2005-09-07
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Trainwreck of Thought
Damn you, Blizzard Games. I�m totally hooked on your game, World of Warcraft! You�re a black hole in the space of my time. I�m so hooked on this game mostly thanks to my dear friend, Aron Eisenberg. Star Trek fans will remember Aron from Deep Space 9, in which he played the role of Nog. Aron and I go back to 10th grade together, which is 20 years. Holy shit. Anyways, I was talking to Aron a couple of months ago and he was telling me how much he loves this game, but none of his friends would buck up and play it with him. So I told him I would. He didn�t believe me, so I bought it online while we were on the phone. Challenge me to put my money where my mouth is, eh? Well here�s what I ha�mmmffhh glubb glubb mmmffhh!!! Anytime I have an extra 15 minutes to kill (chronocide is the name of this crime, according to my friend Steve) I�m logged in playing this game. It�s an entire world that exists in cyberspace. There are different realms on numerous different servers and you can join groups, guilds, etc. It�s totally nerdy Dungeons and Dragons type stuff, which I�ve always loved. I guess I�ve always been sort of an escapist that way, since Fantasy and Science Fiction are my favorite genres to read as well. Part of the reason for the love of science fiction is growing up with Star Trek, yes, but I�ve been into astronomy every since my Grandpa gave me my first telescope when I was about 6 or 7. Of course, I could have gone on to pursue it as a career, I suppose, but when I was younger I couldn�t really commit myself to anything; I had no idea what I wanted to be or to do. Still though, I seem to remember more little factoids about space and the solar system than from anything else in the world besides music. Don�t even get me started on music; it�s disturbing how much I know. I don�t even know how I know all this stuff either, I don�t make a conscious effort to remember who was in what band, from when to when, who wrote what song, what the 7th track on so-and-so�s 4th Album is, etc. I just do. What's this have to do with what I was just talking about? Not a damn thing. Where was I? Oh yes, Astronomy. I love it, and so should you! If you want to find out more about astronomy, especially how it�s misused and misrepresented, check out Phil Plait�s website Bad Astronomy.
I love this website, and Phil is a great writer besides. I bought 2 copies of his book. I�ll actually get the chance to meet him in January, since I�m going to an awesome skeptic�s conference called The Amaz!ng Meeting. I can�t wait! Yes, I�m a skeptic. I question everything that seems a bit too fantastic for me. I believe in science and facts, but I do not believe in supernatural interventions, acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, dowsing, new age bullshit (crystals, therapeutic touch, color therapy, etc.), UFOs, ESP, telekinesis, psychics, Uri Geller, tarot cards, palm reading, Ouija boards, spirit healers, astrology, the list goes on. It�s always been in my nature to question things, even when I truly wanted to believe them. You know what though? The truth is so exciting that I don�t need to make stupid stories up to explain it. Well, that�s it for now. What do you think?
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