[ Link: Something Different ]

If you haven’t heard of MMA, you should fix that. And if you’ve heard of MMA but are UFC-biased, you should fix that too. There are tons of amazing fighters out there that aren’t yet in the UFC.

But most importantly, if you know of MMA and of UFC but don’t know of Fedor Emelianenko, you are missing out.

Fedor is widely considered to be the best MMA fighter ever. He’s a God when striking or grappling, and can take massive punishment and come back to destroy you. Check out this fight with Randleman where he gets dropped on his neck, rolls over, and submits him like it never even happened.

Then at the end he tries to help him up as if to say sorry. The guy is inhuman. Oh, and he never stares people down in the ring. He looks down and is always respectful. Then he comes out and hurts you. When this beast was asked if he had any pets he responded:

Yes, I have a pet turtle.

Fear any man who ignores being dropped on his neck and has a pet turtle. And here’s a highlight reel:

So yeah, I thought Jackson had a great chance to win (I put it at 45% - 55%), and I knew for sure it was going to be a first round knockout one way or the other. All these people at the sports bar were talking about third round decision, second round TKO, etc.. I told them, “First round KO. It’s just a question of who.” And indeed that was the case.

So now a few thoughts:

Pride has more talent than UFC does. They have better fighters and they fight more often. I think we’ll continue to see the Pride fighters dominate the UFC fighters — not always, but in general.

Secondly, Chuck has a sick offense but I agree that he’s never been pitted against a striker near his caliber. Some people call that overrated, which I guess I agree with now that the Pride fighters are part of the mix. I truly believe that people like Henderson, Silva (Wanderlei), and Jackson have offense as good or better than Chuck’s.

Basically, Chuck had so much success because he can knock people out consistently while defending the take-down really well. The issue is that he’s not faced many serious strikers, and now we see what happens when he does. Don’t get me wrong, I think Chuck has a good chance of knocking out Jackson too; it’s a coin-toss really. But it shouldn’t be if one fighter is that much better than another.

What I’m looking for right now is for more Pride fighters to come to UFC, and a more active fight schedule. I don’t want a boxing schedule for these guys; I want them tuned, like in Pride. And for the love of God — bring Fedor to the UFC. I can’t wait to see him destroy the heavyweight division. I know that he can lose, but he’s 100% real-deal. Tested. Certified. Guaranteed.

It struck me recently that Pakistan is perilously close to being a Muslim theocracy, and that Musharaf (who seems to be keeping it from happening) will almost inevitably be removed soon — one way or another.

I’m aware of the dangers of fear-mongering, but at the same time I can’t help but fret over the notion of a nuclear-enabled country in the hands of Holy warriors. My problem isn’t so much with Pakistan doing something themselves, but what happens when some hard-line Muslim faction takes over the country and then gets approached by Al Quaeda?

What force will restrain them — hardliners who share many similar views — from accepting millions of dollars in exchange for a couple of nuclear devices? I just don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t help Al Quaeda. Of course they could fear retribution and that good stuff, but if there was insufficient evidence to lead back to Pakistan the U.S. would have nothing to go on in trying to respond.

This is especially true given how much proliferation has taken place. There are just so many potential sources (mostly former Soviet) that without solid proof it’d be impossible to do a full strike without major evidence. The world wouldn’t stand for another major attack on a country based on shoddy evidence (see Iraq).

The Islamists in charge of Pakistan could essentially get the benefit of attacking the U.S., but not have to do the work themselves. And Al Quaeda could get the blame (which they want) while not having to work too hard to get the ultimate weapon.

So, what I’m looking for is why this isn’t a problem given Musharaf’s tenuous hold on his country.

Believe in the literal word of the Bible is strongest among those whose schooling stopped with high school and declines steadily with educational level, with only 20% of college graduates holding that view and 11% of those with an advanced degree.

So, people who believe the literal word of the Bible:

31% total. 20% if you have a basic degree. 11% if you have an advanced degree.

Once again, Occam’s Razor:

Option 1: Education is secular in nature and leads people astray. It teaches people to question the origins of the Bible, the apparent (but untrue) contradictions within it, and its similarities with previous stories — all of which is wrong because the Bible warns against trying to gain too much worldly knowledge. The true way to gather knowledge is to stop worrying about what all this human (and therefore flawed) education says and read the scriptures as God intended.

Option 2: The Bible is a collection of stories written by numerous authors, edited numerous times, over roughly 900 years. The only people who believe it to be the literal work of God are people who have been indoctrinated to believe so. As such, those who are exposed to education gain the benefit of perspective and are able to see what it truly is. The more education one has the more likely they 1) came from a family that didn’t harshly indoctrinate them as children, and 2) get more exposure to alternative ways of interpreting the world. Both of these lead to less chance of believing the Bible is the literal work of God.

Which seems more logical?

These parents are protesting their children not being able to walk at a commencement ceremony because they failed a necessary academic exam.

LET ARE KIDS WALK!

…reads one of the signs.

The parents are the reason their children are not walking. All the test did was reveal their failure.

I recently blogged about a short XKCD comic series in which someone is encouraged by a time/dimension traveler version of them self to overcome resistances to living life. Their other form (that they meet in space) tells them to take wrong turns, open unmarked doors, and to engage people in conversation when you feel the whim.

There are so many adventures you miss out on because you’re waiting to think of a plan.

The lesson was one I’d heard many times before, and that I already embrace, but it was done in such a way that it still had a significant impact on me. So today, just a few minutes ago, while sitting in an airport in New York, I put my this newly invigorated concept into practice.

A buddy of mine and I were discussing multiculturalism and MLK’s “I have a dream” speech. Specifically, he wanted me to read the speech again and determine whether it stressed unity or multiculturalism. I did so, and concluded that the focus was unity.

Just as I finished responding to him via Blackberry, an older black woman wearing colorful African clothing and sporting dreadlocks sat down a couple seats from me. The thought crossed my mind for just one second that I was curious as to what her opinion was, but it was fleeting. The vision of a youngish white guy asking an older black woman out of the blue what her opinion of the “I have a dream” speech should show you why most would be reticent to proceed.

So I did nothing. For about 30 seconds.

I then remembered the message from the comic — about how the right way to live life is to engage when you see the chance of a good conversation. Don’t hide. Don’t worry. Don’t assume the worst. Just do it. Just live.

And I did. I handed her my Blackberry, showed her the question my buddy had sent me, and asked her opinion on the matter. We talked for a few minutes, and I ended up giving her my whole theory on multiculturalism. On how the melting pot was meant to create a homogeneous liquid, and how the progression toward “many countries” within America is a near guarantee of disaster.

Aside from the obvious shock due to the fact that we were having the conversation at all, she clearly enjoyed the exchange and actually acknowledged that it was a problem (perhaps for the first time?). Finally we agreed that the answer was an elusive one. It was very cool that the discussion even took place at all — and even more so that it was so positive.

So I thank the Internet. I thank the author of XKCD. And I encourage others to share their thoughts as Randall Munroe did. They do actually make a difference.:

Dangerous Intersection has an interesting piece on doing just this. I think it’s reprehensible when compared to everything except the alternative of allowing the status quo.

I’m constantly amazed by this author. I am actually emotionally affected by this work, and it’s simply remarkable. Read this series all the way through, starting with 1 and ending with 5.

It will only take around 2 minutes of your time.

[ XKCD: Choices ]

I can promise that regardless of your viewpoints on global terrorism, religion, and America — you’ll learn something from this.

[ Bin Laden Addresses The American People ]