The Island Journal

Alright… here it is. Chat Roulette…. The blog-o-sphere is all a buzz with informative posts and opinionated rants regarding this “new” and “innovative” interpersonal nightmare. I have said before that technology was disconnecting people, turning us all into mindless 30-second-attention-span-zombies. As you all may or may not know, I’m not entirely opposed to a Zombie apocalypse in the traditional sense, but this… I digress.

I saw this website on one of the many fluff pieces CNN likes to throw at the breakfast consuming masses and I decided that I would try it… then I decided I wouldn’t. I read some blogs on the subject; some hail the coming of a new “Internet speed dating phenomenon” others simply regard this new viral fad as something akin to having your ego bashed in with a brick. A writer for the New York Times said it was a horrific experience and another blog did a poll, asking it’s readership if they thought it was a great invention or, as previously stated, an interpersonal nightmare which overwhelmingly won the poll. As I said… I haven’t tried it.

I have something of a fragile ego myself and don’t know how well I’d take the mass quantities of rejection as people see my glowing simi-bearded face light up their screen then click “next”. I am, contrary to popular belief, am a compassionate soul so I would have some issues doing the afore mentioned next clicking when someone hideous or a pervert pops up. Hideous perverts need some “love” too right? I would just not want to get hurt or hurt anyone.

For the purposes of making an informed decision, however, I think I’ll give it a whirl. Not to long, maybe a few minutes to see what the hub-bub is all about. I will post again when I have completed the experiment and digested the data. That’s me talk for… “I’ll try to be impartial and not take this to seriously but at the same time detach emotionally and view this whole thing as an experiment as I view most other humanesque interactions.”

Update -

Chat roulette was horrid. I was on for about 10 seconds and in that time I saw dude after dude, a hot girl who immediately hit “Next” and a man’s harry buttocks. I decided to try something else… a picture of two dancing birds with a word ballon that said “Dance <3″. Surprisingly, the response was good. Pretty much all the chat partners stopped and danced for a second before moving on and it made people smile. I guess it’s not all bad, but still it begs the question… What the hell is wrong with humanity that they’d need to reach out like this? Just wondering.

Tags: chat, communication, dating, internet, personals, technology
Posted in Informative, computers | 1 Comment »

Recently some friends got me interested in a website called Nation States. It’s a site that incorporates legislation into a game and it’s based on a book called Jennifer Government by Max Barry. One creates one’s country, gives it a flag, a national animal, and a currency and then it’s placed among other nations to fend for it’s self in a world market situation. Your nation is then ranked and reported on like an actual country. During the game, you vote on national legislation like union strikes and trade tariffs to build up your nation in the world arena. Once established, you can join a united nations of sorts, the World Assembly, to vote on other world wide issues ranging from human rights to hydrogen cars. It’s a fascinating game, even if you don’t like politics. I personally hate the political feuds we tend to have in this country, but I never the less have a Nation State of my very own, the Borderlands of Boomocratic Poecia (get it?). I have built up my nation on the basis of personal freedoms that don’t infringe on others and fiercely protected human rights as well as passing laws to strengthen the economy and education. It’s been fun for the most part, and a little silly.

I applied for membership in the World Assembly and can now vote on issues. The first issue I voted on was child pornography. Without reading the proposal, of course I was against child porn! What sane individual wouldn’t be against exploitation of children in any form (accept sweat shops I mean… kidding). I read through the forums and I noticed that the majority of the states were voting against the proposal and I was appauled. I read the proposal and the wording left quite a bit to the imagination as well as adding some rights infringing speach in reguards to other issues. The purpose of the game is to inform, provoke thought, and mimic actual legislation. This piece didn’t fully live up to what it was supposed to embody so I voted it down. It will be re-written and re-submitted, but I now understand why some politicians vote against pieces of legislation that, at first glance, seem like good ideas. There is something attached that isn’t what the politician stands for or goes against his / her beliefs.

During this upcoming election, take into consideration the details when a particular candidate voted for or against something… you don’t know why they made that decision without reading the resolution. Don’t take the media’s word that a candidate is a flip flopper because they voted against something, then later voted for it. There is a lot more involved. I have always known this info, but I’ve never really thought about it much, until I became the politician. Take a look at Nation States, it’s a thought provoking alternative to Myspace or Face book and you might learn something.

Tags: computers, games, internet, politics
Posted in Informative | 1 Comment »