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<channel>
	<title>Today Was Awesome &#187; Projects</title>
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		<title>Personal Web Filtering Options</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/filter/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/filter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:06:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adblock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[censorship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/?p=490</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I love the internet and I&#8217;ve always hated internet filters because they block stuff erroneously. However, I do try to avoid certain types of material online and so I&#8217;ve done a little work to make sure that I don&#8217;t see anything I don&#8217;t want to see. Here&#8217;s what I do along with some other options. As [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/censored.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-492" title="censored" src="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/censored-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>I love the internet and I&#8217;ve always hated internet filters because they block stuff erroneously. However, I do try to avoid certain types of material online and so I&#8217;ve done a little work to make sure that I don&#8217;t see anything I don&#8217;t want to see. Here&#8217;s what I do along with some other options.</p>
<p>As a side note, anyone that knows me knows that I hate censorship in a government. What I&#8217;m trying to help people do is filter out the content that they <em>personally</em> don&#8217;t want to see. I would never <strong>impose</strong> censorship on anyone.<span id="more-490"></span></p>
<h2>Site by site plugin&#8217;s for Google Chrome</h2>
<p>These can be a bit tricky depending on the site but if theres a site you always goto and it often has content you don&#8217;t want to see then they can be a great option. I have two installed but more can be found at <a href="http://userscripts.org">userscripts.org</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/64014">Hide NSFW stories on Reddit.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/74438">Hide related (actually unrelated) images on imgur.com</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Search around and if you&#8217;re looking for a specific site and can&#8217;t find it let me know. I can whip one of these up in about 5 minutes so I&#8217;m happy to do it.</p>
<h2>Active content monitoring with DNS filtering</h2>
<p>Don&#8217;t be scared of the title! This is a very easy thing to do! There&#8217;s a free solution called <a href="http://www.opendns.com/">OpenDNS</a>. You can make a few simple changes to your computer or router (there are complete instructions on the site) and then you can choose which types of content you want to block.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t a bad solution, I don&#8217;t use it personally but will probably start when my Son gets old enough to use the computer on his own.</p>
<h2>Using a hostfile to block a large swatch of bad sites</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m going to get geeky here and explain how DNS works and what it is. Every website has an address, instead of a physical address like 123 Sycamore its an IP address. When you type &#8220;todaywasawesome.com&#8221; into your browser your computer asks the DNS (domain name server) server for the adress to todaywasawesome.com. That address is 208.75.86.170.</p>
<p>So the previous solution basically looks for websites that have bad content and then will give the wrong address back to your computer so the page won&#8217;t load. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>K, well, a hostfile is sort of like a static DNS that loves on your computer. It tells your computer what the address for websites are without actually looking up what the address is.</p>
<p>Still with me? Great, so theres a public hostfile out there you can download and install that will block most advertisements along with adult content. This hostfile can be downloaded from <a href="http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm">mvps.org</a> and the have installation instructions on that site.</p>
<h2>Plain old ad block</h2>
<p>Just about every browser has some sort of adblock that you can grab. I have mixed feelings about them because I don&#8217;t actually care about blocking ads, just ads with content that I don&#8217;t like. But you may find this to be a better solution.</p>
<p>You can find adblock for chrome <a href="https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom">here</a>.</p>
<h2>For help</h2>
<p>If you need any help just leave a comment and I&#8217;ll do what I can. If you have an additions or suggestions throw them in the comments as well.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>History 1700 Midterm</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/history-1700-midterm/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/history-1700-midterm/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 May 2010 02:07:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[american history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history 1700]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[study guide]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/?p=427</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m diverting from my normal fare to work on a study guide for my History 1700 Midterm. The book used is &#8220;The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People Concise 6th Edition&#8221; Guide after the bump Manitou Generic deity for native americans. From the Algonquian language. pg. 13-14 Shaman -Spiritual authority for native americans. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m diverting from my normal fare to work on a study guide for my History 1700 Midterm.</p>
<p>The book used is &#8220;The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People Concise 6th Edition&#8221;</p>
<p>Guide after the bump</p>
<p><span id="more-427"></span></p>
<dl>
<dt>Manitou</dt>
<dd>Generic deity for native americans. From the Algonquian language.</dd>
<dd>pg. 13-14</dd>
<dt>Shaman</dt>
<dd>-Spiritual authority for native americans. They we responsible for communicating with the spirit world. Probably considered a healer.</dd>
<dt>Martin Luther</dt>
<dd>- A German Friar that criticized practices in the catholic church. His revolt sparked the protestant reformation.</dd>
<dd>pg. 23</dd>
<dt>House of Burgesses</dt>
<dd>-Virginia Company (1619) created this elected assembly and was the first representative government in north america. </dd>
<dd>pg. 35, 37-39</dd>
<dt>John Winthrop</dt>
<dd>-Coined the phrase &#8220;City upon a hill&#8221;. A puritan that founded the massachusetts bay colony. Wanted to build a utopia and then bring reforms to England. </dd>
<dd>pg. 46, 53</dd>
<dt>Jonathan Edwards</dt>
<dd>-Minister of the great awakening taught that we are &#8220;Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God&#8221; Kickstarted religious revival in US.</dd>
<dd>pg. 67, 86-88</dd>
<dt>John Dickenson</dt>
<dd>-Published twelve essays entitled &#8220;Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.&#8221; He argued that British Parliament had no right to do the Stamp Act or the Revenue Act.</dd>
<dd>pg. 103-104</dd>
<dd> </dd>
<dt>Albany Plan of Union</dt>
<dd>- A plan that would have united the american colonists with a cohesive government under the British Empire. Proposed by Benjamin Franklin and rejected. </dd>
<dd>pg. 92, 96</dd>
<dt>Committees of Correspondence</dt>
<dd>- Used by John Adams to convince the tens of thousands of colonists that their rights were being trampled. They were, small localized committees that coordinated the colonies.</dd>
<dd>pg. 93, 108, 110, 1170</dd>
<dt>Shay&#8217;s Rebellion</dt>
<dd>-Uprising by Massachusetts farmers that convinced many Americans their government was too weak. Farmers rebelled against taxes fromt he massachusetts legislature. It failed.</dd>
<dd>pg 137-139</dd>
<dd> </dd>
<dt>Whiskey Rebellion</dt>
<dd>-Tax protest by western farmers that gave Washington and Hamilton the opportunity to assert the power of the national government. Essentially from a sin tax on domestic liquor. </dd>
<dd>pg 152</dd>
<dt>Alexander Hamilton</dt>
<dd>-Wrote the federalist papers with James Maidons and John Jay. Powerfully shaped the American vision of government. Washington&#8217;s chief advisor. Worked to found the Union&#8217;s credit. Believed in a national debt to link the future of the US with creditors that wanted them to succeed. </dd>
<dd>pg 135, 143-149</dd>
<dt>John Marshall</dt>
<dd>-Chief justice of the supreme court (1819). His decisions solidified federal power over states and strengthened the rights of corporations under states.</dd>
<dd>pg 178, 188</dd>
<dt>Andrew Jackson</dt>
<dd>- &#8220;Old Hickory&#8221; a fierce Indian fighter. A hero against the British in the war of 1828-1830somthing. Became President in 1820s. Believed Indians should be integrated with states, not separate nations. Signed the Indian Removal act -&gt; trail of tears. Blocked nullification. </dd>
<dd>pg 173, 186-187, 191-197, 215-220</dd>
<dt>Monroe Doctrine</dt>
<dd>- Proclaimed the Untied States to be primacy in the new world. Said we would block european governments from being involved in the Americas as rulers. </dd>
<dd>pg 191</dd>
<dt>Frederick Douglass</dt>
<dd>- Escaped slave. Powerful speaker and major figure in antislavery movement. Said ~&#8221;Slaves sing most their saddest&#8221; </dd>
<dd>pg. 232</dd>
<dt>Seneca Falls Convention</dt>
<dd>-First women&#8217;s rights convention. split off from anti-slavery movement by women scorned therein.</dd>
<dd>pg. 217, 233</dd>
<dt>American Renaissance</dt>
<dd>-Burst of american authors and american intellectualism. Included Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau and more. 1840-1860 ish</dd>
<dd>pg. 249-254</dd>
<dt>William Lloyd Garrison</dt>
<dd>-Started &#8220;The Liberator&#8221; newspaper for abolitionists. Demanded immediate emancipation. Contemporary with Frederick Douglass. </dd>
<dd>pg. 217, 233-236</dd>
<dt>Nat Turner</dt>
<dd>-Leader of largest slave rebellion in US History. Slaughter about 60 slave owners and was eventually hanged. Believed himself to be a prophet and took the eclipse as a sign that it was time for the black man to overcome his oppressors. </dd>
<dd>pg. 255-257, 272-277</dd>
<dt>Proslavery Argument</dt>
<dd>-Churches took up the charge and argued that slavery was a positive good. They pointed to slavery in the Bible and that proslavery societies had produced thinkers like Plato and Aristotle. They believed that Blacks in america as slaves were better off than as savages in their own countries. To do this, southern churches split from national organizations. </dd>
<dd>pg 265</dd>
<dd> </dd>
<dt>James K. Polk</dt>
<dd>-11th President 1844. Believed in Manifest Destiny. Annexed Texas, Oregon, California, New Mexico. Exapansionist. Very strong president.</dd>
<dd>pg. 281, 290-293</dd>
<dt>Stephen F. Austin</dt>
<dd>-Empersario who founded Texas (originally founded Coahulia-Tejas). Fought against Santa Anna for texas independence. </dd>
<dd>pg. 286-287</dd>
<dt>Charles Sumner</dt>
<dd>-Senator from Massachusetts. He raged against slavery in Kansas and was beat with a cane by a southerner who burst into the Senate. Vigorous emancipator. </dd>
<dd>pg. 313, 328</dd>
<dt></dt>
<dt>Daniel Webster</dt>
<dd>-Secretary of state for President John Tyler (Betcha didn&#8217;t know there was a President Tyler). Advocate for new technology and industry during the turn of the century. Helped settle dispute around Texas annexation. </dd>
<dd>pg. 238, 289</dd>
<dt></dt>
<dt>John Brown</dt>
<dd>-Radical abolitionist. Tried to start rebellion at Harpers Ferry. </dd>
<dd>pg. 301-302, 313-318</dd>
<dt>Stephen A Douglas</dt>
<dd>-Senator of Illinois organized Nebraska Territory. Proposed Missouri compromise </dd>
<dd>pg. 309</dd>
<dd> </dd>
<dt>William t. Sherman</dt>
<dd>-General for the North, he believed in total war. Sherman&#8217;s march burned everything in it&#8217;s path. Set aside land for freed blacks on the South Carolina sea islands. </dd>
<dd>pg. 368, 371</dd>
<dt>Robert E. Lee</dt>
<dd>-General of the southern rebellion. Orginally an officer for the Union but resigned. Surrendered April 1865.</dd>
<dd>pg. 296, 301-352</dd>
<dt>Ulysses S. Grant</dt>
<dd>-General for the Union. Appointed over the army of the Potomac and eventually defeated Robert E. Lee.</dd>
<dd>pg. 335-359, 370</dd>
<dt>Freedmen&#8217;s Bureau</dt>
<dd>-Government bureau tasked with helping freedmen (former slaves) adjust to free life. Built schools and helped freedmen find homes.</dd>
<dd> </dd>
<dt>Sharecropping System</dt>
<dd>-Sharecropping allowed large land owners to lease part of their land to other farmers who would then pay a part of their crop to the owner. </dd>
<dd>pg. 369-378</dd>
<dt>Ghost Dance</dt>
<dd>-Ritual that the prophet &#8220;Wovoka&#8221; promised would restore Indians to control of their lands. Basically a return to the Indian ethics. Alarmed army and led to wounded knee massacre. </dd>
<dd>pg. 381, 386, 402</dd>
<dt>Andrew Carnegie</dt>
<dd>-Scottish immigrant who build a large steel company. Started off on the railroad, cutting costs. Sold his company to J.P. Morgan for 1/2 a billion dollars. Rags to riches story. Wrote &#8220;Gospel of Wealth&#8221; which argued for little government interference from the govt. </dd>
<dd>pg 404, 407-410, 418, 423, 425, 473</dd>
<dt>Standard Oil Trust</dt>
<dd>-Formed by Rockefeller to join all oil companies in the US and eliminate competition. Led to the Sherman anti-trust act (1890).</dd>
<dd>pg. 407, 409, 413, 425</dd>
<dt>Jane Addams</dt>
<dd>-Established &#8220;settlement houses&#8221; and won the Nobel prize. Settlement houses were like community centers for new immigrants. </dd>
<dd>pg. 429, 439-440, 450, 473, 476, 480, 505, 514, 521, 532, 540</dd>
<dt>Salvation Army</dt>
<dd>-Religious group that helped the poor. Established by a methodist minister William Booth. Helped people get jobs, food and learn to live like middle class. </dd>
<dd>pg. 429, 438, 440, 450</dd>
<dt>New Immigrants vs Old Immigrants</dt>
<dd>-New immigrants are the wave of Italians, slavs, greeks and jews migrating after 1880. They came from southern and easter europe. Poorly viewed by most old immigrants. Used by politicians to get votes. </dd>
<dd>pg. 429-440</dd>
<dt>Victorianism</dt>
<dd>-Strict code of gentility that permeated late 19th century society. Rejected by Twain and Frank Lloyd right. Contrasted with the rowdy new immigrants. </dd>
<dd>pg 444, 450</dd>
<dt>Populist Party</dt>
<dd>-Agrarian based party that challenged  Republicans and Democrats. </dd>
<dd>pg 451, 461-467</dd>
<dt>Open Door Notes</dt>
<dd>-Sought to trade with China. Secretary of State Haye&#8217;s attempt to keep trade open in China. </dd>
<dd>pg. 507-511, 530</dd>
<dt>William Jennings Bryan</dt>
<dd>-Orator, champion of farm interests, anti-imperialist, three time Democratic presidential candidate. </dd>
<dd>pg. 451, 453-475</dd>
<dt>W.E.B. Du Bois</dt>
<dd>-Black sociologist, later one of the founders of the NAACP. Civil rights leader author of &#8220;The Sould of Black Folk&#8221;. Kick started fight for equality.</dd>
<dd>pg. 432, 445, 449, 476, 490, 494, 503, 505, 516, 532</dd>
<dt>Booker T. Washington</dt>
<dd>-Clashed with Du Bois. A leading black figure who stressed education and acommodation</dd>
<dd>pg. 451, 463, 475-476, 497</dd>
<dt>Robert A. La Follette</dt>
<dd>-Progressive political. First a governor in wisconsin and later a senator. Antiwar. Called an &#8220;unhung traitor&#8221; by Roosevelt. </dd>
<dd>pg. 476, 483, 495, 503-505</dd>
<dt>A. Mitchell Palmer</dt>
<dd>-Attorney General. Led the way in the first Red Scare to out communists. </dd>
<dd>pg. 505, 528-529</dd>
<dt>Henry Cabot Lodge</dt>
<dd>-Expansionist Senator. Fought the league of nations. </dd>
<dd>pg. 451, 469, 505, 527</dd>
<dt>Aimee Semple McPherson</dt>
<dd>-Fundamentalist preacher. Big on the radio who used theatrics to attract people, like a score board. </dd>
<dd>pg. 550</dd>
<dt>Harlem Renaissance</dt>
<dd>-Outgrowth of black culture. Involved Jazz, writers and more. </dd>
<dd>pg. 505, 523, 532, 545-548</dd>
<dt>Eleanor Roosevelt</dt>
<dd>-Wife of FDR. She redefined the role of the first lady as a humanitarian. Influence social change and the New Deal</dd>
<dd>pg. 557-558, 562-563, 568, 585 </dd>
<dt>Rosie the Riveter</dt>
<dd>-Symbol for women workers during WW2. Kick started some of modern feminism.</dd>
<dd>pg. 604-605</dd>
<dt>Atlantic Charter</dt>
<dd>-Signed by FDR and Churchill. Basically said that the water needed to be a safe place and free of agression. After German sub fired on the US, set the stage for the war with germany in WW2.</dd>
<dd>pg. 593</dd>
<dt>George Kennan</dt>
<dd>-American diplomat to Russia. Led the Cold War idea of &#8220;containment&#8221; </dd>
<dd>pg. 622, 637</dd>
<dt>Fair Deal</dt>
<dd>-Massive change in government and reforms designed to pull US out of great depression. </dd>
<dd>pg. 632, 637</dd>
<dt>Benjamin Spock</dt>
<dd>-Dr and author that strongly urged women to be fulltime mothers and to worry most about their children. Influential after WWII.</dd>
<dd>pg. 638, 652, 660</dd>
<dt>Earl Warren</dt>
<dd>-Chief Justice that broadened individual rights and ruled in &#8220;Brown Vs the board of education&#8221;. One of the judges to order desegregation of schools. </dd>
<dd>pg. 638, 641-642, 660-662</dd>
<dt>Beats</dt>
<dd>-Ginsberg and Kerouac led the beat movement. With <em>Howl</em> and <em>On the Road</em>. Scorned conformity, celebrated the outcasts and counter culture. </dd>
<dd>pg. 660-661</dd>
<dt>Rosa Parks</dt>
<dd>-Civil rights leader who refused her seat on a bus to a white man.</dd>
<dd>pg. 656, 651</dd>
<dt>Betty Friedan</dt>
<dd>-Author of &#8220;Feminine Mystique&#8221; that argued strongly against mother&#8217;s being locked into the &#8220;housewife trap&#8221;</dd>
<dd>pg.  662-663, 665, 678</dd>
<dt>Black Panthers</dt>
<dd>-A violent wing of the black civil rights movement. Argued black power. Led by Malcom X.</dd>
<dd>pg. 665, 673, 677, 683</dd>
<dt>Cesar Chavez</dt>
<dd>-Mexican immigrant who fought for labor and civil rights.</dd>
<dd> </dd>
<dt>Moral Majority</dt>
<dd>-Founded by Jerry Falwell. The Moral Majority was a political evangelical group that tried to promote christian ideals and elect Pat Robertson to president. </dd>
<dd>pg. 715, 723</dd>
<dt>Reaganomics</dt>
<dd>-Idea that if you reduce taxes the economy will boom and generate more revenue. The tax breaks to businesses would trickle down among the people.</dd>
<dd>pg. 724-725</dd>
<dt>Iran-contra scandal</dt>
<dd>-Reagan administration illegally sold weapons to Iran to finance contras. </dd>
<dd>pg. 711, 729-733</dd>
<dt>&#8220;Me&#8221; Generation</dt>
<dd>-</dd>
</dl>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Magical Zombies</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/magical-zombies/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/magical-zombies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:21:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[zombie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[magic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[magical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zombies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/?p=232</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What is a Magical Zombie? Magical Zombies are zombies that have been created by wizards, witches or other people that play Magic the gathering. The are unique in that they generally aren&#8217;t contagious, so when they bite someone they won&#8217;t become a zombie and they have no grounding in the physical world. Take a look [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>What is a Magical Zombie?</h2>
<p>Magical Zombies are zombies that have been <i>created</i> by wizards, witches or other people that play Magic the gathering. The are unique in that they generally aren&#8217;t contagious, so when they bite someone they won&#8217;t become a zombie and they have no grounding in the physical world. Take a look at the examples if you don&#8217;t get what I mean:</p>
<h2>History in movies</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0166792/" title="Zombie Scooby">Scooby Doo: Zombie Island 1998</a> (not a reality show)</li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/" title="Army of Darkness: awesome">Army of Darkness</a></li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0023694/" title="White Zombie">White Zombie</a> One of the first zombie movies
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/" title="The harry potter with zombies in it">Harry Potter: Half-blood prince 2009</a> (Zombies are called inferi in Harry Potter)</li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0138510/" title="Idle Hands">Idle Hands 1999</li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0299930/" title="Gigli...shudder">And a whole bunch of crappy movies (2003)</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>The most comedic of all zombies</h2>
<p>You may have noticed from the movie list magical zombies aren&#8217;t exactly the biggest threat on film makers minds. They are however very unique and should you ever run into them it&#8217;s important to know how to fight them and survive!</p>
<h2>Magic Zombie Fact List</h2>
<ul>
<li>Magical Zombies are generally not infections! Don&#8217;t go killing party members because they got bit!</li>
<li>Their limbs can function independent of their bodies, cut off and arm and the arm will chase you.</li>
<li>It&#8217;s generally agreed that magic zombies TOTALLY hate fire!</li>
<li>Their attacks are usually limited by geography: get out of the effected town and you should be ok</li>
<li>They have a nasty habit of popping out of the ground, watch your feet and avoid cemeteries</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Zombie Plan</h2>
<p>After you&#8217;re done laughing because magical zombies are totally weak take a moment to realize that guns won&#8217;t stop them. Even if you blow their head off they&#8217;ll keep coming. Even if you chop their limbs off, all you will do is create five parts that are trying to kill you&#8230;granted they don&#8217;t have much leverage.</p>
<p>Your real goal should be to get out of the area effected by zombies. Stock up on molotov cocktails but remember that anytime you use them whatever building you run into will probably start on fire. Flame throwers are great too and you can <a href="http://www.diyhappy.com/a-really-easy-flamethrower/" title="home made flame thrower">make them from scratch</a>!</p>
<p>Shotguns are good too because they won&#8217;t end up starting you on fire and they still help slow the zombies down.</p>
<h2>If you can&#8217;t just leave and you insist on stopping the zombie invasion</h2>
<p>That&#8217;s easy, just find the shmuck that rose those zombies from the dead and kill &#8216;em. It might be difficult because they&#8217;re magic but it should be easy because they&#8217;re total wimps that play Magic: The gathering.</p>
<p>Just remember, if Scooby Doo can survive a Magical zombie attack, you can too.</p>
<h2>More Zombie Articles</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/07/08/surviving-a-zombie-attack/" title="Surviving a zombie attack">Surviving a Zombie Attack</a> &#8211; An Overview for understanding Zombie scenarios</li>
<li><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/07/10/biological-zombies/" title="Biological Zombies">Biological Zombies</a> &#8211; The most common type of Zombie outbreak</li>
<li><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/08/06/magical-zombies/" title="Magical Zombies">Magical Zombies</a> &#8211; The most likely zombie scenario if you&#8217;re Scooby Doo or in a disney movie</li>
</ul>
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		<title>Biological Zombies</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/biological-zombies/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/biological-zombies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:05:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[zombie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/07/10/biological-zombies/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What is a biological zombie? A biological zombie is the most popular current incarnation of zombies. These are zombies that are created through the spread of a virus, generally created by man, or other biological factor that physically changes a human into a zombie using science. Movies In which biological zombies are used 28 Days [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>What is a biological zombie?</h2>
<p>A biological zombie is the most popular current incarnation of zombies. These are zombies that are created through the spread of a virus, generally created by man, or other biological factor that physically changes a human into a zombie <i>using science</i>.</p>
<h2>Movies In which biological zombies are used</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href = "http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/" title="28 days later">28 Days Later (2002)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120804/" title="Resident Evil">Resident Evil (2002)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/" title="Shaun of the Dead">Shaun of the Dead (2004)</a> &#8211; at least we think they were bio zombies</li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/" title"Night of the living dead">Night of the living dead (1968)</a> &#8211; Once again, not confirmed</li>
<li><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/">I am Legend (2007)</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Important Facts</h2>
<ul>
<li>They are infectious, anyone they bite will probably turn into a zombie. Kill them quickly</li>
<li>They used to be slow but thanks to 28 days later they now run fast as hell</li>
<li>The best way to kill them is to shoot them in the head</li>
<li>They will eventually starve to death*</li>
<li>For some reason they have a human brain magnet and will always be drawn to fleshy pink parts</li>
<li>They&#8217;re probably wicked strong</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Guide</h2>
<p>So you woke up one morning and all of the sudden there were zombies kicking down your door trying to devour your flesh. Time to break out the old firearm and defend yourself. What&#8217;s that? Don&#8217;t have a firearm? Your liberal ass probably doesn&#8217;t deserve salvation, good work trying to make guns illegal for the entire time you weren&#8217;t undead.</p>
<h3>What you need</h3>
<p>Many of you may be familiar with <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2657784704_0b478ef263.jpg" title="Maslow's Hierarchy of needs">Maslow&#8217;s Hierarchy of needs</a> as well you should be but that scale changes significantly in a zombie attack. Observe the modified pyramid:<br />
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2657784708_9d3321ce89_o_d.png"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2657784708_04014b644e.jpg" width="475" alt="Zombie Survival pyramid" /></a></p>
<p>
<h3>Good strategies</h3>
<p>Kill your self.</p>
<p>I kid I kid! But seriously, you might be better off.</p>
<p>
<h3>Secure the area</h3>
<p>Start off by securing your immediate vicinity or leave. You need time to think dammit! Can you fortify your house? If not get the hell out of it. The last thing you want to do is get trapped in a corner where you won&#8217;t be able to get out. Remember this hard fast rule: Whenever you&#8217;re stuck in a corner zombies will attack!</p>
<p>You need weapons, it doens&#8217;t matter how careful you are, you will always need weapons (unless you&#8217;re in a bomb shelter a la <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0107529/" title="movie with a bomb shelter">Matinee</a>) and even then you&#8217;ll probably need them. </p>
<h3>Get some guns!</h3>
<p>If you don&#8217;t have guns you&#8217;ll need to get some, K-mart is almost worthless because they stopped carrying most ammunition. Thanks to that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_for_columbine#K-Mart_refund" title="bowling for columbine">kid that Michael Moore manipulated</a> you&#8217;ll have to go to gun stores, wallmart or pawn shops. Congrats, if you have to go to those places you&#8217;re probably dead. Be a boy scout and load up on zombie shooter&#8217;s today, <i>before</i> you need them! Copy <a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/03/02/extremely-tactical/" title="lovesac was crazy dangerous">my setup</a> if you need some ideas.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, special note, if you live in England or any of the other countries that made guns illegal you&#8217;re probably screwed.</p>
<h2>The real plan</h2>
<p>The real plan has to be personally made, something that fits your circumstances. I made my first zombie plan when I worked in a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dump">mall</a>. We knew that there was a sporting goods place in the mall so we could get guns, there was also a super target so we had food. The trick would just be to secure the borders to keep Zombie&#8217;s out. Now my situation has changed dramatically and I wouldn&#8217;t go near the mall.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2657847478_23624e622d_m.jpg" align="right" />Sit down with your family and come up with escape routes (to get away from zombies), code words (to verify they&#8217;re not a zombie) and <a href="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Reviews/shining.htm" title="The shining:a guide to quelling familial infection">procedures for slaughtering <del>everyone</del> anyone</a> <del>when</del> if they get bit.</p>
<h2>Still Confused?</h2>
<p>Ask your questions and we&#8217;ll make sure you get the answers you need before the biological zombie&#8217;s attack!</p>
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		<title>Surviving a Zombie Attack</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/surviving-a-zombie-attack/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/surviving-a-zombie-attack/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[zombie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/07/08/surviving-a-zombie-attack/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend I met my niece for the first time. She&#8217;s one of the most beautiful things I&#8217;ve seen, so innocent and so cute. As I looked down into her bright blue eyes all I could think was &#8220;How will you survive the future? How will you know how to fight off zombies?&#8221; All [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This past weekend I met my <a href="http://noragarfield.com/">niece</a> for the first time. She&#8217;s one of the most beautiful things I&#8217;ve seen, so innocent and so cute. As I looked down into her bright blue eyes all I could think was &#8220;How will you survive the future? How will you know how to fight off zombies?&#8221;</p>
<h2>All purpose zombie guide</h2>
<p>Unlike most guides which only cover one type of zombie eventuality I will be covering every kind of possible zombie attack. Everyone knows there are three types:
<ul>
<li><b><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/07/10/biological-zombies/">Biological Zombies</a></b> &#8211; Zombies created by a virus, probably engineered by man.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2008/08/06/magical-zombies/" title="Magical Zombies">Magical Zombies</a></b> &#8211; Zombies created by a witch/sorcerer. This is actually the easiest to survive!</li>
<li><b>Apocalyptic Zombies</b> &#8211; Zombies brought about by the end of the world. The Mac daddy of all zombie attacks and the hardest to survive.</li>
</ul>
<p>So stay tuned for some updates and remember <b>there are two kinds of people in this world</b>: Those with a zombie plan and those without. Who would you rather be?</p>
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		<title>Renting in Catania, Sicily</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/renting-in-catania-sicily/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/renting-in-catania-sicily/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:25:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe Trip]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/07/15/renting-in-catania-sicily/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Things to know when dealing overseas (specifically in Italy): 1. Always keep your receipts: Many vendors print your complete credit card information on receipts and they may later try to charge you for things you already paid for. 2. There is no better business bureau: Not that the BBB is super effective but it does [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Things to know when dealing overseas (specifically in Italy):<br />
1. <strong>Always keep your receipts</strong>: Many vendors print your complete credit card information on receipts and they may later try to charge you for things you already paid for.
<p />
<p>2. <strong>There is no better business bureau</strong>: Not that the BBB is super effective but it does carry a certain amount of weight. If you rent from an international chain you are at least guaranteed to have local options when making complaints.
<p />
<p>3. <strong>The mentality is snatch and grabs</strong>: In most tourist spots (especially in Italy) the mentality is that people are going to only come once so you may as well screw them as much as you can when they do come. They don&#8217;t think of repeat customers.
<p />
<p>4. <strong>They will steal your car</strong>: This one may seem confusing. Here&#8217;s what happens, you rent a car, they steal it back at night and then charge you the insurance deductible. Use a club or something. Make sure your stuff is locked up tight.</p>
<p>Read more about some specific experiences:
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/01/europe-day-21-never-goto-hollywood-in-sicily/">Problems at Hollywood (part one)</a></h2>
</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/07/15/hesitant-to-tell-you/" title="Hollywood rent-a-car">Hollywood Rent-a-car will scam you(part two)</a>.</h2>
</li>
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		<title>The End of New Band Day</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/the-end-of-new-band-day/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/the-end-of-new-band-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 2007 05:48:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[New Band Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/21/the-end-of-new-band-day/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, I&#8217;ve decided to kill new band day. Not because I didn&#8217;t have more to write about but for some other reasons. I kind of let it die anyway shepizzle.com has asked me to do music reviews there. That sounds really impressive I know. Jon, thanks for asking me to join your cool indie music [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, I&#8217;ve decided to kill new band day. Not because I didn&#8217;t have more to write about but for some other reasons.
<li>I kind of let it die anyway
<li><a href="http://www.shepizzle.com" title="Shepizzle indie music">shepizzle.com</a> has asked me to do music reviews there.</li>
<p> That sounds really impressive I know. Jon, thanks for asking me to join your cool indie music club and making me look impressive. At some point I&#8217;ll come to you and say
<p />&#8220;Hey, you see that chick there? She digs me because I&#8217;m an indie music reviewer on shepizzle. Thanks bro.&#8221; I can imagine it now, you&#8217;ll say
<p />&#8220;wow, find a less shallow girl.&#8221; Finally, I&#8217;ll respond
<p />&#8220;No thanks, she&#8217;s hot.&#8221;
<p />
<p>Until then, check out my latest, and so far only, additions.
<li><a href="http://shepizzle.com/2007/06/21/jose-gonzalez/" title="José Gonzáles=good music">José Gonzáles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://shepizzle.com/2007/06/21/brand-new/" title="Brand New - The band">Brand New</a></li>
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		<title>Europe Day 23 &#8211; Get us out of here</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/europe-day-23-get-us-out-of-here/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/europe-day-23-get-us-out-of-here/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:45:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe Trip]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/11/europe-day-23-get-us-out-of-here/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Don&#8217;t let my title be misleading. Europe has been awesome. It&#8217;s been such a wonderful trip despite our snags and problems. But now, I just want to get home. I was to change the dressing on my knee, I want to lay in a bed that doesn&#8217;t belong to someone else. I want my mommy. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Don&#8217;t let my title be misleading. Europe has been awesome. It&#8217;s been such a wonderful trip despite our snags and problems. But now, I just want to get home. I was to change the dressing on my knee, I want to lay in a bed that doesn&#8217;t belong to someone else. I want my mommy.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re getting there</p>
<p><a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/08/dont-ever-fly-ryanair/" alt="Ryanair - Cheap flights, cheap experience">Ryanair</a> took us to within an hour of Barcelona and we had to then buy a 14 euro bus ticket to get actually get into town. We met a nice girl on the plane that had also been booted from the same flight as us because she went to the bathroom or something equally ridiculous.</p>
<p>We were going to get a kebab together and then I yelled at Gary for some dumb argument. He was actually right but I animated and I think it scared the girl away. Whoops. We found the central train station in Barcelona and had to buy 1st class overnight train tickets to get us to Madrid in time for our flight home. That was like 30 euros. I actually chalk all these costs up to <a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/08/dont-ever-fly-ryanair/" alt="Ryanair">Ryanair</a> screwing us.</p>
<p>The train ride was agreeable and when we got to Madrid we had like 6 hours before check-in but I was in no condition to do anything and we sure as hell weren&#8217;t going to miss our flight. We were beaten, out of money and sick of moving so we camped out in the airport.</p>
<p>Robynn came through for us and showed up at the airport bearing pastries and that spanish milk drink that they&#8217;re so crazy about. She hung out with us for a while before she had to go to class. Thanks Robynn, you&#8217;re a life saver</p>
<p>When we checked in with Continental they immediately had a wheelchair brought in for me and treated me so well. It was in such contrast to the bad customer service that <a href="http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/08/dont-ever-fly-ryanair/" alt="Ryanair Customer service">Ryanair</a> had given us.</p>
<p>Everyone was so polite and they arranged good seats for me so that I would be able to stretch out and lay down on a bench. I love them.</p>
<p>After a layover and flight delay in NY we finally arrived in Denver and went home. It felt so good to be able to shower and get a few days of stink off me&#8230;well&#8230;mostly off of me.</p>
<p>Now enjoy pictures of my battle wounds</p>
<p><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/542065971/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1023/542065971_a0427993b7_m.jpg" alt="Hole in knee" width="180" height="240" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/541959060/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1347/541959060_0c1711cc97_m.jpg" alt="bad ankle" width="240" height="180" border="0" /></a> </center></p>
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		<title>Don&#8217;t Ever Fly Ryanair</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/dont-ever-fly-ryanair/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/dont-ever-fly-ryanair/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:57:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe Trip]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/08/dont-ever-fly-ryanair/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For those of your who don&#8217;t know Ryanair is an airline that operates out of Ireland and hates everyone. Just look at their website. It looks like a Spam site. When I went to order tickets there I accidentally navigated away from the page like 3 times because I thought I must have mistyped the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For those of your who don&#8217;t know Ryanair is an airline that operates out of Ireland and hates everyone. Just look at <a href="http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/" title="Ryanair is lame">their website</a>. It looks like a Spam site. When I went to order tickets there I accidentally navigated away from the page like 3 times because I thought I must have mistyped the url.
<p />
<p>My reason for disliking Ryanair is much more personal.
<p />
<p>When tried to goto the airport in Rome we had directions from the internet. We were going to follow them when a person in the subway told us that we needed to take a train from the train station. So we ran up there and got told that we couldn&#8217;t take a train there. After wasting more time, we finally got back on the subway and followed the directions that we found on the Internet. They took us to the exact opposite side of Rome than we needed to be at.
<p />
<p>Ryanair&#8217;s policy is that you must be checked in 40 minutes before your flight. We found ourselves on the wrong side of rome with only 35 minutes to get to our check in. Taking a subway was out of the question. We had to get a taxi.
<p />
<p>Let me draw a picture for you. Imagine me:
<p /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/536480387/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1104/536480387_6dd291d950_m.jpg" alt="Don't pass out" width="240" height="180" border="0" /></a> </center>
<p />
<p>Imagine me, bloody, arm in a sling, running on very little sleep, limping and in an considerable amount of pain running around trying to get someone to tell us how to get to the airport.
<p />
<p>We tried to hail a taxi unsuccessfully for 10 minutes. Finally we got one and he took us to the airport. It cost 60 euros and we ran into the airport and to our checkin station. There was no one there and we were 5 minutes late.
<p />
<p>We tried to talk to another rep from Ryanair who told us that she wouldn&#8217;t help us and that we had to go rebook a flight. Nevermind that the flight was late, nevermind that I was bleeding everywhere. It didn&#8217;t matter.
<p />
<p>We went to the information station that she told us to go there and there was a line with no one working the counter.
<p />
<p>We went to security and showed them our flight confirmation but they wouldn&#8217;t let us through without a boarding pass. Not really their fault. We went back to the Ryanair and waited. There was a girl there but she told everyone that her shift was over and that she wouldn&#8217;t help anyone.
<p />
<p>Now we were 10 minutes late for check-in and the plane was still late. Boarding was no where near to starting and it would have been easy to get us on the plane, but no. Ryanair doesn&#8217;t care about it&#8217;s customers.
<p />
<p>Finally someone showed up to help customers after another 10 minutes. The other customers in line saw our predicament and sent us ahead of them. We started trying to explain our situation to the Ryanair reps and they shh&#8217;d us.
<p />
<p>Dejected we waited. We tried asking questions but the Ryanair employees seemed not to speak english. In utter exasperation I told Gary that I hated Italy. You have to give me a break, we&#8217;d been robbed twice (Gary got pickpocketed that morning), we&#8217;d been attacked by Italian footballers, we&#8217;d been threatened by a mobster rental place and people gave us bad directions to the airport. Oh, and we&#8217;d been ripped off just about everywhere we went.
<p />
<p>The ryanair employee thought that this was worth commenting on and finally snapped at me in perfect english. She told me that hating Italy didn&#8217;t even make sense because she wasn&#8217;t Italian and Ryanair wasn&#8217;t an Italian company. I told her that it had nothing to do with her (not true) and that it was just the system. I was trying to be nice and take any personal offense away from my statement but she just got mad and offended anyway.
<p />
<p>She told us we had to buy all new tickets, even though the plane hadn&#8217;t started boarding. She didn&#8217;t care that I&#8217;d been in an accident.
<p />
<p>We finally got a flight to Barcelona, which meant we&#8217;d need to take an all night train ride to get to Madrid in time for our flight. Our tickets were 80 euros each and we didnt&#8217; get a refund for the tickets we&#8217;d already bought.
<p />
<p>Getting on the flight was a joke, everyone rusehed to find seats, pushing and shoving their way past me. No one thought I might need special consideration givin that I was limping horribly, arm in sling, bleeding. It was horrible.
<p />
<p>Ryanair, from everything that I can gather does not care about their customers, they don&#8217;t care about your needs, they don&#8217;t care about you. Don&#8217;t fly ryanair.</p>
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		<title>Europe Day 22 &#8211; A Morning in Rome</title>
		<link>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/europe-day-22-a-morning-in-rome/</link>
		<comments>http://www.todaywasawesome.com/europe-day-22-a-morning-in-rome/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:37:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe Trip]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.todaywasawesome.com/2007/06/05/europe-day-22-a-morning-in-rome/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When we tell people about our trip, how we&#8217;re doing it, sending just hours in some cities they think we&#8217;re crazy. They&#8217;re probably right. Rome is, in my mind the most extreme example of what I like to call &#8220;Extreme X-Treme Traveling.&#8221; Because of my accident we had to stay in Sicily an extra night. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When we tell people about our trip, how we&#8217;re doing it, sending just hours in some cities they think we&#8217;re crazy. They&#8217;re probably right. Rome is, in my mind the most extreme example of what I like to call &#8220;<strikethrough>Extreme</strikethrough> X-Treme Traveling.&#8221;
<p />
<p>Because of my accident we had to stay in Sicily an extra night. This meant that we would only have a few hours in Rome before we needed to catch our flight. Our train got into Rome around 5 AM and we went straight to the Colosseum.
<p />
<p><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/532483260/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1409/532483260_cf89d8987a_m.jpg" alt="Colosseum Rome" width="240" height="180" border="0" /></a> </center>
<p />
<p>The metros in Rome don&#8217;t seem to be super common. More like intercity trains, like the Cercanais in Spain or the RER in France. We just walked from there to St Peters (Thats the Vatican) stopping to take pictures of some random ruins.
<p />
<p><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/532483278/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1099/532483278_ab73700314_m.jpg" alt="Random Ruins" width="240" height="180" border="0" /></a> </center>
<p />
<p>Once arrived at the Vatican I sat down by the fence while Lewis and Gary talked with the nuns that were waiting to get into the Vatican. I was really tired because of how hard it was to sleep on the train. Something about most of my joints feeling like they were melting. I must have looked like a bum because people gave me money.
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<p>Nah, I&#8217;m just playing, but that would have been awesome.
<p />
<p>Since it was a Wednesday the Pope was going to come talk to everyone. We just wanted to get to the Museums. We asked all the Nuns, in three different languages if we were in the right line to go to the Museum. We asked the guards. We asked native Romans that happened to be going into the Vatican that day. They all told us that we were in the right line to get to the museums.
<p />
<p>We went through the gates and the guards wanted to search us. We told them that we weren&#8217;t going to see the Pope, we just wanted to go to the museums. The guards let us right through without searching because we weren&#8217;t going to see the pope.
<p />
<p>We started walking around the edge of St Peter&#8217;s.
<p />
<p><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/532483268/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1356/532483268_3937fff6a3_m.jpg" alt="St Peters Square" width="240" height="180" border="0" /></a> </center>
<p />
<p>A guard ran up to us and told us that we needed to leave and go around to the other side of the Vatican because we couldn&#8217;t get to the Museums that way. Thanks for helping all 30 people that we asked hours earlier! We went around to find a line that was about a mile long&#8230;nah, more like a kilometer.
<p />
<p>So we went to the Parthenon.
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<p><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/532493040/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1122/532493040_a456894706_m.jpg" alt="Parthenon" width="240" height="180" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7543793@N04/532493078/" class="tt-flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1100/532493078_8d34508930_m.jpg" alt="Bleeding at the Parthenon" width="180" height="240" border="0" /></a> </center>
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<p>To me the Parthenon was the most impressive thing that I saw in Rome. It&#8217;s amazing. The dome is so massive and so old that the logistics are nigh unfathomable.
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<p>The coolest part is that up in the very middle of the dome is a giant hole that lets light into the church. The circle is open, there is no glass, there is no shade. When it rains, it rains it he Parthenon. It&#8217;s incredible.</p>
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