Internet, they have been able to share their success throughout the world.

Camelback Music

Split Second Blog aka The Upper Classmen

Split Second Youtube Channel

Now we have to create "Super Passwords"????

Skimming the news today, I "Stumbled" upon a very interesting article on cnn.com. The basic summary of the article is that researchers now want users of the internet to update their passwords up longer than 12 charters with multiple numbers and capitalization. The researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have stated that the 8 character standard on password  won't stand up to the high tech hacking that is occurring today. Now, I have two thoughts on this. 1. I remember when four characters was the standard and that was only six years ago. 2. If we have tripled the number of characters needed in six years, and the advancement of technology is exponential; in just a few years we will all need to have 36 character long passwords in only three years!

Their comes a point in time when convince is going to be more valuable than security of the information that you have on the internet. Trying to remember a 36 characters long password will be like remember a sentence. Now if you think that will be easy, think about this. With in the next 10 years, at this rate, a secure password will have to be about 75 characters long. Within 20 years, a secure password will be around 120 characters long. That's is the same as the space allowed for a text message!! When was the last time you could remember a text message character for character. Try it tonight and I bet you will find it very difficult to remember that structure tomorrow, or even a week from now.

If you don't believe me, you do your own math. Below I will post the article that I used as my source, and all the information that you will need to redo my own algorithm.

CNN Article:

How to Create a 'super password'

Formula Notes:

I used 2002 as my start year. It is the place where I had first real data. So 2002 = 0 on a graph.

Data points I used to create the formula: (-10,0), (0,4), (6,12), (9,24), (10.5,48)

Note: I had 1992 as 0 because internet password security was not a real concern for many users using the internet.

f(x)= (0.2037x)^2+(1.7953x)+1.2948

f(x) fits the data points very well, If anyone else has better data, just comment on the post and I'll try to rework my formula.

Ski Bumming

Sun Valley Idaho

My friend Michael Rogge posted this link today on his website. He works for Powder Magazine as a editor. Mike has lived the life I have always wanted to live. The life as a Ski Bum. Now before you panic and call me up to see if I have left for snow country, sit down, put your phone down, and relax. I'm not leaving college any time soon. I am loving college right now and have no plans to become a Ski Bum anytime soon. Even though I know I made the right decision of going to college and not taking a year off, the urge to drop everything and live in the mountains still rattles around my head from time to time. Seeing these photos brings these thoughts back to me. They make me realize the people in the photos were enjoying where they were in life. A place where their a less rules, less obligations, and time moves just a bit little slower.

As the world flies by you, always remember to take time to enjoy life. I already see my time in college flying by like it did at Taft. Hours blend into days. Days blend into weeks. Weeks blend into months. Months blend into years. Looking back on my time at Taft, I only regret one thing. The one thing I regret is the time I wasted either on the computer, or in my room while not exploring the world. I recall a quotation by Alan Lakein: Time is equal to life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.

This quotation is remarkably true with my generation. Their are many in my generation that would rather live their life on Facebook or on the internet than get to know their neighbor or go to a campus event. I will admit, I am the same way. I have to work up the courage every day to go out and be outgoing instead of taking the easy way out by staying in my room. My mother always would tell me, "You're just one of those people who can enjoy your own company." That might be true; however it doesn't mean it is a way to live. To bring this circle full circle, the people in the photos on the link below are enjoying life. Go out and do the same. Take the time out of busy day to slow down and enjoy the day. At the same time, realize the balance between work and play. If you are enjoying life as much as the people in the photos, then you're doing something right.

Link:

Old School Ski Bum

Note: If you would like to become a Ski Bum, the link below will open the Official Ski Bum’s

Guide. It is a PDF.

The Ski Bum's Guide

When society breaks down.

When society breaks down, our civil liberties become endangered. It is a fact that is repeated over and over again in our American history. From the concentration camps of Japanese American citizens during World War II to the illegal wiretapping under the Bush Administration, when we are in crisis, the American government time and time again tramples over our civil liberties. This is the same case in the book Zeitoun.

In Zeitoun, the main character is ripped away from his home and thrown into a make shift prison during Katrina. He was never charged with a crime, never read his rights, and never was presented with any contact to legal representation. These are all legal rights that are granted under the Constitution. The National Guard clearly ignored these rights during Hurricane Katrina. It is scary to think that anyone government agency with a gun can come into your home, and take you away to a prison camp for 40 days in a time of crisis. When reading the section on what happened to Zeitoun on the first day of his stay in the prison camp, it renewed my vigilance to keep a watchful eye on my government. If the National Guard can do that to Zeitoun, think what they can do to you.

On a funnier note, I posted below a a link on a "How to Survive a Breakdown of Social Order" This might be useful when 2012 comes around.

How to Survive a Breakdown of the Social Order