I got my official student loan bill. It's 72,000 but with interest it's like $87,000 as long as I pay $709.00 per month till 2016! That is so much money considering the top pay I could get as a non-tenured professor would be about $45,000 and there is about a 0.04% chance of that happening in Buffalo seeing as UB would never hire me as a I am a former student and Canisius didn't work out.



I guess it's time to start forgetting about everything I learned and begin something new. Or maybe it is time I make like (e:southernyankee), (e:ajay), (e:haikuster), (e:hodown), (e:codypomeray) or the other who I am forgetting that have moved away and found good jobs.

Considering I make $27,000 per year working two jobs, it might not work out so well to stay here. I really want some stability before I turn 30. Like health insurance and a job with longterm upwards mobility. I knew I should have stuck with biology or that I should have never gotten that MFA. That was the worst suggestion I ever followed. I really should have thought about the city more and what possible applications that type of training could offer me.

I don't want to work out at a bank! They seem to be the only people that consistently contact me about jobs. For christ's sake I worked at HSBC when I was much younger and I hated being in that corporate environment, that is why I went to college, so I wouldn't have to be there. At least I have this house to rent out.

I really should have gone to ECC for some sort of technical training instead of the useless liberal arts education I ended up with. For some reason I never even saw that as an option. I remember until I was in Germany studying Germanic Language and Literature, I had no concept of studying a trade. There I met lots of people that made that choice at around 6th grade. I wish it was at least presented to me as an option. Somehow, my teachers along the way always made it seem like that was failing, which now I see it is not. I guess it's not too late to switch but now I owe like $90,000.

Then I could just be a professional handy man and rent out houses. If you are 18 and reading this please learn from my error and think long and hard before you go in the direction of liberal arts.

I was supposed to edit my thesis and once again a million things came up. I had to work on the electricity to set up the motion detector light for my tenants. It was a nice alternative to programming, although programming electricity is still my favorite. It also made me consider being an electrician or sommething similar that this blue collar city needs.

Bare Wires



It Works!

I was at my mother's today after her cousin's funeral and she had found this picture of one of her cousin's that resembles (e:matthew) when he was younger. He does kind of look like him.



I also found baby peeps. Has anyone else had baby peeps before? I think you all probably know how big a fan (e:twisted) and I are from journals gone past. I think the babies are even cuter than the grown peeps and I am sure they are even easier to manufacture.

Our car is having some serious problem where it sounds like I am dragging Darth Vader underneith it. I assume it's the rotors because it happens when we break, yet at the same time it started all of a sudden and I feel like other times, in other car's I owned, that the breaks went slowly.

I took it to C and K Car Care on Amherst Street between Main and Colvin.
    
C & K Car Care
1600 Amherst Street, Buffalo, NY 14214
(716) 837-7324
(MAP TO: 1600 AMHERST STREET) (Why does no one else us the google map, wikipedia, wiktionary, estrip, or google tags?)

It's a friend of my dad's place, so I trust them with the car. On the way back I had to take the subway.



I's totally empty down here and they have classical music playing loudly over the speakers. It's almost creepy without a lot of people.



I also get no cell phone service underground, which I remember from commuting back and forth from UB to Canisius. Thesis editing has been postponed again. First the car problem and then a funeral for a distant cousin. Then picking up the rent check. After today I am saying no to everybody for everything they ask till it is done.

After West Delevan a lot more people got on, maybe I was just in the dead zone.

So after the long traffic jam we made it to Devil's Hole. You might ask, "What is the story behind Devil's Hole?" I found some info here

It was hot and we brought only a tiny bit of water but it was still fun. For anyone that hasn't been there I would suggest checking it out. It is off the 104 between the rainbow bridge and the Niagara Power project. There are two sets of stairs.




One set next to the parking lot and one further down the trail to come back. You can go right down to the water, close enough to touch it.









Right next to it is Whirlpool Gorge Park which is also pretty but much less rugged. I post some good links when I get back. Here are some images from that park.

(e:mike), (e:terry), (e:matthew) and I decided to head out to devi's hole for a brief hike. We ended up getting stuck on Grand Island just before the north bridge because of accident based traffic jam.



We have moved about 30 feet in the last 45 minutes, argh. Mike has no air conditioning at least we wern't stuck by the ultra toxic south bridge. I think I would have died.

(e:terry) wearing his (e:terry) shirt and reading a book.

(e:mathew) trying to hide form the sun he was stuck in for about an hour

(e:mike) trying to look mafia.

(e:jason) [inlink]jason,211[/inlink] thanks for turning the discussion to nuclear weapons instead of site politic. I would most like to respond to your question about " What is preferable, dropping a nuke or using infantry to cut, shoot, and maim?"

In my opinion using infantry to cut, shoot, and main is a better option to nuclear war on several accounts.

Nuclear war make such an extreme abstraction of mass murder. An abstraction that makes killing easier. I do not think that the a man who killed hundred of thousands of people should be afforded the comfort of this abstraction. It becomes, one man pressing a button instead of thousands of people having to cut each other open and witness the agonizing terror of death. Moreover, one man could never kill hundreds of thousands of people with a knife or even a machine gun.

While the Japanese were feirce and terrible, we can jusge this by their actions in China, we also cannot say for certain that every Japanese man, woman and child of hiroshima and nagasaki would have fought to the death. For all we know there were tens of thousands of peaceful, anti-war citizens that lived in those cities. I imagine that at that late point in the war, most japanese war mongering men were at the forefront of the war, and not living at home in the city. Most of the people that were probably left were the woman, children, and old people.

That is how it was for my grandmother's family in Italy. All of her brothers left for the war, with her left much in charge of the family farm. Unlike the infantry option, nuclear attack left no chance for the people of hiroshima and nagasaki to surrender. They were instantly incinerated or slowly died of radiation sickness. The people who were "condemned with no trial" were not necessarily war mongers, yet they suffered greatly for the "sins of their country."

You can write whatever you want, as you always have, just don't expect that I wouldn't ever disagree with you. As (e:uncutsaniflush) [inlink]uncutsaniflush,88[/inlink] said is his excellent review of the situation, I am not the voice of (e:strip), I am just paul.

(e:joshua) [inlink]joshua,37[/inlink]Why do you keep suggesting that

"my own thoughts in my own journal are not welcome here at elmwoodstrip.com"

By the way I have never seen the daily show and have no idea what it is about. No one has not stoppped you from expressing anything and I have only offered my opinion in counter to yours. Is it wrong that I disagree with your justifcation for nuclear holocaust? I was most interested in debating your opinion about this, one which I disagree with. Instead of discussing any of the information on my journal about the atomic bombing, you attacked the site for being liberal extremist, which it is not and consistantly whine about how you don't get a chance to say what you want about the topic. No one is stopping you from writing on your journal. If no one disagreed with anything the site would be totally boring. It is the fact that we all have differing opinions that makes it exciting. That doesn't mean that I accept all opinions.

If the site was really how you described it, I would have censured you from publication. People disagree, part of protecting the freedom to say whatever we want is that other people can say whatever they want in response.

I have no interest in participating in a "community" site named after my community where people are going to be outrightly judgmental and dismissive. That to me is unprofessional and shows a lack of tolerance for people who think differently... which is unusual IMO considering that the average Elmwood resident considers themselves to be very tolerant and open-minded.

First of all, I never said I was open-minded, especially when it comes to killing. I am not even interested in the slighest at becomming more open minded in the field of atmmic warefare. Secondly, I also am not offering this site as a tool to you in a professional capacity, so I don't know what you mean by unprofessional. By paying the thousands of dollars it took to run this site over the last three years, and providing a space for people with differing opinions to write, I feel that I am being more than fair enough to the mass spectrum of views. And that is something I don't see many people doing from either side of the spectrum. I think you can give me credit for that at least. I mean where is the community that you set up giving the opposing viewpoint a highly visable public forum?

Thinking about the sheer number of civilians and military that died that day anybody with a heart would feel their heart sink to their feet. On the other hand - ...
Quoted from (e:Joshua)

I was going to ignore this but I just couldn't. Joshua, I have honestly lost all respect for you. I have tried to put aside political differences we have had in order to try and see past the party lines into the man you are. However, today I remained both stunned and puzzled at you total lack of compassion. On a day when people are remembering the intense suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, you are going to justify the reasons why incinerating an entire city with an nuclear bomb was an appropriate response? You sound like Osama bin Laden justifying that it was necessary to kill all of the civilians in the world trade center.

I would rather give up my freedom or just die than be responsible or even justify the death of all of those innocent people. It is never reasonable to kill hundreds of thousands of people at once. It is never reasonable to kill civilians.

What makes me even more upset is that I am sure you only offer that sentiment today as a way of getting attention for yourself as you know it would inflame people. This may be an incorrect assumption on my part but honestly, but I cannot imagine why, on such a day of remembrance, that anyone would pull out the same tiresome rationale for mass death that we have already heard since 9th grade global studies It makes me sick, almost as sick as the fact that the pilot for the Enola Gay, was at a 1997 book signing in Vegas for his book about it. I think he should have been tried for crimes against humanity.

Account of the bombing and aftermath by a catholic priest

Beneath the wreckage of the houses along the way, many have been trapped and they scream to be rescued from the oncoming flames. They must be left to their fate. The way to the place in the city to which one desires to flee is no longer open and one must make for Asano Park. Fukai does not want to go further and remains behind. He has not been heard from since. In the park, we take refuge on the bank of the river. A very violent whirlwind now begins to uproot large trees, and lifts them high into the air. As it reaches the water, a waterspout forms which is approximately 100 meters high. The violence of the storm luckily passes us by. Some distance away, however, where numerous refugees have taken shelter, many are blown into the river. Almost all who are in the vicinity have been injured and have lost relatives who have been pinned under the wreckage or who have been lost sight of during the flight. There is no help for the wounded and some die. No one pays any attention to a dead man lying nearby.Quoted from: Hiroshima -- August 6th, 1945 | The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Historical Documents | atomicarchive.com

Account of the bombing from the pilot's perspective

"Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans."
("Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S Truman, 1945", pg. 212).

Do you think Truman was refering to this charred little girl?

On our way to eat at Sahara Grill we passed by the old Sofra. Did anyone else eat at Sofra before it closed? We went once with (e:flacidness) but it was mega overpriced. I got a tiny amount of lamb and a tiny rice pryamid for $16. To make it weirder, the prices on the inside far exceeded the prices on the menu outside.



Now that they are closed down, the put up a sign saying that it is ideal for just about any ethnic restaurant. I wonder what makes the restaurant so unsuitable for american food. After all, it used to be a soda shop. (E:mike) says that is included in etc. Hahaha.