Sweet November

There is no tomorrow, unless it's reserved for the next generation, for tomorrow changes; there is only now.  Tomorrow is the hopes of the present, then past or accomplished, though interlinked.  Because hope and memories coincide; life is not concrete and no matter the reinforcement it decays.  Never let another define good and bad for you. Experience is about your personal life and reality, not through decisions or views of others, though sometimes because of them.  Sometimes, we have to choose the "lesser of two evils" because good is not always there.  Sometimes, we have to embrace and accept evil to understand good.  An antihero can believe in a creed, do good and save a life but at least he is living a truth in his reality of indulgences: smoking, drinking, without manner and creating carnage. -Andrew Szeto

November is my favorite month.  I write Sweet November every November because it's the month of my birthday and I really liked the movie (2001).  The summary of the movie is of a woman dying and her reality changes, thus she sets on a cause to change the lives and views of others.  Since January 2011 until November 2011, I have had only two days of paid time off, one of them mandatory because of Hurricane Irene.  I took two weeks off this month because by January 2012 my Paid Time Off for 2011 gets voided.

---One of the in flight movies was Kingdom of Heaven (2005).  Though unrealistic and inaccurate reproduction of history, it had very good points.  The following are just two that was illustrated most in my mind.  Re-watching the movie brought back a few lines that started me on blogging, my ideology at that time:

(Scene 1)

Godfrey: "So how find you Jerusalem?"

Balian: "God does not speak to me. Not even on the hill where Christ died. I am outside God's grace"

Godfrey: "I have not heard that"

Balian: "At any rate, it seems I have lost my religion"

Godfrey: "I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I've seen the lunacy of fanatics of every demonitation be called the will of God. I've seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers. 

Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves. And goodness, what God desires (He points to Balian's head)

and here (He points to Balian's heart)"

And by what you decide to do every day, you will be a good man, or not

Come"

(Scene 2)

King Baldwin IV: "Come forward. I am glad to meet Godfried's son. He was one of my greatest teachers. He was there when, playing with the other boys, my arm was cut. And it was he, not my father's physicians, who noticed that I felt no pain. He wept when he gave my father the news... that I am a leper. The Saracens say that this disease is God's vengeance against the vanity of our kingdom. As wretched as I am, these Arabs believe that the chastisement that awaits me in hell is far more severe and lasting. If that's true, I call it unfair. Come. Sit.

Do you play?"

(They both sit opposite a chess board)

Balian: "No"

King Baldwin IV: "The whole world is in chess. Any move can be the death of you. Do anything but remain where you started and you can't be sure of your end. Were you sure of your end once?"

Balian: "I was"

King Baldwin IV: "What was it?"

Balian: "To be buried a hundred yards from where I was born."

King Baldwin IV: "And now?"

Balian: "Now I sit in Jerusalem and look upon a king."

King Baldwin IV: "When I was sixteen I won a great victory. I felt in that moment that I would live to be a hundred. Now I know I shall not see thirty. None of us know our end really or what hand will guide us there. A king may move a man. A father may claim a son. That man can also move himself. And only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember howsoever you are played or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone, even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say "But I was told by others to do thus" or that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that."

Balian: "I will."


---Happy Thanksgiving, I wish all who are reading a warm, safe and great time with family and friends. If you are alone, be strong, I share that strength with you, not the alone part.


---That's it for now

Amsterdam Again

---McDonalds and Albert Heijn are companies that show a small example of how organizations put forth even minuscule effort to reduce waste or gain capital.  McDonalds charges a 50 Euro Cent to use the restroom in every location.  McDonalds in Amsterdam also charges a 50 Euro Cent for a pack of ketchup, fortunate to have those little red packs free here.  While the Big Mac and french fries are the same, the coffee cup sizes are smaller, yet more expensive.  I only wonder if the potatoes, beans and beef are grown in the Netherlands or imported from the United States.  When you go shopping, in most places like the Albert Heijn supermarket, a grocery bag is not included, they charge 25 Euro Cent for the extra plastic bag, you're suppose to bring your own bag.  Again like my first blog on Amsterdam, the city is full of bicycles, once you exit Central Station there is a huge parking garage full of bicycles on the adjacent side.  I love bicycling.  If every car was replaced by a bicycle for local commuting, think of the pollution and need for fossil energy we would conserve.

---Oh! I did not know that the Cannibus Cup 2011 event was being held on the dates of my stay or I would have bought preregistration tickets.  I only fount out through a conversation with visitors who were also rooming in my hotel.  It's okay, I'm not a grower or a pothead.  I simply enjoyed a little Hash, Super Skunk and Amnesia while there.  Pre-rolled, meaning the shop rolls it for you is a bit more expensive than buying it by the gram in bags and you roll it yourself but enjoying it rolled "professionally" is in my opinion as "consumed" better.

Strain: "Amnesia"

---I still hate flying.  Eight hours in flight to and from Amsterdam cramped up in limited body positioning and limited resources in food or nutrition is not something I like.  My last two trips served an on board meal, no matter how small is a nice treat to keep bodily levels up, but this trip did not.  Even my domestic flights like on Jetblue serves a small meal.  I guess it depends on the flight and the airline.  Though the tension, comfort and feel of the people and airline was much better than the atmosphere on Delta and Aeroflot.  It's good to bring a little snack aboard.

The train system is very unorganized.  Each station have no big signs labelling which station you are at.  If you choose to use the Metro instead of a Tram or Taxi, my advise is to get there at least one hour before the anticipated departure because you should not expect to board the very first scheduled train.  For example, if the train expected to board is scheduled to arrive at 12:35, be prepared to board the one at 1:05 because for reasons like being full, complications or missing the station of intent.


---When my train arrived on the Metro station: Central Station from Schiphol Airport, the very first thing I had was a slice at a New York Pizza - The Original, a small pizza chain.  The pizza was pretty good compared to other "pizza" places in Amsterdam and EVEN in New York City.  I went to my hotel and slept a few hours before venturing out.

Naked and Jamba Juice are on my plus list or in the Netherlands: Innocent and Juicy Details are nice little treats for those like me that like my fruit or vegetables in one serving as a variety.  Instead of buying or eating a bag of oranges, green apples, carrots, mangoes individually and finding a way to incorporating ginger and beets in a recipe, I like the prior-like mentioned ways to get my fruit and vegetable portion of the pyramid.  Juicy Detail: 4.50 Euros for a small or a large 5.50 Euros my choice from the Balance menu was a energy and great tasting Mango Mania: lemon, apples, mangoes, and ginger.

This is not a food blog so I won't mention every food related item in Amsterdam.  Dam square was one of the few places I could get a 2.50 small hot dog or higher priced similar Euro priced American/German resembling home/comfort food.  I liked that the carts offered a variety of toppings (like a pickled mix or fried potatoes and whole chili peppers) new to me, including a curry sauce along side the mustard and ketchup.


---Occupy!  Oh My God!  This Occupy idiocy has reach the Netherlands as well, in Dam square there were hundreds of them.  Instead of "Occupy Wall Street", why don't you "ninety nine percent" of the population get dress shirts and ties then organize an event where potential employers might actually consider yourself useful or aim driven. Before doing that, bathe and shave first.


---Everything in Amsterdam is still expensive!


---The only reason there are photos here is because someone asked me to take pictures or I wouldn't have even brought the camera along (which was out for only one day).  I went for personal reasons not as a tourist.  There's more but...


---That's it for now

How can you tell time in space?

That was the simple question asked to me by a colleague.  Occasionally, trivia questions or the sort will be past around my office, I guess to muse or redirect focus from the mundane business of work.  My answer was "time is abstract, it's based on the culture and it's people."  In the back of my mind, I wanted to say time is also relative, but I was already being overly technical.  I didn't want to go overboard and define it by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.  If you don't look at the clock, your mind doesn't know what time it is because your brain doesn't keep track of counting upwards of one second, every time a second passes.  If you were out in space or out in the jungle without a timing mechanism and your brain lost track of counting, you'd lose the exact time it is.  And determining time by day then night with the sun or moon's positioning like a good mountain man is only an approximation.

Counting is a very basic function a normal brain does.  The first person who applied counting to time, I guess you could consider the first philosopher to develop the calendar. Whether you're in a Roman or Lunar culture of calendar, the calendar started with seconds.  Duh! you say to this basic concept: seconds leads into minutes and minutes leads into hours and hours leads into days, then weeks and years and so forth.  But it started with applying counting in the concept of time.

Back to the original topic: my colleague said "you can't tell can you?"  So basically what he is asking is how can you tell the Roman counting system applied to time passing in space?  Without a counting mechanism or your mind having perfect counting and tracking it, the answer is no.  Time is a system created and exist only in our minds based on a system.  Time is based on a point of reference.  They say dinosaurs existed thousands of years B.C. (Before Christ).  Time is changed based on the region you are in.  The United States has four time zones.  It's 8:00am Eastern Time Zone as I am writing this right now, but in Dubai it's 4:00pm.  Time can also be changed based on the season, Daylight Savings Time is coming to an end in a week.

Space can be established as another realm and depending how far out in space, in it one can detach from the system of time set in earth.  Technically, without a timing mechanism (like a clock) or your brain tracking every second, you would not be able to tell what time it is.  The only way would be to find a new method of counting upwards by one in seconds from that time you left earth to maintain the Roman time system.  In that aspect, yes there is away to find out what time it is in space: only if you develop a new system to keep the region of time you are from in earth.  The answer to the question: "How can you tell time in space?", is that you cannot if you don't have either a clock that still functions from earth, superior counting in your head or someone transmitting that time to you in space from earth.  The yes to that question is if you develop a new system of timing away from earth's timing system.  Hypothetically, if a new born wanted to find what time it was and he didn't have one of the above mentioned, he would not be able to find time on earth but he would be able to create his own timing system and even change the cycle of time, say counting up by two equals a minute.  In the same concept, someone who is secluded in the jungle from civilization and decided to ignore societies time structure would have time totally eradicated.  Say in the morning the volcano he sleeps under, because it's warmer there, vibrates at what our culture deems as 8:00am one morning and 8:30am the next morning, the outcast would still consider it 8:00am every morning as the volcano vibrates because he is ignoring societies time structure.  The outcast could deem sleeping right when the sun sets, but sometimes during the season the sun sets at 6:00pm and others at 9:00pm, he would still deem sunset everyday at 6:00pm because he is ignoring the Roman time system.  Not only is the answer to my colleague's question yes and no, but he asked a question not so simple to just answer yes or no because time is abstract and relative. Time in space does exist, it is just abstract like in any region in comparison and relative depending on the type of system you compare it to.

---I am employed, for now, so my timing system is relative to the time I leave work and counting upwards by one until my ass has to be at work the next morning deemed when my company says I have to be in.  If I were unemployed work time wouldn't apply to my system of waking up because I wouldn't have that requirement to be at work at a certain time.  My relativity to waking up in counting up by one in seconds would increase if I were unemployed.  Einstein states it another way...

---"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it's only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it's two hours. That's relativity." -Albert Einstein

---If you were in space a foot from the sun, based on how most time systems are set by the position of the sun, every second would be daylight and you could say every second is 6:00am.  Every life span would be a second also because you'd be burnt up.

---Time is a very important system to epoch events in our culture, time determines change and how something can last, even in space.  He asked a very valid question.

Incident Report

So, I missed September's post but it's October 1st, close enough.  I'm going to update on an incident that occurred on September 4th, 2011.  It was a quiet Sunday, no one around, when I walked outside from my house to my car. There was a scent in the air, the scent of marijuana. Whether it was coming from me is besides the point and will not be pointed out here due to refusing to self incriminate myself.  It could not have been more than five minutes from lingering on my porch to getting in my car and sitting there for a minute.  During that five minutes, I lit up on my porch and sat there a few minutes and finished it in my car, I think it was a cigarette, I think. It could have been a Bidi.  I sat in my car for a minute, by the time I started my engine I see flashing lights behind me, guess who it is.  Within thirty seconds I have one police officer on my left and another officer telling me to lower my back window on my right passenger side.  I guess someone was around because the driver's side officer tells me someone reported it.

The police officer on my driver's side window on my left does not ask me for my license or registration, he just tells me to turn off the engine and to exit the car.  He then ask me for my license when I am out of the car.  I did not know at the time, but I am reading different statements that I have the right to not leave my car.  But I am also reading that if an officer has suspicion of an illegal activity he does have that right to ask to exit the vehicle, that is if the officer sees an illegal item in your car out in the open, but the scent of marijuana?  But who's to say it's from my car?  None the less, I exited the vehicle and they pat me down.  We are now standing on the back of my car and in front of the police car.  While I am being asked questions by the officer on my driver's side door, the officer that was on my passenger side who asked me to lower my back window is now searching my car, which she leaves a mess.  I was not prepared for any of this, this incident was the first time of this occurrence, but I was not nervous or scared, I just hoped they didn't arrest me.  I answer the questions that the officer asks me.  I know I have the right not to answer, "the right to remain silent".  He asks me questions like do I live alone or do I have any outstanding warrants against me. I answer his questions and she's done searching my car.  They go to the computer in their car, do a little search on my records and let me go.  The final comment from the officer on my driver's side who was questioning me said: "Go home and do it on your own time".  I drove off and got some food.  After the incident: The question that come into mind is the search legal?

www.Legalzoom.com points out that yes, even though I read from other sources that it should not be, it was a legal search.  I did notate the Precinct, Plate Numbers and Name of the officers stopping me.  It is warranted as a legal search because the car does not require a search warrant.  If the officer has a suspicion of illegal activity, they can.  I guess even the scent of an illegal substance.

In Sturgis, South Dakota there is an annual event where thousands, and I don't mean one or two thousand, of motorcycle enthusiast and fanatics come to gather.  It's a big event that bring all types.  The other day they were showing a television show of how police officers handle and keep the peace during this huge event, they needed to recruit additional police personnel from outside departments.  At random check points, a handful of these officers were questioning this driver at random.  It showed that there was no smell, no open narcotics in plain sight, they just decided to pull him over and do a search.  They do find marijuana in the car and they arrest him.  Is this legal?  It was depicted on television.

On September 23rd, 2011, an article by the news network NY1, written by Tetiana Anderson writes:

In response to strong criticism, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly issued an internal order Friday reiterating NYPD policy that an arrest shouldn't be executed if a person has a small amount of marijuana out of public view. NY1’s Tetiana Anderson filed the following report."

Amid complaints about improper arrests, the New York City Police Department is getting a fresh reminder on an old directive. Commissioner Ray Kelly told the city's nearly 35,000 officers that reading people their rights for possessing small amounts of marijuana is a no-no.

"Eight people out of ten probably have weed in their pockets, but it doesn't mean they're criminals. Newports, they're legal, but it's still a drug," says one New Yorker.

"Since 1994, NYPD has enacted stop and frisk practices,” said Cassandra Frederique of the Drug Policy Alliance. “One of the collateral consequences of that have been these marijuana arrests. Last year, there were over 50,000 arrests and most of them were, 84 percent were black and Latino. Seventy percent were under the age of 30."

Kelly reiterated existing department policy, saying officers should actually be issuing tickets for holding small amounts of marijuana that is not in public view.

The move comes after growing criticism of the NYPD from civil liberties and drug policy watchdog groups.

"We at the Drug Policy Alliance are really happy with the commissioner taking this step and asking his police force to follow the original intent of the law,” said Frederique.

And if they do, critics of the NYPD say it could result in tens of thousands fewer marijuana arrests annually, saving the city millions.

In a statement, City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., the chairman of the city's council on public safety committee said, "Commissioner Kelly's order strikes the proper balance between enforcing the law as passed by the legislature and allowing proper discretion."

Not everyone believes the directive will work.

"That's good, but they're still going to arrest people, ‘cause that's cops. They're gonna do what they do,” said one New Yorker.

The law says possessing 25 grams or less of pot is a non-criminal violation punishable by a fine, but smoking the drug in public or having it visible remains a crime."

Know the law, especially if you tread on it.

-Most important lesson: If there is the scent of marijuana in the air, don't smoke anything, like a cigarette or a bidi in your car or outside.  If you have any or over 25 grams in your house and plan to smoke it, don't smoke it in your house, any scent coming from your house and the neighbors report it can lead to a search.  Over 25 grams will get you jail time.

-Home searches require a search warrant but based on any police suspicion car searches do not require a search warrant.  If you're walking and the police suspect you, based on appearance, your look, or fishy activity it's enough for them to "suspect" and stop, then give you a pat down, which the court determines as not a search. A non-violation of the 4th Amendment which safe guards against unreasonable search and seizure, which is very court defined but when there is a uniform with a gun aggressively by active or verbal force demanding or insisting you to do something, you can plead law but a gun or abuse is in your face is another story.

What about those innocent or the low level marijuana users who use it for recreational purposes. What about the people that use it just to relax or use it to relieve pain.  I was not arrested but I could have been if the officers stopping me had fount even a little bit of marijuana.  I am not a criminal.  I am not drug dealer.  I don't steal.  I have family.  I work my 40 hours a week.  I pay my taxes to feed your police salary.

Fuck off my Freedom.

Virgin Mobile - LG Rumor Touch

The clam shell like phone, model Vx3400, was my very first cell phone on the Verizon network. Before that I had a pager aka beeper.  Later on when I lost that I upgraded to the Vx6000.  I dropped the Vx6000 at a Dave and Buster's and when I came back for it, it looked as if someone stepped on it.  They were decent basic phones with basic applications and good speaker phones.  The last phones on the Verizon network were the Palm Treo 650 and 750.  I have then switched to Cingular-AT&T and T-Mobile.  I've been through more than one iPhone and version 3, Blackberry 7230, Blackberry 8130 Pearls, World and Curves, used the Razr for a month and sold it, tinkered with the HTCs and Motorola Dash with Windows OS. There's so many others I laid hands on and used, hoping to grasp the PlayStation Portable (PSP) type media and data merger, while able to access the internet and make phone calls.  When I finally quit my geek hunt for the most media all in one device in a cell phone, I decided to just go basic with a cheap Metro PCS phone, for two years unlimited calling had served me well until I lost my phone and didn't care to stay with Metro PCS any more because yes their data and calling usage plan are unlimited, but if the phone doesn't support it then what's the point, for the ones that did support data access you had to shell out approximately $300 for a crappy Metro PCS phone with a crappy browser or interface.  At last the smartphones explosion...

I love the latest iPhones and the HTCs where you can do video conferencing.  I love watching the great HD clarity of the World Series on the HD screen.  I love the applications like the Angry Birds game, find the closest bar when you're on Amsterdam Avenue and 96th Street, tip calculator (because I am bad at it) and even the Budweiser ad where when the host of the party runs out of Budweiser, he loads his Budweiser app. and start pouring beer from his smartphone.  This is like the beginning of the Star Trek replicator aboard the Enterprise, "There's an app. for that", "If you build it, he will come".

I switched to Virgin Mobile a year and a half ago and this is my second LG Rumor Touch because I either lost or someone stole it when I was in Europe, in which it does not work because Europe is mostly GSM and Sprint is a CDMA network.  I got this phone when it was like two hundred something dollars, then after a few months they dropped the price to $149ish.  This Dumbphone, non-Android, is a very versatile phone.  I am reviewing it for anyone else going conservative, thinking about buying the LG Rumor Touch on the Sprint Virgin Mobile network.

As you can see, it slides to a nice keypad which allows me to text and type much faster. You can use it in it's closed position by touching the screen.  I set my main screen list with the Main Menu as the first option which opens to another set of useful tools.  The Contacts list is second in line then my Opera Mini browser and the Google Maps.  Within Main Menu are your basic apps. like Notepad, Calculator, Stopwatch, Alarm, Facebook/Twitter login apps., Camera/Camcorder, Media Player, an app to find how many minutes are left and some other minor apps.  You don't have access to an extensive apps library, they only give you some cheap entertainment or music selections.  If you want a smartphone, go with one of their Android phones.  This phone has the following:

--Mini USB Slot on the bottom
--MicroSD Slot
--Headphone Jack
--Quick Volume Up and Down on side 
--Quick Camera button

--Charge time is short and it can last close to two days with minimum use

--The price is right: $25 Plus Tax at the end of each month for $27ish for 300 minutes and unlimited data is nice.  If you run out of minutes, you just add more.  You can change to an upgraded plan at the end of every month.

--Unlimited Data: So far I've been able to text, email, YouTube music, surf the web, check my email on a daily basis with very minimum connection issues.  The Opera Mini browser is very clear and very good.  I get pictures fine and people can email mynumber@virginserver.com and I'll get the email to my phone.  I can update this blog with limited words on the phone. 

--The volume and clarity in talking over the phone is good, no what or what did you say?  No speaker phone. It includes Bluetooth for hands free.

--The Google Maps works great, I have a GPS device but sometimes I don't bring it with me.  This app. helps when I get lost in Long Island and New Jersey.  This Google Maps application you can download free dots where I am and points an arrow to the direction as I am moving street by street.  It also traces a pink line for the best From Address to the To address.  The zoom in and zoom out takes a while to load but which GPS device doesn't?  One night I was in Paramus, NJ and was stuck on the highway for 20 minutes waiting for the map to load, some Data Error, scared me because without a map I was stuck, it's good to have this but a separate GPS unit or a map as backup keeps you moving in the right direction.

--Each contact has a field for extra info like address or memo and you can add a picture for that contact or set a specific ring tone for that Contact.

--The Camcorder is okay but if someone is robbing a bank and you're filming it, it won't help the Police very much.  If you're trying to take a picture of a license plate from more than a feet away, you better take out a pen and paper also.

Photo of myself in the office.

Problems: The only problem I have with the phone is sometimes it will freeze, like as I use Mini Opera and a text comes in, sometimes it will freeze and I have to reboot to read the text then go back and reload Mini Opera.  Other times I will close the open keypad and it will just reboot by itself.  Those are two minor problems that I have had that delays me a minute but it doesn't affect data or information, no biggie.

Atypical

This is the term I often give myself because that is a fact in behavior, not so much intentional, just built that way. I mostly had a normal upbringing; I was never abused or anything like that.

There are people that blend into society and are against anything out of the norm.  There are those that try so hard to fit into society and fit into the mold that if perfection isn't there, they freak out or ask why and how.  Oh, why me, is God doing this or maybe I should find a four leaf clover. The question is why can't people accept diversity?

People don't get married and that's fine, that's their choice.  People get tattoos and quarters pierced into their tongues and that's fine, it's their choice.  The government allows same sex marriages and that's fine.

My belief is that my beliefs are my beliefs.  I am also open to the beliefs of others and listen even if their beliefs may dawn slightly on the opposition of my beliefs.  I'm going to give examples.  A very controversial topic is homosexuality.  My initial reaction to seeing two men together in a sexual or romantic activity is: no that should not be happening, it's just not right in I'm going to look away.  It's just something the inate reaction built into my head.  It's my right to have this opinion.  However, I don't dislike or criticize gay men.  They have the very right to be who they are.  I would never bash or insult anyone gay.  I have no problem with the activist of their preference advocating for their rights.  The government allowing same sex marriages impose on me in no way, two gay married people is fine by me.  The problem would occur if I mandatory had to change my view in that two men together is against my innate or upbringing sexual beliefs.  I can accept your freedom to be who you are, so my freedom to believe what I believe should also stand even if it's against your beliefs.  Just like the KKK, my belief is that they have the right to hate African Americans.  The KKK have the right to hate me for all they want for being Chinese.  I believe that's their given right to assemble and have their ideas because it's freedom to do so.  I don't believe in racism, but if racism means freedom, then I am fine with it as long as it's not physically imposed on others.  What I mean is that the Ku Klux Klan members can parade around in their hoods and stir racial tension that's fine but anything physical imposed act is breaching on beliefs and freedom.  It's like a homosexual person came up to me and said I had to be gay or I have to think their way and find it to my liking.

Intentionally or unintentionally, people tend to cause a rip on the normal map.  There are those that go against rules or life's guidelines.  It's great that the activist of their kind take bold measures to spread the word so it's not such a shock where diversity isn't accepted or open.

Game of Thrones

Been busy with ventures outside the job, so with timing and many focuses on my metaphoric plate I have not had the time to blog.  Though deterred by, writer's block, I mean blogging block, I still sign in to try to update once a month.  Like a good US Marine Corp soldier who believes in loyalty and honor, when the chips are down and valor is dead, you still finish the mission and bring the troops home.  That is what loyalty means, when the chips are down and no longer favorable, or in this case deterred, you are still dedicated.  The meaning of honor is that you still uphold the principle(s).  Entertainment and relaxation comes third on my agenda, after a year and a half on waiting for HD televisions to become better and cheaper, I now have a Samsung HD LED LCD 3D and after watching shows like Game of Thrones in HD, I can't go back to regular television.  Game of Thrones first aired in April and I watched the first episode and I think it's very good.  I haven't watched every episode but the ones I have watched, I've liked. It involves conflicts internally and between kingdoms.  Keeping the summary short, because I think when I was posting about the television show skins, I over described in detail.  History already themed that the kingdoms were already in conflict and the Targaryen are now allied with the Dothraki.  I watched up to where Khal Drogo had fallen and burned with the witch and as Daenery walked into the flames to only come unharmed with the three dragon eggs that were put on Khal Drago's side, life for a life was the magic spell.  The Targaryen's enemy is the Kingdom of Winterfell.  The Kingdom of Winterfell have their own problems besides the simplicity of going to war against an external enemy, they are conflicts within.  It would seem betrayal or deserting this Kingdom has a penalty with your head being chopped off, no matter who it is.  Good reminder to stay loyal.