It’s good for you, therefore it must be constitutional.
Taken from College Drinking Prevention.
Issue: “Establishing a legal drinking age of 21 is unconstitutional age discrimination.”
Response: This question has been treated in detail in two court cases, one in Michigan, the other in Louisiana. In both instances, the courts upheld the constitutionality of the laws, based in part on the demonstrated value of age 21 laws in preventing traffic crashes.
So it doesn’t matter that it is unconstitutional just so long as the government thinks that it is protecting people? Basically that is what this entire web page boils down to; it’s OK to make these laws because it is for people’s safety and everything we say is backed by research that we are more than willing to refer to but refuse to show.
Phonicals
Anyone who knows me very well knows that I am an avid reader, I blame this condition on my mother who was also afflicted with the same condition. When I was a young child she brought me into our living room and with a deliberate air (which I was later to learn was actually sadism) she introduced me to phonics; soon after I was hooked.
Many of you have seen someone who is hooked on phonics, could be a stranger at a coffee shop, maybe even be someone that you know. While you can’t alway tell if someone is hooked on phonics, some people are quite easy to identify.
A surprising number of people are completely comfortable with their affliction, these people can be seen in public areas, generally sitting somewhere out of the way, with their book out in plain sight. While these people might look completely harmless do not take that for granted. When disturbed they can turn extremely hostile, babbling nonsense like, “Not now he is about to propose to her!” or “Don’t interrupt, he is about to stab someone!” Do not be fooled! A careful examination of the area will prove that nothing of the sort is taking place. These are simple scare tactics that are a phonical’s first defense against unwelcome attention.
I know that right now you are asking yourself, “What if they do not prominently display their hobby?” “How can I tell if any of my friends are hooked?” and, “Can I catch this from being around phonicals?”
Phonicals are a lot like normal people in the aspect that they like to hang out with other people like them. Usually they are looking for the best places to get their “hook”, or finding out what other phonicals are hooked on. Places that these kind of people typically frequent are used book stores, coffee shops, or Barnes and Noble. This is where things can get confusing as normal people drink coffee and hang out at Barnes and Noble in an attempt to seem smarter than they really are so obviously discretion is advised.
Another way to determine whether or not your friend is hooked on phonics is to visit them at their house. Now this can be a bit tricky as some extremist phonicals take the phrase ‘A man’s home is his fortress’ literally. They do not necessarily have walls and a gate but it can be quite difficult to gain entrance to their house, but once you do you are basically looking at their bare soul.
At first this can seem like a foreign concept because most people entertain guests at their house quite frequently and keep their personal life locked away in their room. Phonicals however seem to be quite surprised when you suggest that you meet them at their house.
A good way to see their home in its unmodified form is to arrange a later date (at least a week in advance) that you will drop by, then conveniently forget to remind them in advance. This works well because phonicals as a whole seem to be rather confused about how calendars work and will typically forget any appointments made within a day. The reason that you set the date out at least a week is because no phonical will be able to keep his home clean for more than a couple days, and by then they will forget that you are coming which will result in the home returning to its original state.
When you drop by it should be fairly obvious, many people will keep a bookcase stocked with books to provide the illusion of culture, with phonicals the bookcase will be full and slightly overflowing. Books will be strewn in odd places such as tables by the couch, the kitchen counter, or on the floor. This is not unlike when you are trying to impress a girl that you have brought to your house, the only difference being that the phonical will not have gaps in his bookcase.
Another good way to tell is if you see a high amount of disposable coffee cups or mugs lying around. For those of you who have gamers instead of children the cups will be replaced with empty Mountain Dew cans.
The absolute clincher for telling if someone is a phonical are the pets that they have wandering around their house, these are their guards. Do not be alarmed, the guards are merely there for observational or philosophical reasons, they will usually refrain from attacking you.
It is extremely easy to tell these guards apart from the average household pet. All animals exist to better the lives of human beings, whether through sacrificing themselves for our consumption, completing various jobs for us, or simply making our lives more enjoyable. A phonical’s guards will not fall into any of these catagories. They do not obey the phonical’s spoken commands, complete any obvious physical work, or provide any sort of sustenance. In fact the only thing that they seem to do is sleep, search the house for intruders, and look directly into your soul.
You should have a fairly good idea now on how to determine if someone is a phonical. In the next lesson we will discuss what the impact of a phonical is on the neighborhood and how to deal with them.
No fair! I’m color blind!
Remember children, being color blind is no excuse to have a website that reflects your condition.
Monochromatic <–I went expecting colors! 
Triad <—More like what I was expecting my monochromatic page to look like.
Complementary <– No comment for this one.
If I am completely wrong on this one you will have to forgive me, I missed class that day and am attempting to understand this on my own.
But it made perfect sense to me!
Typography:
noun
| 1. | the art or process of printing with type. |
| 2. | the work of setting and arranging types and of printing from them. |
| 3. | the general character or appearance of printed matter. |
One thing that I find frustrating when building a website is to spend time creating something that I think looks cool or is obvious in use, only to find people think that it is confusing or hideously grotesque in appearance.
One website that I am sure made perfect sense to the creator but I thought could use a little work was Guns America. As soon as I set eyes upon this web page I was overwhelmed, all of the text seems to be crammed together, on my screen there is a large block of white space on the right hand side which makes the page feel extremely lopsided, and as the straw that broke the camel’s back the menu bar is beyond obscene. It is a long list of miniature sized text that starts out by traversing the left side of the page in a single column then decides to have a change of pace and changes into multiple columns which take up a larger portion of the page.
I think that this person could have a decent web page if they made it look good to people with different screen sizes and if they had a much more cohesive menu bar.
Violence in America, is it because of video games?
Someone commented on my previous post about “killing games” which can also be known as first person shooters (may I point out that there are several 3rd person “killing games” Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto come to mind).
Following is their comment and my response which I have decided to make into its own separate post because this is a topic that I am rather vehement on.
[quote]
“Ok, so you say you’ve been playing “Killing Games” for years (I call them first person shooter games). I truly hate them. Gun safety’s first rule, is never point a gun at anyone….not even your dog, even if you have stapled him….hey that’s not nice!
My kids have grown up just fine, but they do have the same argument as you, I just don’t buy it. Look at the level of violence in our country, and you can’t chalk it all up to hormones in beef.
Read a book, talk a walk, talk to a friend, volunteer at the food bank, there’s lots to do, than shoot your poor stapled dog.” 
[/quote]
“First off I would like to say thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts here, it shows a lot about you that you can disagree but still keep things civil.
I agree that there is a high level of violence in our country, it is my opinion, however, that this is due to poor parenting rather than allowing children to play fps’, or even (I am loath to admit) watching overly violent movies.
I personally have never watched the any of the Saw movies, I am rather horrified not only that someone would create a movie like that, but also that it would be so widely accepted.
At first I would be temped to think that if someone were to watch those movies, it would not cause them to do violence, but they would already be open to the idea of using violence and that is why they would not be as affected by those movies.
However, I realized that that was to broad of an idea. My best friend has watched all of the Saw movies, but you would never know that from just meeting and being around him. This guy is somewhat renowned throughout our group of gamers because of how much control of himself he has; he rarely ever loses his temper and when he does it barely shows. I am not saying that he bottles all his anger up, when something happens that will make him angry then he will just let it go and move on.
I am sure that you did not mean it as such but your comment that I should, “Read a book, talk a walk, talk to a friend, [or] volunteer at the food bank, there’s lots to do.” was extremely offensive to me. By this comment you are (maybe not purposefully) implying that people who play “killing games” do not engage is extra curricular activities, never read books, go outside, or keep an active social life.
I can almost guarantee that I read more book that you do. Almost every night before I go to sleep I enjoy reading, my own personal library is somewhat extensive. I also greatly enjoy sports and keep in close contact with my friends (both local and otherwise).
Here is an interview I had with a pro gamer about this topic.
What is your background in video games?
Hewy – “I first started playing Sega Genesis, my favourite games back then were NBA Jam and anything to do with Sonic. From there it evolved, I picked up almost every console until I came across the XBOX. There I picked up Halo 1 and Amped Snowboarding. Ever since then I’ve been hooked on The Halo series, but balance out my time playing halo with Guitarhero II & III, Madden 2008, and Counter Strike Source.”
What are your thoughts on violence in video games and the rising violence in America?
Hewy – “The violence seems to be increasing as the FPS genre along with adventure etc. continues to add more violence into their games because they believe it will appeal to their target audience. But violence in video games and it being the cause of violent acts in America just seems like an easy scapegoat politicians can use. Sure, it may be the cause of some instances, but that is very rare and the person who was influenced by the game most likely is somewhat mentally challenged or has some disability.”
How many hours do you spend on video games weekly?
Hewy – “Probably around 15-20, it usually depends on how much school work I have and what the schedules for other activities I have look like”
How do you spend your time when you are not playing video games?
Hewy – “I play Highschool and AAA baseball for my city, as well as running cross country and I freestyle ski competing across north America”
What would you say to parents who are concerned with their kids playing “killing games”?
Hewy – “I personally don’t think kids should play killing video games. Mainly because they don’t really have the mental capacity to know what is reality and what isn’t. I think parents should always keep track of what their kids are playing. But for teens, I think parents need to realize that most teens know it’s just a game and that they wouldn’t go out killing people in real life, and plus FPS aren’t always about killing, the strategies and mental aspect of the game are probably more important then killing and that’s another thing parents should look at. “
Also may I point out that this picture http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/imagerepository/LR_child_gun_250.jpg
was not taken on the streets of America.
I would also highly recommend reading this page.
http://hrewiki.pbwiki.com/Child+soldiers+-+points+for+a+talk
I read the whole thing, it should only take a couple minutes of your time.
Well, I am sorry that I dragged that so far out. I tend to talk a lot when I am defending something I am interested in.
In closing and to sum up my main points (which is a proper ending) I do not think that video games make people violent, I think that lack of proper parenting creates character defects which people like to pin on violent video games (whether fps or not). And while I do believe that violence is a present and escalating problem in America, I believe that it is a much greater problem in other countries where practically none of the people get to play any video games.”
-Jason
