Strike me not

There will be no strike today--the WUFA have reached a tentative agreement with uwindsor administration. An email should be sent out by the WUFA within the next few days.

We can't kick back and relax with the joy of not having classes. But, at least our hard-earned money isn't being wasted on education that refuses to teach. That is what our money is wasted on: classes.
Why do we get all happy when there's a chance that we won't have classes?

Thanks to the UWSA for keeping updates on the strike.

Strike?

Wednesday, 12:01 a.m., we hear about the verdict of the strike. If they are in favour, university operations will shut down immediately. If the bargaining table bears fruit and they mediate a deal, we can enjoy our education.
Chances are that they will strike. They are in a legal position to, and most professors have been scrambling to set plans.

The question is, what will you do with your free time?
Will you study to make up for lost class time? Invest in a project (book, building something, etc.)?
Or, will you just throw away all ambition, and just chill?
Personally, I'm just going to chill. At least, for the first night or two. It's good to sit back and relax when you get a chance, life--especially student life--is stressful.
If the strike carries on for more than a few days, then I will take it upon myself to be productive.

See the UWSA Facebook page for updates:
http://www.facebook.com/uwsa.uwindsor

Image URL: http://t1.gstatic.com/imagesq=tbn:ANd9GcQUe6R2DERyDi2W5_YNMKjoU8xiAeu_15oxBjBFzXKRP7bkzO790g

Correction: Thoughts on Occupying

Okay, I removed the previous post here. The reason is that I threw down some vagueness as fact. I shouldn't have done that.
However, my opinion stands. If the groups of 'Occupy' want action, they're going to have to face some realities. We, humans, are pack animals. We need leadership.
They need a leader to organize their pockets of protesters. Once they're organized, they can set a demand--right now they just have some vague idea of what they want.
Once, they're organized, they may see some change.
It's good that they're giving up time and putting themselves at risk for change. I want to see change and the downfall of bank greed.
This is what I think.

Occupy Windsor

The Occupy movement that swept Wall Street embraced Windsor yesterday. Around 150 people marched out to City Hall, where they set up tents and camped out their protest.
There are 951 cities involved in the movement, stretching across 82 countries.

See the Windsor Star for more detail:
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/solidarity+with+entire+human+race/5556747/story.html
http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Occupy+Windsor+joins+global+movement/5549774/story.html

PROTESTS CONTINUE CHICAGO GETS MARCHED

Russia Today talks about protests

The protests are growing.

Yesterday, more than 30 labour unions teamed up with the "Occupy" movement to march through Chicago. The police put estimates at 3000 marching.

Some protesters even went as far to dress up as Robin Hood.

More on this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204450804576623672599343978.html

PROTESTS TO HIT CANADA

The 'occupy' movement that first hit Wall-Street is inclined to bombard Canada on October 15.

That's only a few days from now.

Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland are all planned to be hit at 10 a.m.on this date.

These protesters are fighting against corporate greed. They fight for the idea of things like robin hood tax (take from the rich, and give to the poor).

This completely goes against the Conservative ideology. They believe in free enterprise--and that allows CEOs to hoard all the money they want, with little taxing. 

The Conservatives hold a majority on the federal level.

Ontario just finished its provincial elections. The Liberals won a minority--but, the NDP hold a fair number of seats.

The Liberals and the NDP share similar ideologies and will probably work together to get bills passed. They believe in equality between the people--not the freedom to stuff your pockets.

The leftest province could possibly compromise with the protesters. They hold similar values.

If there is no compromise made with the mobs, these protests could go on until December 31. 

At least, that's what their Facebook says.

Their message to Wall Street

For information on the protests hitting Canada:

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1063292--occupy-wall-street-protests-spreading-to-canada

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/08/activists-plan-occupy-wall-street-protests-north-of-border

UFC 140: BATTLE TO BE WAGED IN TORONTO

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Jon “Bones” Jones will shed blood for the light heavyweight champion title in Toronto this December 10.

“Alright Toronto!!! Dec 10th UFC 140 tix go on sale next weekend and ur main event is Bones Jones vs Machida!!!” tweeted UFC president Dana White on October 6.

Jones and Rashad Evans were expected to be brawling in the title bout. Evans is currently recovering from a thumb injury received from his last match.

The pins were removed on Wednesday. The recovery time is three weeks.

Both contestants have a solid fighting background.

Machida’s style is Shotokan Karate—hence his other nickname “Karate Kid”—and holds a record of 17 wins, 2 loses.

Jones mixes Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai. He carries 14 wins and 1 loss. He is currently the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Jones gave his thoughts on going against Machida in June 2009 during an interview with USA Today. “I think he’s very beatable. They’re looking at him and his karate like he’s Bruce Lee. He’s not Bruce Lee. He’s very beatable.”

The fighters have not yet said anything about the fight since it was announced.

Machida decimated Randy Couture at 1:05 in the second round during his last clash—this was in Toronto. A flying front kick did the trick.

Jones last won against Quiton “Rampage” Jackson. He submitted him with a rear naked choke during round 4. It was close, scoring 10-9 (Jones) in each round.

What’s so great about UFC 140?

UFC 140 marks the second event to be held in Toronto. The first show (UFC 129) sold out at 55,000 tickets, bringing in over $10 million. Originally set at 42,000, the tickets were bought out on the first day.

If you want your tickets to see Machida and Jones square off in The Octagon, grab them before they sell out.

Rest Jobs

He raised and cultivated a company from the ground. He gave birth to much of the technical innovation we see today. His turtle neck and beard made him look like a James Bond Villain, but not in a bad way. The fight against the monopoly of Mircrosoft made him brave.

Tears are shed at news of his death.

Some curse him for the methods he used to raise Apple, but sometimes business is business. We should thank him for what he has done--not curse him because he fell to the faults that all other CEOs fall to.

Besides, unlike most other CEOs, he actually led his company. he didn't merely play golf while he watched the stocks rise.

Rest in peace Steve Jobs. May your dreams live on and your contributions never be forgotten.

Image from the Apple homepage. http://www.apple.com/stevejobs

Plunder Pirate: Street Sailors!

I know this is old news, but it's still fascinating.

Plunder Pirate: Street Sailors!: So, today was (like most days) really rainy. Got soaked going to class; invested in an umbrella--it was like any other rainy day (except thi...

Rankin the Wizard

A book tells me that I have to make a post that includes a picture.
Who dares defy literature?

At the time I wrote this, this was my profile pic.

This picture is me. I was wearing a hood, a hat, and a bandana to obscure my face. I had a floodlight in my right hand and shone that light against my left hand. The light made my hand glow, and some got through to the right side of my face to make it very bright. Meanwhile, the left side of my face was left in darkness.

To me, the picture served two purposes. It gave me a profile pic that left me anonymous (it hid my face). It also made me seem all cool and such like a wizard or something. I imagined that in my hand I wielded some form of intense magic.

I grew up. It still looks cool, but that is not me. That was me.

I do however feel that I should still obscure my face because I do not like the idea of having it spread all over the internet. With social networks like Facebook though, it is impossible to hide your face from the web. Someone will find it.

So, I will continue to use this picture until I find another that I deem worthy.

Catching the News in a Digital Age

Some may ask the question, how do you keep up with all the news shooting through the vast cyberspace?
Take a deep breath. Being calm is the first step to anything. Then think. Have you heard of RSS? You probably have, if not, I'll give you a quick rundown.
An RSS allows you to subscribe to a feed. For following news, I use news-feeds. You can usually find the RSS by searching a site that hosts them (like pretty much and news site). You can also search for one through Google (try Googling: CBC RSS). Then, you need a reader. I use Google Reader. I subscribe to the Huffington Post, Tech Crunch, CBC, BBC, Wired, and a variety of newspapers.
Because I hardly check the reader directly, I have the reader as a gadget on my iGoogle homepage. This homepage is also one of the pages my browser opens on start-up; therefore, I am forced to quickly glance at the news every time I want to use the internet.
No, you don't have to read every single article. I quickly scroll through them until I find one that has an eye-catching title. Then I read the summary. Usually the summary tells you what happened. If still intrigued, I may read the article.
Feeds are free, easy, and quick to use. I am a University student. I am cheap and have very little time on my hands. I highly suggest the use RSS to catch the daily news.
Besides, I can't even afford cable or newspapers. But this--this just costs me a few seconds here and there.