Cheap Computers and Serbian Prices

Looking for a cheap computer?

Go to Belgrade, Serbia, go to the Delta Shopping Center, aka the only shopping mall in the city, and find a store called "ComTrade Shop".

There are/were selling these Serbian-brand computers. It was of Windows XP build, had 1 GB of ram, and about 100 GB of memory: good specs for a laptop 4 years ago, so it isn't anything amazing.

However, each of them cost 9,000 dinara, which is about 125 canadian dollars (each dinar is about 72 canadian dollars).

You can't even get a used iPod touch for that, never mind a whole computer! Holy!

I really badly wanted to buy, like, 10 of them and sell them here for about $300 to desperate students. It has the exact specs that you need to work on school work as well as play older games (Age of Empires, Starcraft, Unreal Tournament, Doom, etc.). It is the perfect student computer!

Unfortunately, I have this disability I call an "AngryBrotherWhoIsJudgementalOfAnythingIDoitis" so I was yelled at for even fathoming this amazing business opportunity.
I would have to make sure it is in English, and that it operates well, but would you buy a pretty much new computer for $300? I might make it $200 if times were tough.

See, that is why I loved shopping in Serbia. Everything there was cheap. That is, unfortunately, because the average income is almost a quarter of a Canadian person, so these really expensive for the average person.

One thing I kept seeing is Watermelon stands. You see, Serbia is mostly agriculture and a lot of their products are local. They were selling Watermelon at 50-75 dinara per kg, making it about $0.70-$1.00 per kg. This is absurd, so much so that we purchased one, brought it to our hotel via cab, and tried it to see the quality. Sure, it was decently dirty, but the inside was delicious. Obviously, there isn't probably a lot of quality control, but still! Imagine going to your local grocery store and buying a watermelon for $1.00. That would be the only thing people eat!

Well, I suppose I should be getting to a point here, but seriously, if you are an investor, looking for a new place to find natural resources, go to Serbia. It may not be the richest country, but it has some damn good food.

"Child Atheists"

There are two things that are golden rules in schools:

1. Religion is lead by idiots and it is the cause of all wars
and
2. Atheism is super-duper cool and makes kids feel superior over everyone.

Although my following point is a highly possible reason to become "Agnostic", I believe most kids believe in "Atheism" because they are too lazy to go to church. Simple as that.

I do have to admit, however, that religion is becoming increasingly unrealistic and the Holy Scriptures of Religions are barely relevant in this day and age. However, all of that is supposed to basically be stories to base your life off of.

(In advance, I apologize to those other religions that I am not referring to. I will only refer to Christianity)

See, the Bible was written in the thousands of years ago, and they were made for the people living then. At that time, losing/killing your children wasn't uncommon, and there were very few non-dictatorial leaders at that time. So when people say, "The Bible is outdated, so I don't need to read it", they are actually not entirely incorrect. It is outdated. Are Hammurabi's Laws still in order? Are women seen as objects? Do you care for herds of sheep and such?

No, no, and no (ok, possibly).

 The original and commonly forgotten message of religion is to be a good person. You really don't have to believe that Jesus cured leprosy or turned two loaves of bread and a few fish into thousands of each respective item. What you have to do is to take that as an example for what a good person would do: Help stop disease and give generously. Maybe these aren't the original message that was meant to be portrayed, but that is what I took from it.

So, if you truly don't like Religion, think to yourself: "Do I hate the idea of being a good person or do I hate the followers?"

See, groups like the Westboro Baptist Church are hated because they are cruel and heartless in the way they spread their ideals and beliefs. If they were called the "Eastboro Atheist Club", then there wouldn't be any difference. People just justify their extreme actions through their ideals, and are so blinded that they can't justify anything they do except by saying "Religion says so, so ...".

Here are some personal experiences from my community.

I go to Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church on

Nash Road

monthly. They raise money through Ethnic Folkloric dance banquets as well as events, donations, and fundraisers. At some point, the committee who managed the church wanted to build a building on this empty lot next to the church. When they raised about $100,000, they were planning on at least, purchasing the land.


Unfortunately, the head priest spent nearly all of that money on a new roof shingled with copper and a brand-new marble floor for the church. People who helped raise that money were angry, and the people who were managing that money were even more pissed, because the priest took it out without any consul on the topic.


His reasoning? "All Churches in Serbia have Copper Roofs and Marble Floors. We MUST have it to be a legitimate church."


So, finally, after another 6-7 years of fundraising, a division of the committee, and lots of trouble with the local Bishop, the land was purchased.


Thanks guys.

One Missing Girl and Suspicions

Please, if you could, read this article:

http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/HPS/News/MP+Sarah+McNally.htm

If you didn't, then I'll abridge it for you: A young teenaged girl (16 years old) went missing from her home a few days ago, and the police are looking for her.

Now, some things here strike me as odd

First of all, the description clearly says that she disappeared from her home, which sounds odd. Did someone go into her house and purposely take her away? Or, did she leave herself?
My suspicions say that she may have left on her own behalf. Why? Well, take a look at her image:

The description says that she has:

"...black hair with shaved sides and Mohawk style haircut, brown eyes.  She was last seen wearing a dark sweat shirt, black pants with a red design, and black and white checkered running shoes..."

Maybe I am a little close-minded, but this seems like the stereotypical get-up for someone who is rebellious or trying to be a "non-conformist".
The piercings, the eye-liner, the entire black colour-scheme, everything kind of fits that general image.

Now, where am I going with this?

Maybe what I'm thinking is that she may rebel against her parents or family and leave, or maybe she doesn't feel appreciated. Whatever the cause, I have a feeling that she left knowingly.


It is very sad to see people disappear without any notice, since you're probably thinking, "Will I ever see them again? Are they safe? I hope she isn't getting rapped!", since you as the parent or relative are genuinely worried about them.

For the sake of the McNally family, I hope that she is found. However, I think, if she did leave, she has no concern for those who care about her, and is doing a very selfish thing for herself. Maybe her parents were lecturing her on something that she does, and she thinks that they hate her, or that she hates them, but running away isn't going to solve anything.

It will only bring pain.

However, if I am incorrect (which I occasionally am), then I apologize to those who care for her. I do hope that she does get found and that she is perfectly fine.

Have a pleasant day.

The Greivance List

Call it pesimistic, depressing, or whatever, I wrote a greivance list.

What it contains are pretty much things that bother me. From absolute hatred to a simple inconvienience, the list extends to more than 100 different grievances.

100 may seem like a lot, but truthfully, if you took 10-20 minutes to think about the things that bother you, you'll be surprised at the amount of things you'll write down.

I may post the full list at some point, but right now, I just want to spill my guts on this one:

THE IPAD.

When the iPad first came out, it was worth about $900 or so (probably cheaper), and it seemed like it was advertised as a very convienient laptop. This sounded amazing at first, but after I took a look at it, I began to grow a fond hatred for the oversized iPod Touch.

My first complaint is what I just said: It's an oversized iPod Touch. I saw no true differences, other its size and price. It is probably a lot easier to read, type, or do apps on an iPad than an iPod Touch, but the iPod was first made as a mp3 player rather than a multi-media player, and only recently that it needed apps to improve it's worth. However, the iPad is too large to fit in ones pocket, which makes it inefficient for listening to music (only the carrying of it).

Secondly, it seemed like it could substitute the role of a laptop. It was smaller than one, and therefore, should be more efficient. However, because it uses the iPod Touch style of interface, it doesn't have the ability to install software from anywhere except iTunes/The App Store, and it can't receive USB ports. This makes it not as useful as a computer, since you will have a desktop, the ability to install almost anything onto it and USB input drives.

So, the iPad fits in-between an iPod Touch and a computer. It doesn't do the job of either as well as the other tools, so I find it to be a redundant tool to have.

But the most inferiating thing is the amazement people have towards this item. Everywhere I go, I see kids and adults alike defending it like it was the Crown Jewels. They say that it is "revolutionary" and "the best thing to ever be invented", but all I see is a cash-grab by Apple to get more of your money, while they continue to make better and more advanced versions of the same tech.

Like most technological companies, they don't care about you. They really only care about themselves.

Also, although I may own a Windows computer, don't attempt that, "You're just a Microsoft Fan-Boy! Shut up!" stuff. Your opinion doesn't matter to me anymore after you said "Fan-Boy".

I apologize to anyone who does sincerely think the iPad is amazing. As long as you don't scream it from the Heavens, then I can easily get along with you.

Thanks for your time :D

Fruit Vs. Glass: Can Apple break Windows?

Have you ever been caught in a "Which computer is better" argument? So has everyone I know.

Whether it's because of superiority, or company images, or how well they operate, people always seem to have an opinion of which computer is better: Mac or PC?

The Apple commercials featuring the free and young Mac and the boring and business-like PC helped, if not, started this flame war because it brought into light problems that most Windows computers have: slow loading times, lack of media-producing programs, too many "free trial" programs, you probably remember most of them.

If not, then here are a few examples:

Sure, the Mac person is much cooler, but I'd rather trust a guy in a suit rather than some guy who's unshaven and wears a loose sweater, no matter how incompetent.

The problem here is whether someone has the ability to completely change their operating system and the way they work on a computer, which wouldn't happen for pretty much anyone above the age of 40. They've probably used a Windows computer for the past 13 years and have learned enough skills that if they'd change their OS, they will have to learn some new things (for example, I've noticed that using the Command key instead of Control generates a lot of hate for something so minor), and think that "they're too old to learn new things: can't teach an old dog new tricks".

My parents, especially my Mom, are very illiterate to computers and can't get past the fact that something’s won't be opened properly without another three or so clicks. Later, they call me or my other brothers up to their office and complain about why their computers keep opening new windows or why some windows won't open. Let me tell you, the thing you need when this helping older computer users isn't knowledge, but patience.

From these experiences, I can safely say that I may actually be destined for a job in Tech Support.

Well, I apologize for that ramble. I just wanted to get that off my chest...

So, from what I saw as a child, Macintosh computers used to be scarce amongst computer users, mostly because people never suffered many problems from Windows computers. But now, Windows has developed a reputation for being "buggy" and difficult to operate without problem and Macintosh has become the "New" and "Hip" computer.

I use Windows and I'd rather have all newer windows Operating Systems look and operate like Windows XP. Vista is supposedly untrustworthy, and Windows 7 just kind of... doesn't look appealing to me. Personal opinion, of course.

Whatever your choice is, it doesn't matter, and it shouldn't matter. Please, stop making a big deal about it, and just use your computer. I don't care if your computer is much more powerful than any "Piece of S**t Microsoft can spit out", nor do I care that your computer can play any game.

My suggestion? Maybe Ubuntu. For all I know, Linux computers can out-perform any of its competition.

Star Popularity and Death

Remember 5 years ago, when everyone made fun of Michael Jackson?

He was called a pervert, a child molester, and a general weirdo. Anytime you'd mention his name, people would cringe at the thought of what some may call a monster or creep.

He dies a few years later, and everyone puts him on this pedestal of greatness.

Am I missing something here? Did I miss the meeting where everyone gathered and decided that it wasn't right to make fun of someone once they died?

Of course, what we're seeing here are people finally forgetting about the bad and looking at the good. He made many songs that are and will be memorable for the ages to come, which I believe he wrote most of them, and his flamboyant dance-style was quite a sight.

Personally, I was never a huge fan of Michael, but I never followed the general consensus of "He's weird, let's make fun of him LOL", because I thought that child molestation wasn't really something to laugh about. Now that he's dead, I'm kind of fighting an invisible battle against those who say that they "always loved him and his music". For the latter, that may be true, but I can hardly believe the former.

Now, if you may, please take a look at this video:

I remember watching this RIGHT after Jackson's death at a cousin's house. They are younger than me, but generally, are ok kids (if not a little too much into Call of Duty). Anyway, I watched this, and it was... sort of funny, because the jokes were the generic stuff you've already heard about Jackson: He's a pedophile, etc.
After watching it, my cousin's friend said something like,
"That's very funny! I'm going to comment on it!”
I then replied,
"Oh, you know what? I can probably tell you that the star rating is very low (before the thumbs update) and all of the comments are like, "DIS ISNT FUNY MIKEL JAKSUN WUZ DE GRATEST GO 2 HELL ROBN WILIAMS" because of Jackson's death".

...Guess what the top four comments were about?

Youtube Commenters... you are so predictable.

Being a Child in this Decade

The food is plentiful, the education is excellent, and everything we could ask for is given instantly. What could be wrong?

One thing that I've seen is the lack of compassion and care in my generation. Rarely do I see children stop to help others, or Teenaged Drivers following proper traffic laws and such. Rarely do I see kids actually accepting people for their lifestyle or thinking about anyone else except for themselves. Rarely do I see kids trying to make things a little nicer for anyone else.

They never consider other people, and think the world revolves around them. It's something that I've begun to despise about my generation, since I get affiliated with the whole group.

Take this for what it is worth, but I know that I'm not a perfect person. I do things that are beneficial for me. I may be a little self-centered. However, I try my hardest to make other peoples lives less difficult, because not only does it help others, but it makes me feel good about what I've done. When I go rollerblading, I purposely try to make eye contact with walkers and bicyclists, smile, and nod in a nice way. Most of the time, people don't notice, but when they do, I see a small smile on their faces and they nod, giving me a, "I could've made their day!" kind of feeling. It's a feeling that I also get when playing a team-based video game, such as Left 4 Dead, when I sacrifice myself for the greater good of the team.

I feel like I made a difference. I don't know why other kids don't care about this.

(I will say no names to protect the people I refer to and myself)
In grade 11, there was this boy in my Phys-Ed class who, first of all, was extremely disruptive, never had any respect for the teacher, always found some way to cheat in every game, and usually, came to class late and high on some drug of some sort. The worst part is, most of the students thought that he was really funny, making him one of those "popular" kids. This boy didn't get any punishment for his lack of compassion, so I took matters in my own hands:

I fought him.

I felt like I needed to teach him a lesson. I knew that the teachers wouldn't do anything, because they have to "Leave no Student Behind", no matter the consequences. He had to know that some people weren't going to take his guff all the time.

Strangely, I didn't get suspended. I do not know why, but my explanation to the Vice-Principle was exactly what I had said above: no respect, no honour, and no compassion. He understood where my anger came from, but warned me that violence solves nothing.
The strange thing is, I don't think he would change whether I talked to him or not. Why would he do the things he did? Does he have a conscience? Does he know that half of the people frowned upon his lifestyle? These are some questions I wanted answered, but I never had to guts to ask, especially after that situation.

He didn't do anything specific to me; he never picked on me or pushed me around, so why was I so riled that I'd ruin my perfect record? It's because I'd purposely be a nice person, helping others so I felt good that I helped. I'd work decently hard at this, and yet, this kid had no repercussions for only caring about himself.

That is all I have to talk about right now. Thanks for listening.


PS. If you live in Hamilton, Ontario, walk on the Waterfront Park/Princess Point path around 4:00pm-5:00pm and see a teenager in jeans with big silver headphones on, rollerblading around there, say hello to him! He usually goes their regularly, as long as the temperature is nice and his time is free.