Monkeys, Chimpanzees or Gorillas?

which do you prefer? Who would win in a fair fight.

written by owen on 2005-Dec-05, Answer this question⁹

Blog Jamaica » School, girl and a bus

written by owen, published 2005-Dec-04, comment

I had an assignment last week, and I tried to pay off a UWI Economics/Politics double major to "do it" slash "help me with it". Critical Thinking Assignment - opinion writing. She refused. She said it was against her principles or maybe she didn't like my attitude or maybe I was being too needy about it. I asked her number - she refused - mine as well. She kept asking me "you don't watch the news? you no see how the country stay bad? you no have no opinion on the situation?". Well, actually no, I don't. She did not realize that our "realities" were totally different. I offered her my services but still nothing. I never asked her name which was surprisingly impolite of me. She gave me some pointers though, and I scraped my way through another paragraph of a critical analysis of Delroy Chuck's article on "Poverty, Economic model causing hardship..." (I forgot the exact title). Still waiting for the grades. I wished her good luck on her student loans and she ran off like I was a deranged-psychopath or she was late for something.

After all, I had just met her on the bus, 2 minutes ago - homework on the first date was out of the question - even if I was paying. And she looked like the type who would be good at - that sorta thing - writing. Later that day I went on the internet at work to get an "opinion". Because obviously I didn't have one and she must have gotten hers from somewhere. About the Jamaican economy - because the internet knows everything but I couldn't find it. It was a point of luck for me to meet someone who actually was good at the 2 areas which I needed to finish the assignment. But I had nothing to use as leverage. Without leverage you simply can't get anywhere (or into anything) is this country.

In my present course there are points where I end up with modules carried over from the business degree for the sole purpose of torturing the more technocratic among us. Leveling the playing field for the lesser capable "business types". The school refers to it as "wanting to produce more well-rounded individuals". Crap. Leveling is good but don't throw it in my face. Saying that is akin to saying comparing a BMW to a Volkswagen. Or better yet Beyonce to Britney Spears. A BMW is not a well-rounded car. Being well rounded is like being Volkswagen Beetle not a M6. Of course you cannot have a straight IT course in Jamaica because you don't have that many candidate students to enroll. That is a much better reason for cheapening the whole whole future IT sector. You don't go around giving doctors hand writing lessons because you want them to be well rounded? of course not! Because they are professionals. Professionals don't need to be well rounded.

Well rounded individuals do better on Survivor? Saying that you producing "well rounded individuals" into the work force is a cover for the fact that you can't teach anybody to be good at anything in particular and risk them not being able to get work in an unstable economy. If this is the case then the whole course should be renamed "Jack Of All Trades Info Tech". I do what they tell me, hopefully I get a "C" beside my number on the grade sheet at the end of the semester. Maybe she did teach me something after all.

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The wheels project » 1989 bmw 325ix after t-bone steaks

written by michael_halvorsen, published 2005-Nov-29, comment

life comes at you fast [50mph]. for times like these, there will be an asshole driver at your [drivers] side.

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Blog Jamaica » Welcome to Jamrock

written by owen, published 2005-Nov-27, comment

Many of the technocrats in Jamaica don't even know what a blog is or what it is about. When I started my blog in August of 2003, most of my colleagues didn't even read it and were still using Internet Explorer as their main web browser. They still don't read. Now every other day some idle technocrat coverts to the blogging scene and starts to hail Firefox/Opera as the best thing since slice bread. If I see another Blogspot blog I'm going to flipout. I could say that I told you so but nobody remembers me telling them that the end was near. Bandwagonists? maybe. I had to explain to a IT class that "Blog" / "Web-logging" is not a chat-room slash guest-book slash diary. Journal was the best explanation I could come up with.

The blog thing hasn't caught on in Jamaica because it is hard to differentiate between it and a regular static website. You have to know how a blog works in order to use it effectively. Quote "It look boring eeh? nuttin but text". Too much reading necessary I guess. So I bought an camera (broken now), added pictures and picture submitting features. I am always working on it, constantly restructuring owenSoft.net to appeal more to the local audience which don't/can't/won't comment on posts. I don't know why. You have really be "net aware" to pick up on the blogging in general and Jamaicans are still getting accustomed to the forum concept. techjamaica.com and wheelsjamaica.com are a couple of the main culprits. I am not perturbed by this because this website is mainly a showcase of my programming skills rather than my voice to the world. I have never been much of a writer.

First impressions last and locals like to see what they get the first time they visit. But a blog is more of a "over time" process. Which most Jamaican internet users don't really get. Appealing to such a fickle audience is something I am still trying to figure out. I need to get out to more parties. Play some dance-hall music in the background? The Hi5 network managed to do something I've always wanted to do but the social networking route is going to require a lot of time to implement.

A Jamaica still, a so we stay. Some things catch on fast, others get lock down like the movie theater in Portmore. :( People often ask me how I find content or stuff to "write". I update only on the weekends. Focusing on being "random" so as not to set a standard for myself to uphold or for readers to expect. Mostly I try to think of something funny yet ingenious at the same time. Appealing to as many people as possible without getting my self murdered. Fear of being murdered is the main deterrent to doing anything substantial. As the Afflictedyard states; "I don't want to blow my cover". Plus politics is boring. I do very few things well and I spend a lot of my time doing them. Keeps me safe. Being socially conscious isn't on my portfolio or list of things to do. I don't even watch the local news. The local news is slightly depressing and it makes you unreasonably or obsessively anxious, suspicious, or mistrustful aka paranoid. I much prefer to watch the BBC because it gives me perspective. I won't stop other people from watching it (the news) though because you need the paranoid people to let you in on the information you need to know.

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Are you the same person you were..?

Before you started using the internet? How has it corupted you?

written by owen on 2005-Nov-21, Answer this question¹³