Lost Localhost

Wash your mouth out with SOPA.

2012-01-18T14:48:00.001-06:00

I'm sure almost everyone knows what's going on with SOPA. If not, please give THIS a read...

In short, if this passes I could be censored and shut down simply for posting that link. (yeah right, like reddit cares?)

This stinks of government musings from back in 2009. Remember my post? No? Right here...

I'll never beg someone to call their congressman - but if you're reading this, it will affect you. If we do nothing, we deserve what we get.

Sooooo THAT happened. :)

2012-01-10T12:30:00.001-06:00

That's my [BOY/GIRL]!!!! Everyone is convinced it's a boy - I'm only sure it's a human. (99% at least. Right now it's just an adorable parasite)

I'm going to be busy before June. Then incredibly busy after June.

Adam Carolla is in my head...

2011-12-01T13:54:00.001-06:00

...at least he's in my head if I were very vulgar, or after a night of a drinking.

WARNING: foul language.

Where there's smoke...

2011-11-09T09:56:00.000-06:00

...there's a Cain Train on fire, and there is enough flame to go around.

So Herman Cain has been leading the polls for the GOP primary for a couple weeks now. That was far too long before SOMETHING happened. A few anonymous sources say he did naughty things. How much truth behind this? Only the accuser, Cain, and God really know... Then a woman came out and said he not only sexually harassed her, but actually assaulted her.

Some of my observations...

The anonymous women:

Why was there no legal action? Why now? [smoke]
One of the women identified filed complaints demanding cash at her next job... pattern? [smoke]

Sharon Bialek:

A celebrity lawyer that's been politically involved in the past, really? [smoke]
14 Years later? Your accusations aren't just a personal issue, it's sexual assault. If what you say is true, he should be arrested and thrown away. Why wait? [SMOKE!]
She is a republican - which is part of my point in my next section....

Media:

Covering this more in the first week than all the Obama issues his whole campaign? Shame. [FIRE!]
Suggesting this is orchestrated by the left? Doubtful. They would have saved this for after the primary. You think they want to go against Romney? No way. [smoke]

Cain:

First of all, you gave concessions for your 999 plan. Big mistake. [not related, but it's my blog]
You handled your press conference almost perfectly. With a few exceptions.
Blaming the democrats for this. What-The-Frack? I can't believe those words came out of your mouth unless you have proof. You can't blindly suggest that unless you specifically state it is just a gut feeling. While there may be a difference in severity, how is that much different in principle than what you say these women are doing to you? [FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!]
Offering to take a lie detector test. Good idea.
Offering to take a lie detector test, then qualifying it. Bad idea. [smoke]
Saying you had never met Mrs.Bialek, when there was a fairly detailed account of a meeting you had with her at a Tea Party event a month or so ago on a popular conservative radio talk show hours before your press conference? Either you're not telling the truth about that, or your memory sucks. Either way... [FIRE!]
Suggesting that there may be more women coming forward? Dumb move dude. [smoke]

When it comes down to it, you believe these women, or him.

If you believe the women, there are a lot of things that don't make sense or seem a bit shady. If what they say is true, he should be investigated (I'm unsure the statute of limitations on that sort of assault) and punished. He should not be given one more second of coverage as a candidate.

If you believe him, there are a lot of things that don't make sense or seem a bit shady. If what he says is true, the women should be investigated for libel and/or slander and punished. The women should no longer be covered by the media and he should continue on campaigning.

I believe there is some truth in stereotypes and rumor. Not always THE truth, but some. Realistically, there's far too much smoke surrounding him to have my vote. Unless the air gets cleared really quickly, I think he'll lose many more.

Show me your friends...

2011-11-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future... Looking back at my life, this seems to have been true. It's not because of the friends, but by my own decisions that attracted the kinds of people I was hanging around with. Luckily I found this to be true when I was young enough to change my future. It's the same concept of "birds of a feather flock together"... So I feel if you really want to see the moral sense of someone, looking at who they associate with is very important.

PJMedia did a great job at looking at the supporters of occupy wall street so far. (List will be updated regularly)

	Communist Party USA Sources:Communist Party USA, OWS speech, The Daily Caller
	American Nazi Party Sources: Media Matters, American Nazi Party, White Honor, Sunshine State News
	Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran Sources: The Guardian, Tehran Times, CBS News
	Barack Obama Sources: ABC News, CBS News, ForexTV, NBC New York
	The government of North Korea Sources: Korean Central News Agency (North Korean state-controlled news outlet), The Marxist-Leninist, Wall Street Journal, Times of India
	Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam Sources: video statement (starting at 8:28), Black in America, Weasel Zippers, Philadelphia Weekly
	Revolutionary Communist Party Sources: Revolutionary Communist Party, Revolution newspaper, in-person appearance
	David Duke Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, davidduke.com
	Joe Biden Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, Mother Jones
	Hugo Chavez Sources: Mother Jones, Reuters, Examiner.com
	Revolutionary Guards of Iran Sources: Associated Press, FARS News Agency, UPI
	Black Panthers (original) Sources: in-person appearance, Occupy Oakland, Oakland Tribune
	Socialist Party USA Sources: Socialist Party USA, IndyMedia, The Daily Caller
	US Border Guard Sources: White Reference, www.usborderguard.com, Gateway Pundit, Just Another Day blog
	Industrial Workers of the World Sources: IWW web site, iww.org, in-person appearances
	CAIR Sources: in-person appearance, Washington Post, CAIR, CAIR New York
	Nancy Pelosi Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, ABC News, The Weekly Standard
	Communist Party of China Sources: People’s Daily (Communist Party organ), Reuters, chinataiwan.org, The Telegraph
	Hezbollah Sources: almoqawama.org, almoqawama.org (2), almoqawama.org (3), wikipedia
	9/11Truth.org Sources: 911truth.org (1), 911truth.org (2), 911truth.org (3)
	International Bolshevik Tendency Sources: bolshevik.org, Wire Magazine
	Anonymous Sources: Adbusters, The Guardian, video statement
	White Revolution Source: whiterevolution.com
	International Socialist Organization Sources: Socialist Worker, socialistworker.org, in-person appearance
	PressTV (Iranian government outlet) Sources: PressTV, wikipedia
	Marxist Student Union Sources: Marxist Student Union, Big Government, marxiststudentunion.blogspot.com
	Freedom Road Socialist Organization Sources: FightBack News, fightbacknews.org
	ANSWER Sources: ANSWER press release, ANSWER web site, Xinhua
	Party for Socialism and Liberation Sources: Liberation News (1), pslweb.org, The Daily Free Press, Liberation News (2)

Please comment and let me know what your feelings are, and if you would still like to support a movement supported by groups like this...

Great sh!t, Schiff. (Updated with pt.2&3)

2011-10-27T20:38:00.006-05:00

http://mrctv.org/videos/peter-schiff-takes-99

http://mrctv.org/blog/peter-schiff-takes-99-part-2

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/peter-schiff-takes-99-part-3

Put your money where your whining crying mouth is...

2011-10-17T09:38:00.003-05:00

The Hacking group Anonymous has prepared something I totally support based around the Occupy [Your Space Here] movement... A boycott. God Bless! Anonymous is using capitalist means to dictate the market - just the way it should be.

I actually hope some of these wall-streeters take part - not because I personally want any particular bank or person to fail, but because it will actually accomplish something they have been crying about for weeks.
I have money in a couple banks - one I've been very happy with and one I'm not so happy with and plan to consolidate as soon as I can. Good on these folks for following suit.

Blast from the past...

2011-10-10T23:51:00.001-05:00

While going through some of my old posts I wanted to see how far off I was then to where we are now. Then while doing my normal rounds of reading, I found an article on Business Insider called "Here's the Chart That Will Get Obama Fired" and it sure looks like I expected it would have back in 2009.

At the time of my "There are three kinds of lies..." post, we were at the high of just over 10% - and the only excuse anyone could provide was that it was worse than their predictions had shown them. Meanwhile conservatives who told the left this would happen were what? Insane psychics?!

If I fail to understand a problem at work, and then promise that my plan is the right one to fix the issue and it gets worse, I'm fired. Hey BigO (and company), you're all about "fairness" right?

Retaining the new and in with the old... Or something...?

2011-10-09T20:22:00.002-05:00

About a year ago I changed servers for this blog. It looks far less cool than what it use to look like, and I had really calmed down with the political posts... With that said, I had always wanted to recover many of my old thoughts and transfer them to here - which I did today.

When I originally started LLHost years ago it was about my journey through pilot training for my private pilots licence. It then became a journal for my experience with joining the Air Force. I have kept most of the posts on these items off of this new version, as I feel they are both somewhat pointless now, and those topics would be better suited for future discussions.

So some of my favorites from years past...

*Let's Say... - Trying to ponder analogies to political policies.
How much does a promise cost? - When our deficit topped $1T
A Tragedy... - Me, a politician? Here's why not.
There are three kinds of lies... -Stimulus? Inflation? Bueller?
Three out of Five citizens agree, the healthcare bill sucks! - Fairly descriptive title

Talkin' 'bout my generation... - Musings on generational politics

Stan wojenny w Polsce - A Christmas history lesson

Because I had to transfer these from the old database manually, the dates are only accurate to the month and year - not the day or time. Also, many of the links in the stories will not work, but I expect to fix those over time.

We Are the |132.5*16/-40|%...

2011-10-07T22:26:00.021-05:00

Big protests are shaking up the cities around the country. Pretty crazy stuff. Not completely unexpected, but completely lacking a unified message other than "we're pissed at people who have stuff". Some of my favorite gems so far...

Story on cleanliness, including a disturbing image of a classy gentleman defecating on a police car.

I can't find the video, but a protester was complaining about being unemployed and when asked if she was offered a job right now would she take it she said "Absolutely not"... Really? /facepalm

EDIT 10/10: Found the clip... Quote wasn't quite as I had remembered, but here you can see it for yourself.

I'm all for a good protest, but it has to be done well, and legal. The second you break the law, or you defy your own arguments you become a joke. Someone, somehow, made a list of demands that would be laughable if it wasn't real. Thankfully (?) this isn't an official list, but a truly "official" list will never exist because nothing is official about this until unions and political groups get involved - which they are starting to.
I'll only touch on a few of the insane ideas...

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system
Because why let one person create a business to make a contract with another person about healthcare? It's better to have our taxes taken from us and used on something some people may not want? I am not responsible for your healthcare, YOU ARE.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
I wish this was a joke. What's the point of doing anything? Doesn't this just scream "I'm lazy and want to be taken care of for doing nothing"?! how can these people be taken seriously? I am not responsible for your free ride through life. YOU ARE.

Demand four: Free college education.
Give-me-a-break. Education is NOT a right. It is a responsibility. Who owns that responsibility? It's not the government, it's not other tax payers, and it sure isn't the collegiate system in place. It's you and/or your parents responsibility. If you want to learn more, find the right place and/or people to learn from, there is nothing that guarantees it will be free, and nor should it. Teach your children. If you can't teach them enough to live a productive life, maybe you need to pay someone to teach them for you. I am not responsible for your or your child's education, YOU ARE.

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
Where did this 1T number come from? Pulling it from air? I agree that infrastructure is one of the responsibilities of the state and local government - so I'm not totally against the heart of this point, but it's what our taxes already goto - so again I ask, where did the 1T figure come from, what do they feel is lacking, and why should this be a national issue?

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
When there is evidence of favoring equal candidates only for racial or gender reasons, that establishment should be held legally accountable, but we already have laws for this. Does this also mean abolishing the practice of affirmative action?

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
I swear these people are smoking the stuff that's already coming over the border... This combined with a guaranteed living wage, free education, and free healthcare? Who will support the world? If these people's answers would be "the rich folks of America" I bet they wouldn't even say thank you if those people choose to do it. They think they are ENTITLED to these things?!

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
Yep. They're definitely smoking some wacky stuff. Again, doesn't this sound like someone saying "I kind of maxed my credit card and don't feel like paying... Can't we just be friends and forget about it?" In old school Chi-town you'd have your kneecaps broken for much less than the trillions we're in the hole for. I AM responsible for the debt I have and have promised to pay it. I expect no one to forgive my debt because I have integrity and honor my word.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.
I have no issues with the basic right for a group of people to try and negotiate with their employer for better conditions or pay. As long as they also understand the company can say "No, we can't afford your conditions. Either get back to work or you're fired." As an employer, I expect to hire who I want. If you don't like it then I promise that no one will force you to work for me.

So while this is not an "officialy sanctioned" list of demands by the "group" - it's the closest one I could find and the only one making rounds. Road to totalitarianism is the new jiveword for this, and really - it is.
While there might be some similarities between this occupy XXX movement and the Tea Party beginnings, their intentions, goals, and tactics are so far from each other I'm surprised when people make a comparison of them. (BTW, Media... Shame on you)
The new buzz item for the folks in the middle is the 53%. "We are the %53" is a collection of people sharing their "hey, I had/have it rough too" stories through tumblr with a much different ending. Instead of a "Damn you for not giving me enough because I deserve it" message, there is a message of personal responsibility blaming themselves, sometimes with the explanation of how they pulled themselves out of the crap-situations they've been in.

I'm not sure where either of these groups/movements will land, but I know for sure the OWS people can learn from reading stories of people who have went through hard times and found a way out. Instead of turning down a job from a rich guy only because he's rich, or waiting for a poor person to pay you what you think you're entitled to, why not find a way to make a good or offer a service that others will want? Become that poor person who will give away your money to another person to help them. Become that rich person so you can give away all your money and save the world how you see fit. People have done it before you, and some are the people you're protesting.

Personally, I can understand many of the issues the OWS folks originally started protesting, but solutions never start with regulation and government. They start with yourself, as demonstrated by the 53%.

If I had an IAm|132.5*16/-40|% (#IAm53 #IAmThe53) story....?

I never got anything I thought I was entitled to.
I never give to those who expect.
I am in debt, and will repay every cent, no matter how many vacations or items I pass up.
When I don't see the way, I will make a way.

I own my mistakes.

Short, sweet, and to the point. Those close to me know my story - and really, those are the only people who matter.

With fear of being called old... I leave with Dragnet.

I Got Some Ink!

2011-09-26T23:59:00.001-05:00

...well, some food coloring, actually. A while ago I had mentioned to the owners of learnmyshot.com that I'd like to see their take on inking: the process of using a colored liquid mixed into another liquid and getting interesting images out of them. They obliged, and I avoided doing chores for the wife for an afternoon.

Considering I do not have a lighting setup, gels, an off-camera flash, or a decent tank - I think a couple of these are decent for a first shot. Though, I still plan to do this again when I have a better way to light and shoot it.
Here are a couple of my favorites...


1/200 f/16 IOS100	1/200 f/22 ISO100


1/320 f/13 IOS100	1/200 f/22 ISO100

You can see the rest in the "Water and Fire" gallery.

Car shoot #1...

2011-08-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

Had a buddy ask for some help shooting his and another friends BMW's. Took my 350 out for the fun too. I still haven't gotten them all done, but I do have a few finished.

Fun Range Day...

2011-07-16T18:54:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been having a lot of wrist issues, so I hadn't bee out to the range in a while. A buddy of mine just moved back to town and he hadn't shot his new AR, so I had a good reason to get back out there. It was actually my first time shooting a .223 - and I'm hooked. I'm still very pleased with my MP15-22, but the thud of the AR can't be replaced by a little ol .22LR.

I was also able to grab some decent video and images of me shooting... Enjoy the shots!

Video

Visualizing May...Fin

2011-06-10T19:56:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I realize it's June 10th. Yes, I'm late. It happens. Part of it was because I had two photo jobs this last week. (Big thanks to Beth, Lisa, and Emily) Part of it was visiting family. All of it made me slightly disappointed I missed some shots.

On to the pics.

May 22nd

I was taking pictures of a buddy's new house and saw this... It was a spur of the moment shot, and in hindsight I should have moved the leaves. :/

1/200 F/2.8 ISO100

May 23rd

Quick snap of a big dog...Dull, I know

1/400 F/2.8 ISO100 (Like it matters on this one?)

May 24th

Shuffleboard at a local bar. Fun times playing this...

1/80 f/3.5 ISO1600

May 25th

This is just on the inside walkway of the Wrigley building. We love seeing exposed brick in the Chicago streets.

1/8 f/2.8 ISO800

May 26th

I tried to get a duplicate image from the first day I had my camera on the DuSable bridge - but couldn't quite get it because I didn't have a wide enough lens on me. Had to do a lot of fixes on this and the next shot, so am "eh" on them.

1/2 f/7.1 ISO800
Image I was trying to recreate

May 27th

WBing in the city sucks. Was shooting for an old-timy hdr feeling here

1/4 f/2.8 ISO800

May 28th

Ahhh Wacker on a quiet Sunday morning...

1/5 f/7.1 ISO800

May 29th

Here is one of my favorite shots of the jobs we did... This adorable girl was amazing eyes.

1/200 f/2.8 ISO200

May 30th

Not that embarasing, but the wife DID take the next two of me for failing at the end of the month so badly.

1/15 f/2.8 ISO3200

May 31st

FIN!

1/40 f/2.8 ISO400

So how'd I do? "Eh"...

It was fun and I get a lot of great shots out of the exercise. More than anything I think I realized I like photography more than I thought I would have. This was much harder than I had thought it would be and I broke some rules, especially at the end - but I did learn quite a bit.

I expect to do more of these types of photo project in the future - just not this extended.

Visualizing May...Week 3

2011-05-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

I suck. This week I didn't have a lot of time to take cool, decent shots- or do cool things with water like I had planned. I still pulled seven shots from the week, but I can't guarantee when they were taken. I made up for it at the end of this though, I swear.

These pictures are pretty much a walk-through of my boring week.

May 15th (Missed)

New bar in peoria. Buddy Joel and wifey...

1/4 f/2.8 ISO200

May 16th

I found this as odd - so had to snap it...(his eyes followed me)

1/4 f/2.8 ISO200

May 17th (ish)

This one has a story. There is a relay for life group here in town that will drop off flamingos in a yard - for a price. It's a prank that includes a very well written explanation about the cause and also the opportunity to pay a small fee to have them moved to whatever yard you want them to goto. Our good friends sent them to us, and I was pretty surprised to come home to these.

2.5s f/2.8 IOS400

May 18th

A bird. Boring, I told you so.

1/4000 f/2.8 IOS100

May 19th (Missed)

Not too far from home are a couple lakes. This is the spillway for one of them.

1/250 f/8 IOS100

May 20th

Just above the spillway was a powerline with a bunch of fishing line on it.

1/640 f/9 IOS100 (why f/9? This is one of the only times I was in P mode)

May 21st

Walking on a nearby beach, we saw this little guy.

1/320 f/6.3 ISO100

OK, OK! I know these weren't the best. My apologies. To make it up, I have a video of something I've been playing with lately, and that also related to a picture this week. Someday once I've mastered basic photography concepts (i.e.-not now) I would love to dabble in the world of videography. I recently got a version of the Twixtor plugin to use in After Effects, which helps blend frames together when slowing them down by a large factor. This was my first attempt at it.

Movies make everything ok, right? Next week should be AWESOME. Reasons?

My flash unit came in two days ago
My 24-70 2.8L comes in on Tuesday
Other accessories come in by the end of the week
Friday we're shooting a graduation on the lake
Saturday we're shooting a birthday party

Awesome.

Visualizing May...Week 2

2011-05-16T20:40:00.002-05:00

Week two is down and it is increasingly difficult to find interesting stuff to take photos of - which again, was kind of the point of FORCING myself to get creative. Instead I think I got lazy. Also, I really liked a couple shots I took this week, so some I've doubled (or tripled) up on the days.

To start, I have a couple pics - neither of which I'm counting towards my project. My lovely wife comes with me for most of the pics I take. In fact, she helps me with some of these, and may have even snapped one or two that I post here for my project. Sometimes I take my time shooting leaving her with little to do - so she gets me at work.

And the result...

Now for the goods...

May 8th
Macro shot of a peice of my wife's jewlery (that we need to get cleaned!)

1/50 f/8 IOS800
Original

May 9th
First attempt at light painting - I need more practice and a better flashlight...

30s f/8 IOS400

May 10th
These two I took on the same day - love them both.


1/800 f/8 IOS100	1/400 f/2.8 IOS100

May 11th
Some random building.... :)

1s f/10 IOS100

The next two I only claim to have edited them - but Joanna took them.

May 12th (Missed)
Crop of a spider chilling on a for sale sign

1/80 f/2.8 IOS100
Original

May 13thThe leaves and propeller things were coming down like crazy and I like the ominous look when silhouetted

1/100 f/5 IOS100
Original

May 14th
I was very pleased with most of the fire shots I had. I think these "Fire and Ice" ones are my favorite from the bunch.


1/125 f/2.8 IOS800	1/125 f/8 IOS800

1/400 f/8 IOS800

So there you have it!

My second week is finished! Overall I'm pleased so far. Not thrilled, but pleased. I expect to play with light painting and fire more - the fire shots, most of which I didn't put up - came out awesome and was fun to shoot. I also have plans for some similar water shots I hope to get to this week.

Have ideas for me? PLEASE share them! :)

Rorschach would be proud!

2011-05-15T09:40:00.008-05:00

I played with fire yesterday. I had a lot of fun.
Lots of great images were made. I'll only share a few.
Except for the final image and the framing, these are unedited. Be sure to click them for the full sizes and tell me what you see à la Rorschach.


1/400 f/7.1 IOS200	1/200 f/4.5 IOS200


Reaching for air! 1/200 f/2.8 IOS200	Ghost and a candle? 1/400 f/2.8 IOS400


Nuke 1/400 f/2.8 IOS400	SHARK! 1/400 f/2.8 IOS400


Always wanted a parrot... 1/200 f/2.8 IOS400	Preview of next week. :) 1/250 f/2.8 IOS800

Finally... Some fun with CS5.

I going to post my three favorites for my Visualizing May post this week, so if you like these please check that out when it goes up later tomorrow.

Also, one of my new favorite sites is Learn My Shot. It's where I saw this technique first and is definitely worth taking a look at for new (old too) photographers.

Visualizing May...Week 1

2011-05-08T21:21:00.006-05:00

First week has gone by and I only really missed one day. This is going to be a rough project.

May 1stLocal church on a rainy night.

1/20 f/1.8 ISO800
Original

May 2ndMiller park - I hate the lights, want to reshoot sometime.

30s f/18 ISO800
Original

May 3rdRandom light fixture at favorite bar

1/30 f/2.8 ISO100

May 4th (Missed)One of my favorite non-humans

1/30 f/1.8 ISO800

May 5thMy other favorite non-human

1/60 f/1.8 ISO2000

May 6thMacro shot of my eyeball

1/80 f/8 ISO3200

May 7thI like shadows.

1/1600 f/2.8 ISO100
Original

Overall the first week is "eh". I have some techniques I'd like to try this week, but would need for some equipment to come in first.

Speaking of equipment: In about three weeks I should be getting a couple new lens's.

Canon 24-70 2.8L

This will replace my Tamron 17-50 2.8 - anyone want to buy it? :)

Canon EF-S 10-22 3.5-4

This will be my new landscape lens. I've wanted an UWA for a while - especially for my APS-C camera, so i think this will be a great match for me until I get a 5D mkII.

May 1st, 2011.

2011-05-01T23:19:00.004-05:00

Nine Years, seven months, and twenty days ago two buildings fell down. Osama Bin Laden was one of the primary guys responsible and today it was announced he's dead.

Waldo 1; Osama 0; (But he put up a good fight)

How damn hard was it to catch a 6'5 jihadist carrying around a dialysis machine from cave to cave? /facepalm

Everything has it's pros and cons... America is obsessed with retaliation and retribution - which can be warranted, but it should never be an end goal and should never cause someone to lose sight of the real threat. Osama the man wasn't a threat, it was the ideas he represented and after him is another 200 folks in line for his job.

I have an eye-for-an-eye mentality when it comes to punishment, so I am happy that he has the chance to meet God and be judged - but I am also pretty surprised to see so many people scream and shout as if the war is over and everything can go back to pre 9/11 days. If the goal of the military was to get retribution, it's time to bring our troops home now more than ever. When that happens I will be jumping for joy in the streets.

Also, President Obama had a very nice speech. Probably my favorite, or in the top three. Undoubtedly, it will be his "historical" presidential speech. He briefly discussed the concepts behind the 9/12 project, who the enemy was, why they were the enemy, why we went to war (giving hidden props to Bush in the process), the families of those who lost loved ones on 9/11, and an appropriate-enough description of the intel and process of what happened. He acknowledged that the effort is not over and the fight is not done, and is not against a religion. Best of all? He did not omit "under God" again when quoting the Pledge of Allegiance. For that, we thank you.

Also... Where was I when it was being announced? Taking this:

1/20 f/1.8 ISO800
Original

Visualizing May Concept...

2011-04-21T13:29:00.001-05:00

May is coming up quick, and I want to do a photo project... I'm seeing some people on facebook post up 30 day's of pictures which gave me the idea, but I want it to be much more than "this is what I ate today" and things like that. A few rules I think I'm going to keep to...

Taking:

No repeating of the same item, location, or person all month.
No more than two photos of any type in each week

Types: Portraits, landscapes, items, action, general... (I'll adjust as I go along)

No using old photos.

Missed photos:

One missed day can be made up.
Subsequent missed days in a row will be replaced by embarrassing images of myself. (I'm sure my wife will be happy to take those)

Editing:

Original photo's must always be shown
Edited version may be included in the set, but will not count as daily image

Displaying:

Photo sets for each week will be posted here by Monday evening for the previous week.
Date and Timestamp will be included with each.

Anyone have any ideas for me? Comment and let me know.

Neener Neener...

2011-04-03T02:19:00.003-05:00

I've been busy... Usually when I say that it's followed by complaints. I've always considered myself a realist, which is usually considered by optimists as pessimistic. Not this time.

I got a new job!
Optimism...
For the last five and a half years I had been a mainframe developer. Not exactly what I wanted to do, but it paid well and gave me amazing opportunities. In the last few years I was lucky enough to get more into designing of systems - fun stuff. It was enough to keep me around, then again I never feel comfortable complaining considering the current economy. I'm really quite lucky and I know this.
Three weeks ago I started a new job in a completely new area. I now work on our company's mobile applications. Mobile = mobile web page, Android, iPhone, iPad, Honeycomb etc... If you know me, then you know working with this stuff is right up my alley.
It's only been three weeks, and much of that was uneventful, but I'm actually enjoying my area. I feel like I delayed moving from my old spot for far too long. I'm somewhat excited to goto work now, which hasn't been the case in about four years. I work with good people - at least people like me. I use to joke that having me working in my old area lowered the average age in the area by ten years - it's now nice to be in an area with young and ambitious talent. Oh yeah, and they're all smartass know-it-all tech junkies who like to drink: so I seem to be fitting in just fine.

Reality...
I've been there three weeks. It's new. Let's revisit this post a year from now and see if it's still the same. I love that I'm working with new technology, but I was always warned not to make your hobby your job. There is a bit of a learning curve here as well I'm still getting use to. That is the case with any new job, but that doesn't mean I like it. Like anything, it takes time to get up to speed - I just don't enjoy that process. I've recognized many of the issues and roadblocks my new team are facing and I really want to be a lead in fixing those issues because my strongest strengths are in design and development and there are many opportunities to expand there, but it also means taking more risks, and in some cases perhaps ruffling a few feathers - but I'm still the new guy. Being new sucks. I miss being the main guy in charge of a team and an application. In due time, I suppose.

New gun!
Optimism...
WooT! I really wanted to build an AR-15, but finances have kind of stopped that. So instead, I bought an MP15-22. It's an AR style rifle in .22 caliber. Not only is it half the cost of a .223 AR, but the ammo is also much cheaper and I can actually shoot this indoor if I want. I also have a red dot on it and have a couple other items in the mail for it. Every review I've read on this thing says the same thing... "Yes, it's a .22. Yes, your 7 year old can handle this weapon. Yes, it's an extremely fun gun to shoot!" and that really is the best description for it...fun.

Reality...
Fun for cheap. No issues here. Some people may look down on it as a .22 or because I add stuff to it, but so what? I don't need a .223. I'm not going to war, or breaking down any doors for raids. It's not for home defense. We're both accurate hundreds of yards out, and we both have the same accessories. The best part? For every one round you shoot, I can shoot at least five for the same price.

I still want a Kimber 1911!
(Still selling my MP)

Celebrated a birthday in St.Louis!
Optimism...
Had a blast. It was my brother-in-laws 21st birthday. His birthday drink at midnight? Irish car bombs. They were great: or at least I thought so. We also celebrated with a couple friends and had a really nice break from the typical weekend. The birthday boy took the weekend like a champ, far better than I did...

Reality...
Uhhh...I don't remember. I drank a lot. My recollection only goes to about 15 minutes after this picture was taken:

Cousin had a baby!
Optimism...
WOOHOO!!! My cousin and her husband are great folks, and I'm so happy for them. This kid is perfect and adorable. I'm glad we were able to visit them and hope to make it a usual thing. They are such deserving parents and I wish them the best! I was always the youngest in the family, so never got to even hold a newborn until I was 20 years old, but have really been warming up to kids lately. I know I'm getting older because every once in a while I want to sell the 350Z, fix the house up and have a kid... ok, maybe not sell the Z, but at least get more prepared.

Reality...
Shit... is it my turn now? I really was kidding about the Z.
I've been missing family a lot lately. I'm very close with my family, but also very independent. With the whole family getting older I'm seeing a lot more missed opportunities because I don't live closer.

Birthdays abound!
Lots of birthdays. My bro-in-law, a good friend and his father, and in another week or so my cousin and then *drum roll* mine. I'll be having a little celebration, but I really don't care much for birthdays. My wife wants to do something extra special for me (aren't I lucky?) but I'd much rather spend that cash on something like fixing up the house. The fact that I wrote that down proves I'm getting old.

FOOTBALL!
We went to our first arena football game and enjoyed it quite a bit. I still need to learn the exact rules, because it certainly isn't what you may expect, but it is entertaining. Plus there isn't a bad seat in the place, so we're considering getting season tickets. Good times!

Bottom line: I'm in a good place and feel very blessed. Nothing is ever perfect, but compared to the rest of the world I know I have no reason to complain about much. (For now at least. I've been holding back a few political rants for a while now!)

Yes, the only point of this is to brag about it. neener.

Ravetastic video...

2011-03-13T13:24:00.004-05:00

Just a quick break from my long-winded posts for something I came across on youtube.

It reminds me of videos played at parties many many years ago. That can be said for just about anything put in super-super-duper slow motion with a trancy-put-me-to-sleep track over it.

In addition to the topic of the video, I have a joke. Right now there are 49 states that allow some form of carrying a firearm. Illinois does not. There is a bill that has been introduced, HB148, that will allow people in Illinois who go through a course and a permit process to carry a firearm for defense. The only person who may hold this back in our govenor. WHile looking into this bill I saw an amusing joke that, like many jokes, is based on reality.

Illinois vs Texas
Illinois:
The Governor of Illinois is jogging with his dog along a
nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then
bites the Governor.

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon
the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is
only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures
the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for
relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the
dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500
getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound
bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while
Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now
free of dangerous animals.

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds
implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how
to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease
throughout the world.

8 The Governor's security agent is fired for not
stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5
million suit against the State.

Texas :
The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a
nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks the dog.

1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued
pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP
hollow point cartridge.

2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.

And that, my friends, is one reason why Illinois is broke and Texas is
not.

One more gun related thing I found amusing, because it's just too serious around here.

Political Science for Dummies
Are you a Democrat, Republican or Southern Republican?
Here is a little test that will help you decide. Question: How do you tell the difference between Democrats, Republicans and Southern Republicans? The answer can be found by posing the following question:

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges. You are carrying a Glock .40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

Democrat's Answer:
Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!
Does the man look poor or oppressed?
Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?
Could we run away?
What does my wife think?
What about the kids?
Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?
What does the law say about this situation!?
Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?
Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?
Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?
Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?
If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?
Should I call 9-1-1?
Why is this street so deserted?
We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.
This is all so confusing! ! I need to debate this with some ! friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.

Republican's Answer: BANG!

Southern Republican's Answer: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click.....(sounds of reloading). BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips?"

Hypocrisy by the (face)book...

2011-03-10T12:53:00.005-06:00

A wall post to a Wisconsin Union supporter:

"This reminds me of when the democrats crammed healthcare down the throat of the entire country, despite most of the people not wanting it. Politicians are shady. Good luck to you and Wisconsin."

I like to think I'm a pretty centrist guy and try my best to remain neutral when approaching and evaluating a situation. I didn't make a note of what "side" of the healthcare debate I was on, nor did I say anything bad about it. Perhaps just of the democrats, but I didn't say anything that was untrue. Wasn't that a pretty neutral evaluation? The person I posted it to didn't think so - so it was deleted. She's not a bad person, and I'd hate to imply that, but it did make me think of the hypocrisy of the liberal/tea party rivalry.

Liberals think Tea Partiers are racist, yet the main message is equality. The problem is that liberals don't want equality. They want the lesser to get more and the better to get less. I'm not contradicting myself here, there is a better and a lesser. Equality isn't about giving for free - it's about equal opportunity, not equal pay. You have the opportunity to do anything I can, but if you choose to use that opportunity and I don't, why should I be rewarded the same as you?

Liberals seem to have the mentality of "Someone can do it", while Tea Partiers seem to think "Hey, someone has to do it - I'll take care of it." This is evident in the difference between the trash at the Mall from the 8/28 Restoring Honor rally and the Obama inaugeration or the One Nation Rally.
The most recent example of this is in Wisconsin. The union folks protesting left the ground of the capital a disaster. The Tea Party decided to clean the place up with a "It's time to take out the trash" event.

The Tea Party group does not condone violence. They fight with votes - the same votes that put the republicans in control in Wisconsin. When the new healthcare plan is enacted, they fought with lawsuits. Meanwhile SEIU folks have been video taped beating those who don't agree with them, saying quite racist things, and even helping pimp out underage girls.
Oh yeah, and the death threats the MSM won't report on from Wisconsin. A Wisconsin news radio channel got a hold of one particular threat to GOP senators HERE.

As I mentioned earlier, no group is perfect. Are there racist, hating, abusive members of the Tea Party? Absolutely. Are there those same people on the left? Absolutely. So what group is more likley to support (or at least ignore) those issues, and who is more likely to stand up against it?

Getting back to what spawned my thought process: facebook and Wisconsin.
Getting a post deleted isn't a big deal. It's really not. But ignoring or sweeping aside an idea you don't agree with doesn't make it go away. Ignoring something or calling it false doesn't make it so. I do not know the intention of removing it, but I assume it's because they don't agree with what I said - though the only opinion pieces there were that the healthcare law was crammed (even those who like the law I doubt can disagree with that) and that politicians are shady. Where am I wrong?

As I mentioned in my last post, I think unions should be demolished as they exist today - but not in a legislative way. The GOP did things shady, but not illegal. To have people react the way they did is a damn shame. You don't like it? Move. That's the glory, and the reason, of States.

My last questions, and honest ones I'd love to get feedback from union folk in WS: Would you rather you pay more into your own pension and healthcare, which will retain your wealth to yourself, or would you rather the state raise taxes on everyone %33 to pay for your stuff? That's what my state did. I'm sure many of you would prefer the taxes, but how will that affect the rest of the state? How would that affect you? that's less money in your pocket AND your pension AND your healthcare. Wouldn't it be better to pay a bit more into your own stuff, and also stop paying union dues?

I'm all for bargaining, but not between unions and businesses, but between people and the taxpayers. It's a real simple reason why unions would never agree to referendum votes: they would lose every time.

----

One other random observation...
Gas prices go up a net of %7 in 26 months when a republican is in office, it's his fault
Gas prices go up a net of %67 in 25 months when a democrat is in office, he has nothing to do with it.
To be fair, neither president should be blamed for events outside their control - but would a liberal claim that?

Totally Schlitzed...

2011-02-17T14:31:00.007-06:00

People are going crazy lately. Screaming about what they're owed, crazy dictators, countries talking about reparations for wartime damage, riots against supreme leaders. Things in Egypt sure are crazy...or is it Iran? I actually think it was Madison? Yes, I think all that happened in Wisconsin.

WS Governor wants teachers to pay %5.8 of their wages toward retirement and %12.6 to their healthcare. Big whoop. The private sector pays about twice that much. Unions are shady. Not the union workers, but the way they are run, which basically is a form of extortion and other legal scary terms. (I lost interest in becoming a laywer a long while ago)

The BigO's take?

"I haven't followed exactly what's happening" [...]
"Some of what I've heard coming out of WS where you're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally seems like an assault on unions"

I agree. It's a true statement on the surface of the definition of a labor union. To remove bargaining power of a group of workers is to remove the purpose of a "group" of workers. I'm still in the belief that unions do their work in shady ways and that alone should remove their bargaining power - but it shouldn't come from a simple mandate from legislature. Ultimately, the goal of most unions is to improve working conditions. What if the work conditions are so good that you don't have to perform well to earn more than everyone else? Eventually something has to give and the public will not stand for it. Teachers are hard to peg. I know some teachers that are amazing at their job. I also know that they have to struggle to be great because the system is a joke.

LLHost's fair solution:

Get rid of unions, as they exist today. Make it an equal playing field for everyone.
If any worker, or group of workers, do not like their work environment, they bring it up with the employer. If the employer will not negitiate, the worker, or workers, have the right to quit...just like in the private sector. (Also just like state sovereignty - Don't like your state laws? You have the freedom to move) Negotiation stops there. You leave work to strike and the employer wants to fire you, you're done.
Base perks on performance, with caps.

Do well, you get more.
Do as expected you stay the same, sans COLA
Don't do well, you lose perks
Do badly, you're fired.

As for this teacher item...

Pay good teachers what they deserve. They are horribly underpaid.
Fire non-effective teachers immediately. It is far too difficult to remove horrible teachers thanks to unions.
Remove tenure completely

Simple. Well, the ideas are - implementation may take some debate.

As an addition to my last post...

The newest press secretary, Jay Carney, apparently wants us to know that the stimulus did exactly what it was suppose to and its goals "have been met". When asked about how that was true, yet unemployment went up (as I noted in my last post) he gave a very simple, straight to the point answer...

"We've said repeatedly that we don't want to relitigate the battles of the past"

Uhhhh, that's it? Yet another situation where if it was the real world, both Jay and the people who implemented the stimulus package would be fired.

Watch the video at RCP.

Can't Afford to Care...

2011-02-14T18:24:00.009-06:00

First of all, I've had Breaking Benjamin's "Lights Out" stuck in my head: hence the title. Great song.

Welcome to political post #1. I'll keep it light, and mostly informative...

The White House administration insists they're championing for tax cuts and real financial reform. Yet our debt continues to increase. The most recent $3.7 Trillion budget will supposedly reduce the deficit by $1.1 Trillion over ten years... Ten years, yea right. This from the same people who though paying everyone healthcare for six years and paying for it over ten was a good idea.

So we know they never hit their goals for deficit reduction - and never even come close to cutting sufficient spending - but at least we can believe them when they say they're cutting taxes....right?

"The White House is billing its $3.7 trillion budget as a package of cuts that will reduce the deficit by $1.1 trillion over ten years.

But at closer inspection this budget is as much about tax hikes as cuts.

In fact, the budget contains as much as $1.5 trillion in hikes over ten years, according to the Americans For Tax Reform."

Business Insider

"President Obama released his budget this morning. Rather than focusing on Washington’s over-spending problem, the budget calls for higher taxes on families and small businesses to pay for even more government spending. Under the Obama budget, tax revenues will grow from 14.4% of GDP in 2011 to 20% of GDP in 2021. By comparison, the historical average is only 18% of GDP.

Add it all together, and this budget is a ten-year, $1.5 trillion tax hike over present law. That’s $1.5 trillion taken out of the economy and spent on government instead of being used to create jobs.

The “tax relief” in the budget is mostly just an extension of present law, and also some refundable credit outlay spending in the tax code. There is virtually no new tax relief relative to present law in the President’s budget."

Americans for Tax Reform

...DOH!

Here are some examples:

Raising the top marginal income tax rate (at which a majority of small business profits face taxation) from 35% to 39.6%. This is a $709 billion/10 year tax hike
Raising the capital gains and dividends rate from 15% to 20%
Raising the death tax rate from 35% to 45% and lowering the death tax exemption amount from $5 million ($10 million for couples) to $3.5 million. This is a $98 billion/ten year tax hike
Capping the value of itemized deductions at the 28% bracket rate. This will effectively cut tax deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, property taxes, state and local income or sales taxes, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and unreimbursed employee business expenses. A new means-tested phaseout of itemized deductions limits them even more. This is a $321 billion/ten year tax hike
New bank taxes totaling $33 billion over ten years
New international corporate tax hikes totaling $129 billion over ten years
New life insurance company taxes totaling $14 billion over ten years
Massive new taxes on energy, including LIFO repeal, Superfund, domestic energy manufacturing, and many others totaling $120 billion over ten years
Increasing unemployment payroll taxes by $15 billion over ten years
Taxing management capital gains in an investment partnership (“carried interest”) as ordinary income. This is a tax hike of $15 billion over ten years
A giveaway to the trial lawyers—not letting companies deduct the cost of punitive damages from a lawsuit settlement. This is a tax hike of $300 million over ten years
Increasing tax penalties, information reporting, and IRS information sharing. This is a ten-year tax hike of $20 billion.

It reminds me of the concept of large numbers, and how humans don't really have a good perspective to understand what a trillion is. Those who do have perspective, realize how screwed we really are. In the SOTU address the big O bragged about how he would find $100 Million to cut out of a $3.5 Trillion budget. People went OOO and AHHH. I cursed and did a /facepalm. Sort of like this guy did:

Another video of that user also reminded me of another swindle by this administration. Back in November of 2009 I made a post about the bull the BigO was spewing about unemployment and the need for the stimulus package. I included this image:

Here is a good visual interpretation of this using pennies again, to help illustrate scale.

The best judge of future performance is past experience. How's that change working for most of you?

You always remember your first...

2011-02-13T00:11:00.009-06:00

So after some careful consideration, I have decided to sell my M&P 9mm. Not thrilled with selling the first pistol I've owned, but I want to move to the 1911 platform. I originally bought this expecting my wife to shoot it some - but she does not, so I'm going for a .40 or .45 like I originally wanted to.

I'll list what you get and the approx cost of it when I bought it. I would like to keep everything together.

Everything for $800 OBO

Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm - bought new May 2009. ($650)

Original Case - can include single carrying zip case if needed. ($15)
Original stock grips (Sm, Med, Lrg)
Original documentation
Three 17rnd mags (Came with one, the other cost about $25 each)

Two of them have Arrendondo base pads, adding 6 rnds each. The link says use the stock springs, but I got new extended spring made specificaly for these. ($20 Each = $40)
Original springs and base pads included.

Mods:

Crimson Trace laser grips with all original docs and tools in original box. ($250)
Warren Tactical 2-dot Tritium night sights. ($120)

Still have the original sights as well.

Custom work by MP specialist Dan Burwell. ($150)

Trigger job. Tested at 3.10 pounds with pro tester.
Front strap, left and right index point stippling.

Polished Barrel - Done by me, so won't add to total. See it for as much as $100 though.

Holsters:

iTAC Defense paddle holster - Non-retention ($20)
iTAC Defense paddle dual mag holder ($15)

Total: $1310
Asking: $800 OBO + FTF if needed
Contact: Brian@lostlocalhost.com

I have over 5400 rounds through this and it shoots great. I've had one FTF at round 1553 (yes, I keep a track of all my sessions). About six months ago the slide release lever snapped off the right side. That didn't affect it shooting though and I had the lever replaced. Other than those two small issues it's been a dream. The sights are nice and bright in low-light situations. The red on the sights is nailpolish and comes off with a little cleaner and a towel if you don't like it. The triggerjob is very nicely done. A very crisp *snap* at 3.1 to 3.25 pounds. No springs were messed with for this job, and no safeties were manipulated for it either. Crimson Trace lasergrips are sighted in now for 7yrds - but easily adjustable. I've won two trophies with this shooting out to 25 yards.

Before polished barrel or CTC Grips

After polished barrel

My New Canons...

2011-02-07T15:29:00.008-06:00

First of all, as a continuation of my last post I present what I hope to be my newest canon/lead thrower...

Kimber Custom Target II 1911

She's not quite as pretty as the NHC T3, but she also isn't as expensive. It's a straight shooter, so I'm looking forward to getting her in my hands and winning some competitions with it. While I absolutely love my MP and have put a lot of time, money, and work into it, I think it's like your first love. You know you love her and you dedicated a lot to her - but know it's just not meant to be "forever". I suppose technically in this scenario I'd love to be a polygamist and have them all - but we can't have everything, right? Some unexpected bills came up, but if thing go well I may be shooting this in the next month.

The next canon that shoots is my latest gift from my father.
My father has always been on the forefront of technology. Because of this fact, and also that he rarely throws anything away, he also has a few relics. I think he got pretty excited when I took up photography. When he was in college he got involved with photography himself and apparently was pretty good at it; even making a few bucks. I assume he knew what he was talking about because while he tries to tell me about color balance and how xyz works with the right lighting and blah blah blah I zone out and praise my wonderful digital camera. I'm pretty knowledgeable about photography, but he knows details.

A couple months ago he tossed me what amounts to a small baseball bat of a lens. It didn't have the right mount for my camera, but thanks to modern technology (which this lens has never seen) I picked up a cheap one on ebay. I present a Rexatar 400mm 6.5 ~~baseball bat~~ lens.

Although it is not the best quality lens, this beast is interesting. It made me step out of my digital world a bit. To be a great photographer you need to not just know about your equipment, but also how to set up your shot and what light is and how to manipulate it. That's a short and sweet sentence to describe years of practice, trial and error, and classes. A fully manual lens is a fun thing to play with and get that education on how things were back in the day when cameras only used film, each shot took more time and money, and people walked uphill both ways to school in the snow barefoot.

Not so sure I'd use this for many practical purposes, given he also got me a 300mm that is a bit better; but as I said, it's fun to play with: so I did some comparisons between my Tamron at 55mm and the Rexatar 400mm.

TOP: 55mm BOTTOM: 400mm
1/160 f/6.3

TOP: 55mm BOTTOM: 400mm
1/20 f/22

Click on the images for the goods. In this horrible, lower light, unscientific test out my dirty front window I'm not incredibly impressed with the quality, but I do love having such a long reach. I'm actually looking forward to finding the perfect application for this lens - I'm thinking it can really give a classic feel to B&W shots if I find the right place for it.

BTW, anyone know anything about Rexatar? I usually take great pride in my Google hackery talents, but I haven't really turned up much on this lens. Please coment if you know anything about it or the company.

BOOM!

2011-02-04T18:47:00.002-06:00

(shakalaka BOOM!) <---My mind is a musical encyclopedia. Sly & The Family Stone anyone? No? Damn I feel old. Anyways...There was a snow storm this last week. It sucked. I have no pictures because I'm smart and stayed in. Just before the storm I left to get necessary items.

Coke
Diet Coke
100 proof captain morgan
Wine
Salt
Some other crap I don't really remember

I'm guessing there is a %99 chance YOU were caught in it too. There was frackking lightning in this snowstorm. Nuts!

What else goes boom? My gun.
I've been wanting to get into IDPA or USPSA for a while now. While I love my current gun, I'm considering getting something better in .40 or .45. I've been dreaming for a Nighthawk Custom T3 Comp since I talked to some guys from their team last year - unfortunately I can't really swing the $2800 starting price. If you can, or would like to sponsor me - check it out. It's a beauty.

http://www.nighthawktactical.com/T3_comp.html

I'm looking at a good deal on a Kimber Custom II, Springfield Range Officer, or a G35.

Anyone own one of these and have any suggestions or opinions they'd like to share?

Underage Sex! (uncool)

2011-01-21T10:15:00.005-06:00

...it's sad that title will get hits from google.

I refuse to watch MTV. My wife does not. Occasionally I like to spend time with her in front of our TV, and the whole "I'm the man, I choose what we watch" does not go over very well in our home. Because of this, sometimes I catch Jersey Shore. What a horrible waste of $30,000 an episode on each of them. They are all a waste of space. What are they contributing to society? What are thier jobs? Scoop gelato? I'm just saying if the world were ending in a fiery blaze and a select few could be saved they'd be getting one hell of a tan even they're not use to. They party hard, get paid for it, have sex with whoever, cheat on their significant others, dress like skanks, and don't care about anything. Sounds interesting until you realize this is not just TV, it's considered reality. /facepalm. My wife is the smartest person I know...except for that hour. At least they're adults though.

MTV outdid themselves. Not in a good way.

During one of these "spend time with my wife while she watches how successful she is compared to parts of the world" I saw a promo for Skins. Let's take a look at the first scene as a young teen tried to sneak back into her house without her parents finding out.

Not a zombie, just a chick with daddy issues.

Theblaze.com had the best review of the rest of the episode...

"The series premiere alone included sex, drug-dealing, alcohol, prescription drug abuse, sex, prostitution, smoking, homosexuality, violence, car theft, voyeurism and more sex. In fact, the entire premise of the first episode was how the group would get their 16-year-old friend to lose his uncool virginity before his 17th birthday. And after the kids’ friend wakes up from her drug overdose and their stolen car full of illegal drugs rolls and crashes into a lake, the kids laugh it off. The end.*"

Gee, can't believe I missed all that! Oh yeah, I'm not a pedophile. Apparently there are many out there though. Skins premiered to 3.3 million viewers. Not all of them have this pedo tendency, thank goodness. You see, 1.8 of those were under 18. HALLEUIEA! Oh wait... So over half of the viewers were minors. Hell, I don't know what is worse and which way to take this argument. "THE CHILDREN! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" ok, I will.

While I do not have children of my own, I have a beautiful niece who is 7 and I have close family friends who have four daughters we're with regularly. I take this personally. To think that some of the kids I hang out with could see this and get any impression that this is normal and ok makes me pretty angry. This show isn't showing sex, drugs, prostitution, and violence as horrible things that should be avoided at all costs and have great consequences. It's glorifying it. Yes, these things exist, and many teens are involved with these things. Is MTV happy about that? Perhaps, because it means they have more viewers. Not to mention this type of show could produce more cast members for "I'm 16 and pregnant", "Teen mom", and the "True Life - I'm an [alcoholic,sex worker,pick your vice]" series. I've caught those shows as well (with the wife) and I can't watch MTV anymore because all I think is "HYPOCRITE"!

I'll shorten it up to: Kids are impressionable, and this is not what any show should be glorifying - even if it is MTV's and the producers right to display it. It shouldn't be illegal to show it, but it's a damn shame there is a market for it... Or should it be illegal? It's getting a lot of press now because it's so over the top raunchy that there may be an investigation of child pornography against MTV and the producers. The youngest cast member is 15. /facepalm

Parents...WTF? Really? One thing I am pleased with is that both my sister/brother-in-law, and our family friends would not allow them to watch such filth. If they found out the kids did watch anyways - they would find a way to be sure they understood it truly is filth, and is not something to mimic. (Probably followed by the TV being unplugged for a couple weeks at the least). I can't imagine a world where a parent would be ok with their children watching something like this - but unfortunately I'm pretty commonly disappointed with how I see children brought up these days. Yes, it's easy for me to armchair QB without having kids - but is this really a situation an actual parent would argue me on?

I'm boycotting MTV. My wife will have to either hand over the remote or start playing video games with me from now on.

Something Creative...

2011-01-20T14:40:00.003-06:00

First thought: Titles.
I've always taken pride in the titles I use to have for posts. It's not just limited to posts I suppose - old bands I was in, pets, book/article titles, and company names have also been blessed with my thoughtfulness.

..and yet for my first post of 2011, I got nothing.

Some people insist on explaining why they've been away from blogging for a while. I'm not pretentious (big word!) enough to beleive anyone cares. :)

Life has been busy, though.

Still working contantly.
Still hate my job.
Still not flying.
Basement is still flooding.
Illinois just raised my taxes.
I never set up my webserver on my box again - as you can tell.

Ready for the good stuff now?

I still have a job. I dare not complain about having one, even one I dislike in this economy.
I'm switching jobs in the next few months. I will soon be working on our mobile and social networking team. Finally working with people with a median age less than 1.5 times mine!
I'm still a math nerd.
I've come to love photography. Joanna and I have done some shoots for various people and I would love to start a photography business someday.
This month Joanna and I celebrated our five year anniversary. God bless that woman for dealing with me.
I have a place to ramble again.

Yes this one is borring, but I give it 5-6 days before my controversial thoughts start spewing out over this corner of the internet.

Let's try THIS out...

2010-11-15T10:54:00.001-06:00

ok, so hosting and managing my own blog system was awesome. Not only did I love "owning" it, but being able to tweak it and use it as my own design world for code testing was great as well.

So then I updated my OS, and also my web server. It didn't handle some of my conversions very well - so no posts would show. I decided to then redirect my domain to my photo site.

It's about time I bring this back. New hosting brings with it many changes. (I often say everything has pros and cons to it). It will now be much, much faster, with virtually no down time. Awesome. I won't be able to alter it like I use to though. We shall see how this fairs for me, and I'll also try to repost my old stuff - or at least my favorite ones, because I do have backups.

Next on the reading list...

2010-04-02T20:08:00.000-05:00

I have a realy bad habbit of starting books, but never finishing. It's not that I'm not interested, it's just that I have so many more things to be doing with my time and I don't find the actual act of reading enjoyable. Despite this, I do have an interest in many books, and found one I may get through...The Survivors Club.

David Pitt explains it better than I...
"According to Sherwood, two questions are central to this book. What does it really take to survive a catastrophic event and what kind of survivor are you? You might be surprised at the answers. While there are tactics and strategies to surviving life tragedies, unforeseen accidents, and other catastrophes, many of these are instinctive (some, like exhibiting transitory superhuman strength, are manifested physiologically, without conscious planning). Some of us, Sherwood explains, are better survivors than others—in prisoner-of-war camps, for example, the people most likely to collapse are the eternal optimists who believe rescue is imminent and fail to come to terms with the possibility of long-term imprisonment. The book is a useful, insightful exploration of the nature of survival, the resilience of the human mind and body, and the ways in which we can all use our natural gifts to maximize our chances of coming through catastrophic situations." --David Pitt

Along with the book is a free "survivors test" which will identify your general survivor personality traits.

It was spot on with me - identifying myself as a "realist" with my initial answers, and a "thinker" when I took it a second time with my answers where I could have gone either way. I've been called a realist consistently for most of my life. Except for only a couple occasions I have always tried to look at things how they truely are and consider all outcomes and options. Sometimes because of this, it causes me to get concerned about something because I'm considering all possibilities. There is a running joke that my father and I are alike in that we will always say no to a question first - then give us a day or two to digest it and our opinions may change. I beleive this is because our minds haven't been able to play out all the factors with a situation: i.e.-budget, timing, other possible outcomes that will be introduced from that decision...

I'll let you know how it goes. =)

Cameras, Guns, and...well, more guns.

2010-04-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

The last couple of weeks I've found a new hobby. Really, my wife will be pissed I say that, because I really hijacked hers. She has wanted to get into photography for a long while now, and I recently bought her a new entry DSLR from Canon that just came out, the T2i. "Entry" probably isn't the best term for it, considering the quality of this thing is amazing. So while she now has the tools to get more involved with photography, I've been reading up a lot on it and getting into it as well. Bottom line: expect more pics to show up here, as I will be updating the images section soon. For now, enjoy some of my favorite shots...

(My Favorite)

Today was also the first day we went shooting for my company's Spring pistol league - which, thanks to the T2i, I got some decent video of.

T2i Test at the gun range... from Brian Smith on Vimeo.
The shooting in that video resulted in this target...

I had a really good shooting day, scoring really well on all my targets, even including out to 25 yards. One other thing that was quite special to me was another gun i got to shoot. When I was about 12 years old my grandfather, who had a very nice array or guns in his collection, bought me my first. When I opened the box I thought it was a BB gun, so I could look like another hunter in the family. My father was quick to point out "um, no son...That's a .22!". The thing is made of laminated wood, probably barely breaks four pounds, and has a metal lined plastic barrel; so it's not worth much money, but it's one of the very few sentimental things I have related to my grandpa. I had never shot it, and it has been in storage for about 15 years. I recently got a hold of it and shot it for the first time today.

It shoots straight as an arrow. I'm looking forward to having it be the first rifle my child someday shoots.

Last note: When I got the range I saw something interesting following me in the isles of the shop. I only got one quick shot of him. I kept thinking to myself that if I were a wild animal, a gun store would be the last place I'd be seen hanging around at.

More Debt...facepalm

2010-03-08T20:06:00.000-06:00

"The federal public debt, which was $6.3 trillion ($56,000 per household) when Mr. Obama entered office amid an economic crisis, totals $8.2 trillion ($72,000 per household) today, and it's headed toward $20.3 trillion (more than $170,000 per household) in 2020, according to CBO's deficit estimates.

That figure would equal 90 percent of the estimated gross domestic product in 2020, up from 40 percent at the end of fiscal 2008. By comparison, America's debt-to-GDP ratio peaked at 109 percent at the end of World War II, while the ratio for economically troubled Greece hit 115 percent last year."
CBO report: Debt will rise to 90% of GDP

So real life example... Say you and your spouse make a combined amount of $100,000 a year. First of all, your in pretty good shape income-wise compared to many. Can you imagine supporting your home while you give $90,000 of that to credit cards and paying bills with $10,000 a year? What advice would you give if you were a financial advisor to this home? Perhaps "stop buying things on credit and spending what you don't have!" Would you explain the concepts of interest and inflation? The country is in the same state as this home, but the morons in congress and our Presidents (yes, that's plural) keep saying "eh, we'll get more credit - we're good for it!" Unfortunately, our "banks", primarily China and Japan, are catching on.

Most people can barely live with the income they keep after the current taxes. I can't imagine living on %10 of my income, so why is it ok for our governmnet to?

Amusing Ways to Save Tax Dollars...

2010-03-07T20:05:00.000-06:00

Jay Leno suggested we use a swear jar everytime VP Biden forgets there's a hot mic nearby.

My solution? Instead of having 22 pens for a president to sign his name to a bill, he uses ONE! Perhaps that's not all that funny, but I've always scratched my head on why that happens. It's all done for the sake of having souvenirs to hand out - still kind of stupid, IMO, but it's been a tradition for many years.

Why Did Obama Use So Many Pens to Sign the Health Care Bill?

So what are your favorite, amusing, ways we can save the country some cash?

These are our leaders... facepalm

2010-03-06T20:05:00.000-06:00

There are a bunch of stories I haven't brought here yet - but this one makes me *facepalm* yet again.

This story is one I've been expecting to see for a while. Virginia is getting in on it too.

Anyone want a LLH domain name? =)

2010-03-05T20:04:00.000-06:00

I raise the BS flag on this one, but if anyone wants it, we can talk. =)

51, 60...What's the difference!

2010-03-04T20:04:00.000-06:00

Lots of numbers on LLH this week... more to come in the next few days too.

With all this talk about reconciliation I figure I would go straight to the man in charge to see what his feelings about it are. Luckily, someone already did it for me.

WHEW! Glad there are no special rules, exceptinos, illegal alterations of code, or unethical practices being used on this healthcare issue.

Yeah, we really dodged a bullet here...
/sarcasm

Who is Nolan anyways?

2010-03-02T20:03:00.000-06:00

Took the quick 10 question Nolan quiz today. I'm not surprised by the results - I mean they're accurate for me - but I also don't put much faith in a 10 question quiz to determin your political beleifs that well.

BTW, David Nolan is one of the people responsible for the Libertarian Party popularity and founding in 1971.

So take this quiz and post in the comments where you land!

Hella Cool...

2010-03-01T20:03:00.000-06:00

Today I read a story about how the 10^27 number range doesn't have a name. There is a movement to name this range "Hella", and I think that's Hella Cool.

Official SI prefixes:
10 = deca
100 = hecto
1,000 = kilo
1,000,000 = mega
1,000,000,000 = giga
1,000,000,000,000 = tera
1,000,000,000,000,000 = peta
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = exa
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 = zetta
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 = yotta
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 = unnamed

I find it interesting that they don't have a SI name for 10^27 through 10^99. I'm not sure why they don't just use the Short Scale names. (Short scale of 10^27 = Octillion, 10^30 = nonillion)

Googol = 1 with 100 zeros
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000

It's said that there are not even this many atoms in the entire existance of the universe.(It's somewhere in the range of 10^80 to 10^85)

Pa_tisan voting? get _i_ of it...

2010-02-05T20:02:00.000-06:00

Today on the radio there was a discussion about partisan voting, and the impact on the party system (mainly Democracts) if there wasn't an "R" or a "D" on the ballot. I have been talking about this for years!

Detroit and Philadelphia were used as examples and he questioned what would happen if the Democrats could not rely on black voters who only vote for the "D". He also questioned what the democrats have done for those black voters, considering these cities are crap-holes despite being Democrat controlled for decades. (Eight decades in Detroits case, and about six in Philadelphias case)

Even something as simple as taking the representation off the ballot would force people to actually learn about the candidates before voting and would be a good thing - unless you promote unpopular things. Unfortunately, I don't think it will ever happen. BTW, this is for all races - not just black voters, but that was the specific example because they have a high rate of leaning left and generally dominate democratic systems and beleifs. Need another example? Scott Brown, who ran on conservative beleifs just voted for the new stimulus Jobs Bill. I think anyone who votes without knowledge is doing a disservice to their neighbors.

I'm proven wrong... YEA!

2010-02-03T20:01:00.001-06:00

I've mentioned in the past my feeling towards my generation and their general lack of political awareness. (or at least common sense) It seems I may have jumped the gun on that notion though.

CNN reports that at least %60, and possibly up to %80 of attendees of CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) were expected to be under 30. As for actual numbers, I've seens stats say between %48 and %54 of attendees were between 18 and 25. That surprises me. I would have been expecting numbers in the teens, or lower.

How many accidents have YOU had this year?

2010-02-03T20:01:00.000-06:00

Vice President Biden's motorcade has been in three accidents in the last three months - one resulting in a death.

When mentioning this to my wife she had the most logical reply...
"Damn, our insurance would drop us like a bad habbit"

yup.

Super Bowl...

2010-02-02T20:00:00.000-06:00

Congratz Saints. I should have bet on it. For my good colt fan friends Bob and Kristi (we call them Bobsti) I offer this image.

Another amusing justification...

2010-02-01T19:59:00.000-06:00

Yet again, I see some of the things I write about or reference in other, more reputable, articles...

That particular article is about the economical lies the Big O has spewed, and offers a simple solution to INSTANTLY CUT THE DEFICIT IN HALF!

On another note: I was in the ER yesterday for a bad reaction to some medication. My health insurance seems to be working just fine.

Baaaaa!

2010-01-04T19:59:00.000-06:00

It seems like most of the political things I'm annoyed with and write about are the same things that others write about. (1|2) My quick posts are just less refined so take less time, hence why it's usually here before on the news or official opinion places.

If I made my writings and opinions based on other people opinions I would feel pretty much like a sheep. With that said, Mr.Gibby (Robert Gibbs, that is) is speaking so time to pay attention for myself!

Well the next big deal is going to be the cockiness of this A-hole. Don't misunderstand me... if he was providing true change and bringing together the country and congress I feel he would be justified in making an off-the-cuff comment like he did. But what collaboration has he shown? What issues has he helped mend between liberals and conservatives? in Gibby's breifing today he even discussed how divided the country is despite the president vowing to fix that.

*ring*ring*
Hello? Leg store? yes, I need something for the Big O to stand on...

Vgh...

2010-01-03T19:58:00.000-06:00

In an interview to ABCs George Stephanpoulos the big O had one specific thing to say about the Scott Brown win that irked me...

"Here's my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country: the same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office [...] People are angry and they are frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."
-President Obama Says Voter Anger, Frustration Key to Republican Victory in Massachusetts Senate

Huh? So let me get this straight. People are so pissed at the Bush administration that they voted in a republican who is against most of the big O's beliefs? How delusional is that? THIS IS OUR PRESIDENT? I bet if Coakley was elected he would have said the same exact words. Reread them replacing Browns name with Coakley and see how they can be interchanged. It happens all the time.

My next big gripe with this is that in at least two of his speeches I've specifically heard him say something along the lines of "We need to stop blaming other people for our problems and take responsibility". Yet I've lost count of how many times he has blamed the Bush administration for his bad decisions. Yes, you inherited a crappy economy, but guess what: YOURE BAD DECISIONS ARE MAKING IT WORSE, NOT BETTER!

To quote a great man... "Oh you are nuts. N-V-T-S - nuts!"

Proof of lies...

2010-01-02T19:57:00.000-06:00

The heritage foundation has a pretty good article on many of the Big O's promises versus reality. The topics include the individual mandate, not losing your doctor, lower healthcare premiums, a reduced deficit, and tax payer funded abortions. The one that makes me most upset (if I HAD to choose one) would be the lie stating no family making less than $250,000 would see a dime in tax increases. Primarily because it was a huge promise, affects everyone poor or middleclass, and also essentially means he was going to reduce spending. They get around this wording by taxing employers and thinking it won't trickle down to individuals.

No Tax Hikes for People Making Less than $250,000: On February 24, 2009, President Barack Obama promised the American people: “if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.” Speaker Pelosi believes the Senate bill’s excise tax on insurance plans breaks this promise, and she is right. But it is not the only way that Obamacare shatters the President’s no-middle-class-tax-hike pledge. There are a slew of new taxes in the Senate bill, many of which will hit the middle class, including taxes on medical devices, tanning beds, insurance user fees, and brand name drugs (not to mention the individual mandate which is enforced by a tax or the employer mandate which kills jobs and punishes the poor).
-Obama’s Other Broken Health Care Promises

As I hope you know, currently democrats from both the House and Senate are deliberating and trying to create a bill that THEY can all agree on to send to the Big O. Oh yeah, and they're hiding while doing it.

Remember all that? Even Pelosi did.

Of course in nearly the same breath as saying that, she says "There has never been a more open process".

How can you deal with people who refuse to answer questions and live in reality? It reminds me of a T-Shirt slogan I've seen sported by Mythbuster Adam Savage: "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Kick these people out of office: all of them. *facepalm*

Wealth, Google, and a common sense description of corporate competition...

2010-01-01T19:54:00.001-06:00

Why is wealth such a bad thing? It seem you are only allowed to want wealth in this nation, but you are not socially allowed to actually acheive it. I still struggle to see what the inherrant problem is with American companies in large scale operations. I'm talking about American oil, insurance, energy, technology, health, and auto companies... The people who complain about these huge industries don't realize that they are AMERICAN! Isn't having a strong AMERICAN company a good thing in this global market? Isn't it a great thing to have a company be able to employ a large amount of AMERICAN workers? Isn't it helpful to the rest of AMERICA to have the taxes that these AMERICAN companies provide? Why drive them away with political and social pressure, regulations, and lack of incetives?

Wealth is not a bad thing - sometimes companies do bad things with it though. Those actions, when left to public opposision will cease. Instead of bailing out a company who fails, you should let them fail, rebuild without the wastefulness that cause their downfalls, and let them be wealthy again. Bad actions are bad - but American wealth is great. People do not seem to separate the two.

Wealth breeds innovation. A great case for that is Google. In it's most recent push, it is getting into the wireless phone hardware industry. Hypothetically speaking, what happens if Google takes over the cell phone market by introducing free/cheap ad-based cell service using VOIP technology(GoogleVoice?) on a Google created, HTC manufactured handset? First of all, everyone would freak out. Customers would shop around for the best deal. Advertisers would participate in an instant. ATT, Verizon, and Sprint would lose such a large base they would have to lower fees to gain or retain customers. This means better devices, new technology, lower fees, and more revenue for the companies responsible and thier employees. GOOD-FOR-THEM! Yes, the other cell carriers may lose some because of this, but that means they will have to compete and come up with either something better or cheaper. This means more innovation, more advances, and cheaper services and good for the end consumer. BTW, unless this Jan 5th announcement is game-changing and will result in more wireless freedom, lower costs, or a huge jump in innovation - I think whatever it is could be a flop, or at least highly over-hyped.

Stan wojenny w Polsce

2009-12-25T19:53:00.000-06:00

A history lesson that interests me...
I'm trying to brush up on my Polish history, and after finding a great speech by Reagan given 28 years ago today it was the perfect time to start. The early 80's was a rough time to be in Poland. The Peoples Republic of Poland enacted Martial Law in an attempt to crush any opposition to the Communistic rule on December 13th, 1981. People were oppressed, media was monitored and controlled, private businesses were delegalized while other companies became under military management. The economy tanked driving up prices at least 20%. People lost thier lives.

On December 23rd, 1981 President Reagan gave an address to the nation and spoke about Poland. He announced that while private aid to it's citizens would continue, sanctions would also be in effect. "These actions are not directed against the Polish people. They are a warning to the Government of Poland that free men cannot and will not stand idly by in the face of brutal repression."

"I urge the Polish Government and its allies to consider the consequences of their actions. How can they possibly justify using naked force to crush a people who ask for nothing more than the right to lead their own lives in freedom and dignity? Brute force may intimidate, but it cannot form the basis of an enduring society, and the ailing Polish economy cannot be rebuilt with terror tactics.

Poland needs cooperation between its government and its people, not military oppression. If the Polish Government will honor the commitments it has made to human rights in documents like the Gdansk agreement, we in America will gladly do our share to help the shattered Polish economy, just as we helped the countries of Europe after both World Wars.
[...]
Yesterday, I met in this very room with Romuald Spasowski, the distinguished former Polish Ambassador who has sought asylum in our country in protest of the suppression of his native land. He told me that one of the ways the Polish people have demonstrated their solidarity in the face of martial law is by placing lighted candles in their windows to show that the light of liberty still glows in their hearts.

Ambassador Spasowski requested that on Christmas Eve a lighted candle will burn in the White House window as a small but certain beacon of our solidarity with the Polish people. I urge all of you to do the same tomorrow night, on Christmas Eve, as a personal statement of your commitment to the steps we're taking to support the brave people of Poland in their time of troubles.

Once, earlier in this century, an evil influence threatened that the lights were going out all over the world. Let the light of millions of candles in American homes give notice that the light of freedom is not going to be extinguished. We are blessed with a freedom and abundance denied to so many. Let those candles remind us that these blessings bring with them a solid obligation, an obligation to the God who guides us, an obligation to the heritage of liberty and dignity handed down to us by our forefathers and an obligation to the children of the world, whose future will be shaped by the way we live our lives today.

Christmas means so much because of one special child. But Christmas also reminds us that all children are special, that they are gifts from God, gifts beyond price that mean more than any presents money can buy. In their love and laughter, in our hopes for their future lies the true meaning of Christmas."
-President Ronald Reagan, Address to the Nation - December 23rd, 1981

Martial Law was lifted in 1983, but many form of control continued through the 80's. In 1989 Poland elected the first non-communistic president in Eastern Europe; Lech Wałęsa.

Thanks hun...

2009-12-06T18:15:00.000-06:00

Wife sent me this. I think it fits.

A comment on my comment.

2009-12-04T18:15:00.000-06:00

In my last post, I made a quick update in the comments when I looked something up for a friend...

I just looked up the tax a buddy will have to pay because he chooses to not have medical insurance. It's in Title 5, Subtitle A, Part 1, Subpart A, SEC 501, Part VIII, Subpart A, SEC59B. wow.
The answer is 2.5% of income, BTW. That's right, you will now be required by law to buy a product or face a punishment. This is the first time this has ever happened in America. *facepalm*

...and today there is a story about how some organizations and lawmakers will be challenging this concept as unconstitutional.

On the first issue, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., on Tuesday renewed the call to examine the constitutionality of whether the federal government can require Americans to purchase a product. "I don't believe Congress has the legal or moral authority to force this mandate on its citizens," Ensign said in a statement, raising what's known as a "constitutional point of order." Such procedural challenges are rare and typically lead to a vote. The non-profit Fund for Personal Liberty, as well as a Virginia-based group called the 10th Amendment Foundation, already have threatened to file suit in federal court over this issue if the health care bill passes.
The Constitution allows Congress to tax, borrow, spend, declare war, raise an army and regulate commerce, among other things. Proponents of the insurance mandate point to the Commerce Clause in arguing that Congress is within its rights to require health insurance and dismiss such potential legal challenges. But foes say the across-the-board requirement is too broad.
"I personally do not believe the Congress has the authority to enact an individual mandate requiring a person to purchase a product from a private seller," said Kent Masterson Brown, lead counsel with The Fund for Personal Liberty. "I don't think the power is there. This is not regulating anything." He said his group would be joined by the Washington Legal Foundation in filing suit against the health care bill.
Even though Obama argues that the mandate is similar to laws requiring drivers to obtain auto insurance, opponents cite several key differences. First, the auto insurance mandate is avoidable, since anyone who doesn't want to pay doesn't have to drive. Second, auto insurance is mandated in large part so that drivers carry liability insurance to cover damages to other people and cars -- not themselves. Third, auto insurance regulation occurs at the state level.
-Health Care Bill Could Face String of Legal Challenges

Talkin' 'bout my generation...

2009-12-03T18:14:00.000-06:00

I just asked "So, assuming representatives truly represent the American people, why and how did this pass?"

Yet I think a large portion of my answer is in my post...
"Most adults under 30 approve of this plan"

The under 30 crowd. My generation. Many of whom might not get The Who reference in the title of this post. :) Many of which have succumbed to the 'gimme' mentality we have the stereotype for. Many of which have not finished college. Many of which have lost any sense of hard work. A generation which has a very short attention span. Most of my under 30 friends are hardcore liberals and it's so hard to understand why. When I really dig into it though it's because they fit into one of those categories. They have low paying jobs and blame the world on it. Maybe the stripping business wasn't the best life choice for you, and THAT's why you can't afford health insurance. Your career as an actor doesn't bring in the big bucks? Gee, that's no surprise. You didn't finish college and am struggling to jump-start your music career... you know in one of the hardest entertainment industries and can't afford the best health insurance? No-kidding... You dropped out of college and expect a great job? Despite how good of a person you are, why should I be forced to pay for your choices? To be fair, why should you have to pay for mine? God bless you all for doing something you believe in, but it's not my responsibility as a taxpayer to fill the gap in your pocket. (Perhaps my responsibility as a friend, but that is a not a mandate, or forced tax)

The sad thing is, all these people have or can get free/cheap health insurance. You get what you pay for. I don't have the best insurance because I choose to spend my money on other things like my home, a car, and cable TV. Plus when I do file a claim, I too have to pay thousands of dollars. Thanks God I finish college, didn't get hooked up on drugs or drinking, and realized that I only deserve what I work for and nothing should come free.

Man, I hate my generation.

Three out of Five citizens agree, the health care bill sucks!

2009-12-02T18:14:00.000-06:00

60-40. That ratio represents two things. First, it is the ratio of votes that helped move the new healthcare plan through the senate. Second, it is the approximate ratio of people who oppose the bill to those who support.

Here's some stats from Rusmussen to back that up... (Week of Dec19th)
-55% opposed, 41% favor (Just 19% Strongly Favor the plan while 45% are Strongly Opposed)
-Senior citizens: 60% opposed, 33% favor
-32% of dems, 80% of rep, and 64% not affiliated with any party oppose the health care plan
-57% say passing nothing would be better than passing this, with 54% saying they will be worse off if it passes.
-53% say it will most likely lead to lower quality of care
-58% say it will drive the cost of care up
-66% say free market principals would reduce healthcare costs more than government
-Most adults under 30 approve of this plan, while a majority of every other age group oppose

Representatives have accepted what essentially equates to bribes in order to pass this. The public does not want this by a wide margin. It is unconstitutional to require someone to buy something just for living. These representatives purposely hide the bill, spend less time discussing it than most other bills, and fail to even read and understand everything that is in it. The goals outlined are either not met with this new legislation, or can be achieved with far less cost in the free-market system. This does not address tort reform, inter-state sales of insurance products, or massive fraud and financial shortfalls in the current government run medical systems. We are going to start paying immediately for this, but won't see results for 4 years. Ten years of payment will support six years of this healthcare. The majority of healthcare professionals fear this reform. Lawyers love this reform.
So, assuming representatives truly represent the American people, why and how did this pass?

You say Copenhagen, I say Copenhagen...

2009-12-01T18:12:00.000-06:00

I was REALLY trying hard to stay off the topic of global warming, because I feel it doesn't deserve the be discussed with everything else going on in the world; but yet again, I fail at keeping my mouth shut and irony is in full force this month. The international meeting about global warming is being held in Copenhagen. What ungodly blistering heat will they encounter as this meeting about the immediate distruction of the globe by fire and drought?

Forecast for Copenhagen - Wednesday
Cloudy with heavy snowfall. Maximum day temperatures around 2 degrees Celsius, minimum night temperatures around minus 3 degrees Celsius. Up to fresh wind.

Well, break out the suntan lotion and surfboard! IRONY!

Fort Hood...

2009-11-04T18:12:00.000-06:00

I have a co-worker who's husband is at Fort Hood and even though her 24 year old heart only has to support like 100 pounds (while holding a brick in the rain), she still nearly had a heart attack. Thankfully, he called her and is safe. Unfortunatley, there are at least 13 other families who have lost a hero, 30 other families who have to deal with injuries, and coutless others who have been affected by the horrible actions of a man who didn't want to deploy - despite reaping the reward of the voluntary military system we have.

It's such a damn shame.

The NBC affilliate of my (and the big O's) hometown of Chicago had a pretty blistering report on the his initial response to the shootings.
-A Disconnected President

He's usually a great speaker, but apparently (I have yet to see the video) he dropped the ball on this one. Here's a spot where I'll cut him a bit of slack - but only a bit - there are far more important things to think about in this situation. His word selection and timeing are nowhere near the top of the list.

My prayers go out to the victims and families.
I'm imperfect so can not forgive in the way God would want me to, so I hope the attacker has a slow and painful death.

LHC - God is REALLY protective of his particles...

2009-11-03T18:12:00.000-06:00

In my last post about the LHC I questioned the theory that the Higgs Boson (which I affectionatly call 'Higgy-B') will cause nature to "'ripple backward through time' to stop the LHC ... like a time traveller who goes back in time to kill his grandfather" .

Well Higgy's back at it again, this time not using electromagnatism and thermodynamics to screw up it's own birth. Oh no, this time it brought out the big guns...Higgy's weapon of choice now is the evil (those with wheat allergies hide your eyes) BAGUETTE!

This weapons of mass destruction was beleived to have been deployed by an indiginous bird after a hearty meal of the gluten filled product. Luckily civillians monitoring the LHCs stats noticed irregularities before catostrophic damage could be done by the winged terrorist.
(More at SkyNews)

No eye witnesses have come forward. Hopes to catch the assailant are low as they are considered an extreme flight risk.

There are three kinds of lies...

2009-11-02T18:11:00.002-06:00

I was having a discussion with someone a few weeks ago about inflation and the risk the FED is putting the country in with it's constant creation of money. As I discussed in my "*Let's Say..." post, the more you circulate, the less worth each unit holds. Seems simple enough. But then it was announced that there will be no cost of living adjustment for Seniors through social security because there was "no inflation risk" this year. This caused two thoughts. First, if there was no inflation risk and we purposely hold back the increase from these seniors, why then spend $13 billion and give them each $250 checks? Considering their largest cost-of-living increase in 25 years happened last year (5.8%) due to inaccuracies, seniors would actually receive a cut in thier Social Security income this year if calculated fairly. I'm not for cutting their income necesarily, but I question the need to give them $250 bucks when they were just denied an increase - seems more like "Oh crap, they were denied a COLA and now they might be pissed and not support a health bill - let's buy them off and look like the good guy!".

My second thought, and the reason for my post, is the reasoning for the decision - no inflation.

It's no secret that the FED is running printing presses like crazy and pumping money out faster than we can keep up with. So my question was why have we seen no inflation despite this? The main reason is that the banks are saving our butts. Just because the FED makes all the money in the world available, doesn't mean it gets put into circulation. This was a misconception I was under.

"The following chart shows that bank reserves held at the Fed have increased 100-fold over the past 14 months -- from around $10B in August of 2008 to around $1000B ($1T) today. [Nov 2009] It is important to understand that while this explosion in the reserves of US depository institutions has rightfully prompted much discussion and consternation, it hasn't directly added to the total supply of US dollars (bank reserves are not counted in monetary aggregates such as M1, M2, M3, MZM and TMS). The reason that bank reserves aren't added to the money supply is that they do not constitute money available to be spent within the economy; rather, they constitute money that could be loaned into the economy or used to support additional bank lending in the future."
-Bank Reserves And Inflation

So as long as the holdings remain in reserve inflation can be kept limited. The biggest worry I have is when this money does start being loaned out without careful consideration about it's affect and then what I expect would be a failed attempt to pull the money back.

"...money enters the economy at specific points and therefore affects different parts of the economy in different ways at different times. (As an aside, this is why monetary inflation is such a popular policy. If increasing the money supply caused all prices to immediately rise by a similar amount then nobody could benefit from the inflation, but the way inflation actually works is that the first receivers of the new money obtain a benefit, at the expense of everyone else, by getting to spend the money before it loses purchasing power. The first receivers of the new money tend to be the government, the banks, and the supporters and pet projects of politicians.)
[...]
The main point we are leading to is that the damage done by injecting a lot of new money into the economy cannot be undone by subsequently removing money from the economy. With regard to the current situation, the monetary profligacy of the past year has propped-up many businesses that should no longer exist and prompted investments that would not have been viable in the absence of the "stimulus". These businesses and investments will inevitably fail after pressure is applied to the monetary brake. And if the central bank refrains from tapping on the monetary brake then an inflation problem will emerge that even the Keynesians can recognize."
-Withdrawing the Stimulus

I won't bore you with more thoughts on that, but here is an article that may help in understanding the relationship (and lack of one) between reserves and true money supply - and another article which helps explain the Inflation process. I know I posted a bunch of links, but they're worth reading IMO.

By the way, remember how the stimulus package was to save jobs? Unemployment rate is at %10.2.

"Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to [Benjamin] Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.'
-Mark Twain

Bitter Taste of Validation...

2009-11-01T18:10:00.000-06:00

Today I see there are 11 more videos of schools having kids praise Obama, the man. (General "Go America" speeches are great - but to glorify and worship a president who hasn't done much good is disgraceful)

Yesterday I saw an article on North Korea building up its nuclear arsenal and using it to threaten the US into bilateral talks. (*Let's Say...)

I also saw an interview with Johnathan Hoenig of thecapitalistpig.com talk about the sinking dollar. He discussed why the dollar was originally backed by gold, what happened to it when it was separated from gold, how the dollar is worth 25 percent less than 10 years ago, and also presented a 100,000,000,000,000 (100 Trillion) Zimbabwe bill worth virtually nothing next to a 10oz bar of gold worth about 11,000 dollars. (*Let's Say...)

There have recently been some whispers of a new stimulus package.

Many companies that took bailout money (and some that haven't) are being pushed to cut their wages by government.

How to earn credibility when you are not credible? Ignore opponents, then call them crazy, then call them dangerous, then criticize them, and finally you attempt to silence and control them. Conservatives, then any party who supports the Constitution (TeaParties), then Fox news, then Humana and the Chamber of Commerce, and now the internet?

All these things I've seen very recently and realize how dead on I think I hit it on multiple posts of mine. =/

Glad I started a blog while I had the chance...

2009-10-03T18:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks to John from WSB for posting this...

From:http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/03/secret-copyright-tre.html

Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad.

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says:

* That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.

* That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.

* That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.

* Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)
For more on this goto: The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together

Sometimes I Overthink Things...

2009-10-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm interested in way too many nerdy/scientific things. I made a post about the LHC thing to a forum I'm on and it led to the discussion of timetravel.

Me: Speaking in terms of traveling from present day to the past, I beleive there may be some form of limited particle time travel to be applicible for data transmission perhaps, but I'm pretty doubtful about solid matter. I'm also having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of mother nature "time traveling" back to stop the discovery of something. The first word that came to my mind when I read that was fate - and I don't like the idea of predetermination.
H:You mean like in Deja Vu?
Me: I consider DejaVu to be strictly a biological response in our brain associating current perceptions to recorded memory ones and perhaps some rare connection in the brain - I would fail to see how particles could have the properties to travel back in time and also be able to affect biological events - but I admit that is an interesting concept and in the future who knows what may be possible.

I was actually thinking more along the lines of being able to control the speed and/or production of a Tachyon-like particle at one time, and a detector sometime in the past. This would allow data transmission in a simple form (think morse-code). If these particles truely exist there would be challenges. First you would need to be able to detect them. Second, you would need to know exactly where to look. Third, a method to alter them would be needed. Four, once altered you would need to return them back to their old state (speed) and direct them to the correct spot. I'm sure there's a million other issues too, but that's just what came off the top of my head in the last three minutes. This would explain why we have had no apparent visits or messages from the future - if we can't even detect the paper, how can we see what's written on it?
Side note: I say Tachyon-LIKE particles, because most of the theory of tachyons states the ability to do the things I mentioned (alteration, isolation, encoding) aren't even theoretically possible.
H: I meant the movie not that phenomenon.. where they could send small items back into the past..
Me: oh...

Deja Vu...Good movie.

*facepalm*

Justice concludes black voters need Democratic Party

2009-10-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

Washingtontimes.com ran an article on the attempt of KINSTON, N.C. citizens to get rid of party affiliations in local elections and the Justice Department stopped them saying partisan elections are needed so black voters can elect their "candidate of choice".

*Deep breath....count to 10*

I just gave you a short summation, but the article is a good one to check out. Bottom line is that they have to get approval before any changes to their voting system. They wern't given approval because the Justice Department felt that "white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and that therefore the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters' right to elect the candidates they want.". Nevermind the fact that the area is predominatly black democrats - and they're the ones voting for this change!. (the article cites people saying they can't remember the last time a republican won anything there)

How does removing party affiliations stop black voters from electing who they want? Won't everyone vote for who they want anyways? White voters are more likely to vote for a black democrat vs. a black republican? Really? If white guy A votes for black guy B, what difference does ti make if he's democrat or republican if his opinions don't change? What about the fact that many black voters voted for Senartor Obama without knowing his policies only because he's half black? Should we say those were racially motivated votes and throw them out? Did that violate white voters rights?

My point to be made is that people should vote for whoever has the best ideas as it aligns with your views. If voters vote based on race, I think it's wrong, but it's their perspective and their choice to do so. Why should the Justice Department block a change the people (again, mostly black democrats) want, saying it's for their own good? I beleive there is a tone to this that alludes to one of two things really going on here - both of which are pretty sad: The first is that the DOJ thinks black voters are too dumb to actually look into what candidates beleive and that they need that "D" next to a candidates name like an answer key. Second, and more likely, is that if you remove the party system everyone will be stripped of any preconceived notions and will have to rely only on the facts of what they beleive. Voters will have to research the candidates and learn about politics. Strangly enough, this scares most politicians - especially democrats.

I despise the idea of parties because (almost) everyone has great ideas and also some really bad ones. The steriotypes that the democrats are all welfare-loving government increasing communists and that all republicans are crazy God/gun loving radicals are hard to stray from - and if a candidate tries to they're shunned by all voters.

Strip politics down to the people. Let each individual represent THEIR ideas and THEIR goals. DOJ, stop getting in the way.

LHC - God is protective of his particles...

2009-10-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

So I found this story about the Large Hadron Collider and the theory that we will never find the Higgs Boson because "Nature will 'ripple backward through time' to stop the LHC ... like a time traveller who goes back in time to kill his grandfather" huh? Nature itself time travels? We live in a universe that has solid properties and laws, so isn't it better to say time travel is not possible in the dementional space we reside in, instead of attaching this matter-based concept to "nature"?

Best part of the story is Professor Brian Cox, who kind of reminds me of my father-in-law, who says "Anyone who thinks the LHC will destroy the world is a twit" He's from England, so I think calling them twits is the equivallant to giving the finger, right?

Damn it's easy to be a theorist.

Peace Prize given to President Obama (nearly given to Senator Obama)

2009-10-01T18:06:00.000-05:00

Here is an article that best says what I want to...

"Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. Over the last decade the only requirement to win the prize was that the nominee had to be critical of George W. Bush (see Al Gore, Mohamed El Baradei and Jimmy Carter).
President Obama has broken new ground here. Nominations for potential winners of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ended on February 1. The president took office only 12 days earlier on January 20.
Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize:
January 20: Sworn in as president. Went to a parade. Partied.
January 21: Asked bureaucrats to re-write guidelines for information requests. Held an “open house” party at the White House.
January 22: Signed Executive Orders: Executive Branch workers to take ethics pledge; re-affirmed Army Field Manual techniques for interrogations; expressed desire to close Gitmo (how’s that working out?)
January 23: Ordered the release of federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries. Lunch with Joe Biden; met with Tim Geithner.
January 24: Budget meeting with economic team.
January 25: Skipped church.
January 26: Gave speech about jobs and energy. Met with Hillary Clinton. Attended Geithner's swearing in ceremony.
January 27: Met with Republicans. Spoke at a clock tower in Ohio.
January 28: Economic meetings in the morning, met with Defense secretary in the afternoon.
January 29: Signed Ledbetter Bill overturning Supreme Court decision on lawsuits over wages. Party in the State Room. Met with Biden.
January 30: Met economic advisers. Gave speech on Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Met with senior enlisted military officials.
January 31: Took the day off.
February 1: Skipped church. Threw a Super Bowl party.
So there you have it. The short path to the Nobel Peace Prize: Party, go to meetings, skip church, release federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries, party some more.
Good grief.

Editor's Note: Although President Obama had only been in office for 12 days before the nominations for this year's Nobel Peace prize closed the entire process actually takes a full year. According to the official Nobel Prize Web site invitation letters are sent out in September. Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee sends out thousands of letters inviting a qualified and select number of people to submit their nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The deadline to submit nominations is February 1. -- Two hundred five names were submitted for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, 33 of which are organizations. A short list of nominees is prepared in February and March. The short list is subject to adviser review from March until August. At the beginning of October, the Nobel Committee chooses the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates through a majority vote. The decision is final and without appeal. The names of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates are then announced."

wow. I'm speechless.

Where I was...

2009-09-11T18:05:00.001-05:00

I was working at the paintball field. It was just Chris and I - the field was closed on Tuesday, but we had work to do. The only electricity we had was a generator to run the tools we needed to build the new awning on the main building. We had been working for a while when we needed more supplies from the main shop about 15 minutes away so we jumped into the truck to head back. I think when we first turned on the radio, we quickly changed the station trying to find some good music instead of talk - but when every station was void of anything pleasing to the ear, we listened. "An airplane has hit the world trade center". Our initial impression was probably what most would have had "What a horrible accident". It had just happened, and just as we got back to the main shop we heard a second one hit and we knew what was happening. We ran into the store and grabbed a cheap old TV to get some picture of the news. The TV was old and barely worked - we actually used three hangers and tin foil to get a fuzzy picture of two burning buildings. To be honest, I don't remember much after that.

That's where I was.

Of all the reasons for me never to forget my six years working for Badlandz, Bad Boyz Toyz, and Shocktech, that's the worst.

Are you SERIOUS?!

2009-09-04T18:06:00.000-05:00

In my one post here praising the big O's administration I expressed my concern for it...

This speech was a pep-talk to school children accross the country. When the discussion about him bringing politics into the speech came up and considering the fact that the speech was not released early, I was skeptical and pretty angry. If you control the perception of the children of a nation, you control the nation. (10 points to whoever can tell me who thought that in history) Calling on impressionable youth to "help [the President]" is wrong - maybe they shouldn't help you and your socialistic friends destroy our founding piciples. Maybe they don't beleive what you beleive. With that said, it seems he listened to the American people this time and reworked his words. Thank you, Mr.O.

Today a video came out of school children singing praises to Mr.O. WHAT?! This is taking a page right out of Hitlers playbook! The school should be ashamed of themselves. If this happened with Bushor Reagan, there would be a shitstorm already. Where is the storm? Click here for details.

What the kids are saying...
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama

He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama
=======
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"
Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!
So continue ---- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray ----
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
All praise Kim Jong Obama.

OK, so I added that last line myself. With things like this and schools needing to notify students on how they don't need to say the pledge of allegiance I'm sooooo homeschooling my kid.

Democracy vs. Republic

2009-09-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I thought we lived in a democracy, too. I'm starting to do some research into the difference between a democracy like we're taught to think of ourselves as, and a republic which is the true intention of our founding.
Please post up your thoughts if you know more than me (not hard to do) about this, or what you find interesting about the conept. To get you started, here are the breif definitions from military training manuals. The following comes from Training Manual No. 2000-25 published by the War Department, November 30, 1928.
DEMOCRACY:

A government of the masses.
Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of "direct" expression.
Results in mobocracy.
Attitude toward property is communistic--negating property rights.
Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether is be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences.
Results in demogogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.

REPUBLIC:

Authority is derived through the election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them.
Attitude toward law is the administration of justice in accord with fixed principles and established evidence, with a strict regard to consequences.
A greater number of citizens and extent of territory may be brought within its compass.
Avoids the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy.
Results in statesmanship, liberty, reason, justice, contentment, and progress.
Is the "standard form" of government throughout the world.

Old manuals, I know. These were ordered destroyed back in the Rosevelt Era, BTW.
More ramblings and whinning from me to come on this after I put forth my 8th grade reading skills to work. =)

Now Time for Something Completely Different!

2009-09-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

I'd like to think I'm a fairly open-minded person. Most of my political rants are pretty damning of the current administration as a whole, and not always specifically about the man in the office. But I also will absolutely give credit where credit is due.

Nice speech, Mr.President. It was refreshing to read it.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
I have not seen the video, but I read the transcript - so maybe I need to say "Nice speech, Mr.Speech Writer" but I'm sure the Big O had something to do with it.

This speech was a pep-talk to school children accross the country. When the discussion about him bringing politics into the speech came up and considering the fact that the speech was not released early, I was skeptical and pretty angry. If you control the perception of the children of a nation, you control the nation. (10 points to whoever can tell me who thought that in history) Calling on impressionable youth to "help [the President]" is wrong - maybe they shouldn't help you and your socialistic friends destroy our founding piciples. Maybe they don't beleive what you beleive. With that said, it seems he listened to the American people this time and reworked his words. Thank you, Mr.O.

I try and bring up things about this speech that I don't like and I'm stretched thin.
I try and say I can do without the "I'm just like you" crap, but kids do need to see the sucess from a child who grew up in poverty. Even if I don't agree with his policies, he has done more than I can dream to. Having a good work ethic is something lacking in many of these childrens role modles.

I don't like that this speech has a feeling of going to young black kids in particular. "I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star" He redeems himself at the end of that sentence though "when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. ... being successful is hard." Despite putting that as a complaint, I am not blind to the differences in racial quality of education and life in general. It is well documented that minorities have a higher drop out rate, get into more legal troubles, and score lower on standardized tests. Because of this, at least I understand where he's comming from. (perhaps someday I'll go into what the causes of these things may be, but not here or now)

I think that's about all I could complain about.

He basicly told kids "Life is hard work - and if you want great things, you have to decide to have an education. Get off your butt and do it". THANK YOU! Other presidents have talked to students, but I don't think it ever got accross as well as this speech does.

"But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. ."

Bravo, Mr.President. Bravo.

wow

2009-08-02T18:03:00.000-05:00

I don't feel so well.

The Furious Angels present: "All Good Things..."

2009-08-01T18:02:00.000-05:00

Bombshell...I'm a nerd. I played a game based off the Matrix movies. In this game the group I played with would make movies, and because of our great members, they were really damn good too. You can see most of ours in my youtube channel by clicking the youtube button on the top right of this page. This is our most recent release. It is also our last because the game shut down a couple weeks back. It is our Directors Cut of a version we let out just before the servers closed. It is about 20 minutes long, and if you've ever played MxO, the last few minutes might get you choked up. A lot of work was put into this by our group. Enjoy!

MxO Forum Post: http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/posts/list.m?topic_id=36300030227
Torrent Download: http://www.followtheangel.org/DirectorsCutAllGoodThings.torrent
Facebook Stream (FULL): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Furious-Angels/146559142066
Youtube Stream (PART 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxShMbnvHPg
Youtube Stream (PART 2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PysFH25-Txo

Rights vs. Goods

2009-07-04T18:02:00.000-05:00

I just ran into an article by Ron Paul about something my wife an I have had a long discussion about... Is health care a right? I don't think so. I beleive healthcare is something we pay for different level of service and because some people decide to become health care professionals, they deserve to be paid the same way that any provider of other goods are. I agree that all children should receive some sort of care, because if their parents are a waste of space it's not the kids fault, but the second they hit 18 they're paying for it like the rest of us. Also forget healthcare for the deadbeat mother of 5 who pops them out to keep receiving free care. (yes, it happens often)

"Political philosopher Richard Weaver famously and correctly stated that ideas have consequences. Take for example ideas about rights versus goods. Natural law states that people have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A good is something you work for and earn. It might be a need, like food, but more “goods” seem to be becoming “rights” in our culture, and this has troubling consequences. It might seem harmless enough to decide that people have a right to things like education, employment, housing or healthcare. But if we look a little further into the consequences, we can see that the workings of the community and economy are thrown wildly off balance when people accept those ideas."
Healthcare Is a Good, Not a Right. - Ron Paul

A Tragedy...

2009-07-03T18:01:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I was pretty logical. My wife says I had no childhood because I didn't have an imaginary friend, and I think my parents were annoyed I figured out Santa wasn't real fairly early. Even as a young child I couldn't fathom the idea of a fat man on a sleigh powered by animals that could fit millions of toys in his sack and visit millions of homes across the world. Maybe if he walked to some of those houses carrying that sack he wouldn't be so fat - then again, he wouldn't be so jolly either. I'm getting off track...My logical brain has defined my personality more than any other identifiable trait.

Growing up I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew I was good with computers. As a kid I remember hearing people say I would have made a great lawyer. I'm still not sure how they sensed that so young, but I'm betting they were right (if it wasn't for all the damn school involved!). Halfway through college I knew I didn't want to do anything with computers, but I was nearly finished with my degree; and you need a job, a paycheck, and a degree to get a good one of both. Now that I've been in the workforce a while, I realize how much I hate computer work and am desperately trying to find out where I can fit in and if not love, at least enjoy my job. Flying is Number one on the list, and some form of police/detective work is a close number two, but the other day wifey mentioned something that could make the top five...Politics.

It's no surprise that lately I've bitched, whined, moaned, and cried about a few of the insane political decisions being made in this country. I have to say I have no idea where it comes from, but I know it isn't my upbringing. My family never discussed politics, never watched the news, never paid attention to political decisions, or at least did not expose that to us kids. It didn't come from some sense of purpose or any activist activity. I've never spoke out for or against anything in any official manner - student counsel really doesn't count. I started caring when I moved away from home, and really when I got my own home and mortgage. I'm at the age where I have to think about what kind of life my kid(s) will have. When I started thinking about how the decisions politicians are making will affect my kids, that's when I started caring...and getting pissed. Again, I'll go back to my logical mind - it's one based on what is supposed to be common sense. The hand-me-out mentality of the majority of America pisses me off, and for the government to codder to that makes me even more upset. If there's one thing I learned growing up it's that you get what you work for. (yes mom/dad, I did pick up on that) My parents kept money so far off my mind, but seeing my father bust his ass every single day at work, only to slave over a stove every single night for us really hits me now that I'm old enough to understand it. If you want something, you work for it. If you can't afford something, you don't get it. If you can't afford something and buy it anyways, you’re in debt, owe someone, and can't get more in the future. See? - Common sense.

I imagine I'm going to be hated by my kids. I won't have any problem saying no, despite wanting them to be happy. I won't have a problem spanking them when they're children to teach them some actions have consequences. I'll have no problem keeping their allowance as teens - or forcing them to get a job if they want gas money. I'll have no problem giving them enough freedom to make their own mistakes and get a lesson about failure. If my child stole my credit card and maxed it out, I wouldn't tell them it's ok and give them another one. If they're 30 and still living at home, I might "strongly suggest" they GTFO. Perhaps if our political leaders treated the country more like their own children, we wouldn't have such a spoiled, self-centered country.

So where would I fit into a political career? I have no idea. I don't care enough about votes to rally, and I'm far too lazy for it anyways. I'm incredibly blunt and forward, so certainly wouldn't fit in with the suit and tie politicians. (I can only imagine what would happen the first time I dropped the F-Bomb on CSpan) I don't deal with bullshit well. I don't take it, I see right through it, I call it what it is, and I don't let it pass. Like I will do with my children, I will try to educate, but I'll also let the community make their own mistakes.
A child was killed a couple weeks back around here because he was trying to beat a semi truck across a VERY BUSY road. By VERY BUSY I mean it was a 4 to 5 lane city route. It is tragic he died, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Kids will be kids no matter how well they are brought up (I can't count how many times I did something stupidly deadly and came out ok). BUT, the crap that was being spewed on local news message boards was insane! It is a lower income area, and many made it a race thing. The people in the area claimed the town should pay for shuttles to take kids from one area of town to this park on a usual basis. Their reason? "If it happened in a white neighborhood, you'd have busses!". (I'll go into a tirade over race discrimination some other day) The best response? "We have shuttles... they're called friendly neighbors and minivans. We take our kids to the park ourselves so they don't get in trouble or hurt, say by a semi truck". Bravo. I hate the fact that a child died in our neighborhood, but to use that as an excuse for more "free" stuff pisses me off even more.

Taking this into consideration, I know for sure I would not make it in politics. When the request for busses came to me I'd say the same thing the "good neighbor" said. I would basically say I'm not providing shit because you failed to teach your kid to avoid large trucks and didn't want to drive them yourself. I would then be called a racist and I'd roll my eyes and call them a F*@%&#! idiot and be voted out of office.
Those who want free things are usually those who want everything free. Anyone smart enough to make positive change in this country is too smart to go into politics.

Are you serious?

2009-07-02T18:01:00.000-05:00

REALLY?!

How much does a promise cost?

2009-07-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

WE'RE NUMBER 1! WE'RE NUMBER 1!

What in? Well, put on your party hats and cue up "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"....

MOST EXTERNAL DEBT IN THE WORLD!_{*noise maker*}

WHAAAAA?!!?!

ok, so this is not completely new news. First of all the $13,641,807,000,000 (13.6T) debt is a stat from the end of 2008. Secondly, we were also number one back in 2007. I know exactly what you're thinking... "HEY! At least we're not Japan who has an astounding 217 percent of GDP total debt!" (You DID say that, right?) While this is true, Japan mainly just owes it's own people. It's external debt is less than %15 of ours. Plus, you know what external entity owns the most of the US? China at $767.90B...know who's a close #2 in that list? JAPAN at $686.70B! *noise maker* WOOHOO!

That sounds pretty bad doesn't it? Well if that made you cry, stop reading. The United States is the place of dreams and promises. Unfortunatly, most promises cost something in return. So how much are the promises of this great land going to cost us for this fiscal year?

Federal Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion for the First Time.

That's ONE year! Sooooooooo who owns these promises? Not the people who benefit from them, only the people who provide them. They're the ones owed money. Next time you complain about China or Japan "owning us", take a look at where we really owe money, what we're promised for the debt, and what we actually get. Most of our debt is our own fault - or at least our governments fault. No taxes if you make less than $250,000 a year? Yeah right. Think we can overtake Japan on owing ourselves too?!

Side-thought:
If I created my own money and then tried to buy your car with it, would you accept it? You'd be wise to turn my offer down, because it has no real worth. When creating something from nothing, especially perceived wealth, true value declines rapidly.

And yet...we keep spending. *facepalm*

A dream can be a dream come true, With just that spark in me and you.

2009-07-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

Don't be fooled by the title of this post...This is really just a random middle-of-the-day post about nothing. When thinking of a title, though, I thought it was brought to life by my imagination - which for some reason reminded me of the song used at the Imagination! Pavillion at Epcot at Disney. I use to go there as a kid - even had a stuffed Figment, the purple dragon.

Anywhoo, back to the randomness of my mind.
Ten things that please me, or piss me off. (Guess which ones are which)
10.Dogs
9.Cats
8.Work
7.Money
6.Babies
5.Internet
4.God (Big G)
3.Swimming
2.Driving fast
1.Cheesy Garlic Bread

KA-POW!

2009-06-12T12:48:00.000-05:00

So it's June, which means BONUS TIME!! Despite the current economical status, I have busted my butt at work, and it has been noticed a little bit. I managed to pull in a decent raise. Instead of spending all of it on my car, which I had originally planned to do, I instead spent it on something I've been wating for about 3 years... A Smith & Wesson M&P pistol.

I bought it from megasports firearms in Joliet - a great place for everything 'weapons'. They have a huge selection of pistols, rifles, knifes, accessories, and a very nice indoor range as well. I've been wanting an M&P for about two years, but they use to have a few stoppage issues. They seem to be comming from the factory now with polished feed ramps and chambers and the stoppage issues have seemed to end with the change. The only close competitor was the Springfield XD, but the M&P's feel in the hand won me over. I went to the shop expecting to buy a used compact in .40cal. I've always wanted a compact. Despite living in a no-carry state, I like the way they fit my smaller hands better, and if I planned to move I would get a carry licence. Plus this used one cost less. After speaking to a few of the sales associates and giving it some real thought I pushed aside the compact .40 for a fullsize 9mm.

This really is a better option for a few reasons. First, it will be used primarily for sport shooting and home defense. 9mm is cheap and while a .40 beats out a 9mm any day in the home defense situation, I have the belief that a 9mm will still do a damn fine job. Any intruder who is shot with a 9mm will most likely be in the same position as one shot with a .40; laying on the ground or running away. Plus having more firepower doesn't mean anything if you can't control the recoil, which leads me to my next reason for getting a 9mm full size. My wife will be shooting this. She comes from a very different family than I. I was brought up around guns, hunting, and taught to respect weapons, but not fear them. Her entire family beleives that all guns either have killed, or will kill another human. She told her mother I bought a gun and her first response was "Is everything ok?!" as if I was a threat and planning on using it on my wife. *facepalm* My wife has been very open to learning about weapons and is working on her fear of them. This week I am taking her to our first safety course, then next week we will finally get to shoot in the class. I'm excited. =)

Last week I went with a friend and my father to the range for some shooting. I put 134 rounds through it, and am quite happy with my results. It seemed to shoot low for all three of us, so I'm unsure if that's a sight issues, or just all three of us are shooting wrongly, but it's still close enough to put someone down. I plan to get some Burnell work done and also install WT 2-dot night sights. Perhaps that will change my impact point a bit.

PICS:
-In the case
-Left
-Right
-Slide Back
-Broken Down

TARGETS:
-First Mag: 15ft. 2 way low,8 slightly low,7 good shots. Drawn on bullseye was aimpoint.
-Second and Third Mag: 20-25ft. 3 low, 1 slight high/right, 30 good shots

Lazy people don't break hips

2009-06-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

BILLY MAYS HERE FOR.... Awww man, I just can't make a joke about the "BILLY MAYs Defibulator!" or the "BILLY MAYs hot hot pine box". After watching the first few episodes of Pitchmen I started to get my BM impression down pat.

[yell loudly] [point with both hands, all fingers outward - think karate chop] "HI!, I'm BILLY MAYs" [bring in one hand, made into a slight fist] "and I want to tell you about the" [point again, all fingers outward] "amazing new" [point to product, one finger] <product name here>!
I never bought anything from you, but gosh darnnit, I wanted to. RIP BILLY MAYs.

The Middleman, DA...

2009-06-06T17:57:00.000-05:00

David Axelrod... Makes me think of Axel Rose. Any name with "Axel" in it just screams rock n' roll, doesn't it?
Two quotes from him. The first was shown to me by my wife. Her note is directly below it...

“David Axelrod says Obama expressed his condolences to the Jacksons. He said Obama saw the pop star as a spectacular performer whose life had sad and tragic aspects.”
Awesome. Our President spoke about MJ sooner than he spoke about Iran

Well said, love. The reason? Much like Obama, MJ was a celebrity. While entertainment has a huge affect on society, it isn't really important in life. Therefore it's easy to quickly decide the correct, nearly scripted, condolence soundbyte. Unfortunatly, "I think your election was a sham, and so do your citizens. I don't want to play nice with you anymore" was on the very last page, hence why it took so long.

Next up...(from washingtonpost.com)
"There are a number of formulations and we'll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going," Axelrod said. "We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey."

I need to disect this a bit, because this quote is classic "don't do this" when it comes to college writing/speaking skills.

49 words
"keep the process moving", "keep people at the table", and "keep the discussions going" are all the same idea, repeated.
"number of formulations"... ok, how many? What are they? What are the results so far?
"We'll wait and see"... I won't hold my breath
considering "wait and see", "people at the table","long way down the road", and "finish that journey" are all just sayings with little to no relevance to anything, only about %70 of this MIGHT contain some useful information.

What's this all about? Could be anything, right? Basicly that promise the big O made about not taxing folks back when he was criticizing McCain for it? "I pledge that under my plan, no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase,". Well he kind of lied.

It drives me nuts how most peices of political information are so scrubbed and vauge, it's not information at all. Mr.RockN'Roll could have said that about anything!

Excuss me, Sir. What can you tell us about the declining spermwhale population and the opposition to whale hunting in general?
"There are a number of formulations and we'll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going," Axelrod said. "We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey."

Exceuss me, Sir. How does the current administration feel about legos? Has there been any discussion about what is liked more - blue or red blocks?
"There are a number of formulations and we'll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going," Axelrod said. "We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey."

Excuss me, Sir. Do you have any comment about the numbers of starving little people debate teams who also like to participate in long distance races?
"There are a number of formulations and we'll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going," Axelrod said. "We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey."

Excuss me, Sir. Can you comment on the possibility of additional stimulus packages despite thier assurances of help yet obvious failures, and perhaps why the big O's administration wants to take back one of it's key primary promises?
...I think you get the idea.

MJ...

2009-06-04T17:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, he was a musical icon. Yes, I loved his music. Yes, he changed the music business. No, I would not trust my child with him.

What is it with people praising his life so much because he's a celebrity? I am shocked at the forgiveness of the public and media. Am I really that old-time to have morals and not be blinded by fame? Why should a persons skills null thier personal actions? If I kill one person, and save another from certain death, do they balance out? If I beat my wife, but have a few hit songs like Chris Brown, does that make it ok? What if I like urinating on underaged girls, but "I belive I can fly"...do I get off then like R.Kelly did?

I'm not even talking about legal justice; even I have gotten out of a ticket or two. I'm talking the state of morality in this country and around the world. If I have a neighbor that has been accused of child molestation, has childrens parties at thier place all the time, built an amusement park for them, has no sembalance of an adult life, invites children to his room for sleep-overs I'm sure as hell not going to trust my child in the same area as him! What type of parent would!? Why is he being praised so much? The tallented, kind-of-adjusted, black MJ died a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago. I respect his music, but can never praise the man.
He hasn't even made any good music in like 10 years. Big whoop.

By the way, I never wish harm on anyone *cough*except child molestors*cough* and I do think that thoughts like this are rough for the family. He matters to them, not me. If one of my family members died I'm betting Janette won't write about them on HER blog! =P So yes, I do feel bad for the family because they have reasons to mourn. The rest of the world needs to grow a pair and suck it up.
EDIT:
Some amusing or interesting thoughts I've read today on MJ...

NOOOOOOOO not MJ! Someone tell the paramedic to grab him by the heart and just "Beat it"
To quote Chris Rock, "the brother was turning clear..."
I wish I could fast-forward a week of my life and get Michael Jackson's death and the "global mourning" out of the way. Hopefully this won't last long and we can get back to our regular scheduled programming and keep an eye on socialist Obama and how he deals with nuclear war with N. Korea, unrest in Iran, all the while sinking our economy deeper into annihilation all for the betterment of the global citizen.
It's a shame how the media covers and adores him and other non-essential personel and they look the other way at the real hero's of our Nation ie: all the Congressional Medial of Honor recipiants that have passed on as well as every Silver, Bronze and all that have gone above and beyond in the line of duty. The folks that deserve it don't get the recognition the media gives whacko & other entertainers."
BT: What's really a shame is that Wacko Jacko stole Farah Fawcett's thunder.
Farah was making the news big time in the morning until Jacko kicked the bucket. Now they've been talking about it ever since and probably will be for weeks. We'll probably not hear another thing about Farah.
T: So one famous beautiful white woman died, and one ugly white woman died.
The idol worshiping media is all over the Jackson distraction like stink on a heaping pile of manure while pushing Ed Mc Mahon's and Farrah Fawcett's death to the back pages of oblivion. Also, it's a good excuse to ignore little things like the Cap & Tax bill our gang in DC is spiriting through.
Ho hum, ho hum. Ya' know what I hate about the whole thing? The 400 text messages I received in a 30 minute span from everyone who thought they were breaking the story to me.
G: I wouldn't be surprised if he was faking it. He's weird like that.
Y: No better way to pay off that debt...
T: Except to actually die. Then he wouldn't have to worry about it.
Wait a minute...Heath Ledger died?
I haven't seen this much butt-kissing since the election...

*Let's Say...

2009-06-03T13:09:00.000-05:00

*Let's say someone pulls a gun on you and your family and threatens to kill all of you, and you have every ability to take them out what do you do?
A. Laugh at them
B. Ignore them
C. Say "I'm going to do something about this...after you shoot one of us"
D. KILL HIM!

This is the best analogy I can think of to describe the situation with NKorea right now. As you may have guessed, Obama has decided to pull out option C. *facepalm* While I wasn't a huge fan of Bush, at least he would have been dealing with the NKorean threat by now. I mean, he went in to Iraq for WMDs with no valid proof (dumb move all together), and here is lil'Kim TELLING US he's building nukes and weaponizing every bit of plutonium they can. He's threatening the US directly. How can the big O be such a fool?! He wants the world to be this utopian place where talking gets things done all the time - they don't. One of my highschool teachers had a very odd lesson one day. It revolved around the idea that WAR SOLVES EVERY PROBLEM. Granted, it may create 2, 3 or 100 more in it's place, but force and threats gets things done.

*Lets say you have 10 kids. "you have 10 kids" (bud-dum chish!).
You give each of them 10 dollars. (10x10=$100)
Little Jimmy decides to sell his new toy truck and earn %5 of the total GDP of the kids. (5/100=$5)
He now has $15, which is 15% of kid GDP.

Now lets say you want to stimulate your kids spending, and give them an extra $90 FOR NOTHING. (100 + 90x10 = $1000)
If Jimmy wants to sell his truck for the same $5, that will be only .5% (half a percent) of kid GDP.
He will now have only %10.5 of kid GDP. ((100+5)/1000) Ripoff. Not much of a worthy investment and he's probably better off keeping his truck to play with.

If he wanted to end up at the same %15 of kid GDP he would have to sell his truck for $50.
This is an increase of %1000 from his original price of $5!

Has the truck changed in any way from the time it was worth $5? NO! Are there less trucks, driving up demand? NO! Therefore, has the worth of the truck increased? NO! Are any of the other kids going to buy a truck for $50? NO! (Maybe cross-eyed Stephen, but that's because he stuck a fork too far up his nose and became the "special" one). So little Jimmy is now out of the retail trucking business along with %9.4 of the rest of the world. (Unemployment rate as of this writing)

To solve this issue, would you:
A. Assume the $90 was too little and instead give each child and additional $200
B. Wait for the kids to spend the money on other more important things (no truck would be bought for a while) until the money supply came down, and then monitor and limit the amount of money to the stable $10

Stimulus packages = dumbest move you can do to solve an economic crisis. You can not change the fact that money, and the spending of that money varies. It has its highs and low, and history has shown that when you try to counteract one of these highs or lows, it is counterproductive!

The more currency you pump into any society, the less valuable each unit becomes. It's all about percentages people! %1 of $100 is $1. %1 of $11,000,000,000,000 (11 trillion) is $110,000,000,000!!! Our monetary system works on worth, and worth is based on PERCENTAGES NOT AMOUNTS! If there was only $5 in the whole country, I'd be a rich man. This is not rocket science! Why is it that I get this, my six year old niece probably gets this, yet our president, previous president, government officials, and the freaking FED don't get this! It's their job to understand inflation. You know what happens to me when I don't do my job, or in this case I costs my company trillions of dollars? I don't get a raise, I don't get extra vacation time, I don't get a private jet. I get canned. fired. trashed. given the pink slip. a boot in my rear. If I'm very lucky I'm not sued.

Maybe in the future I'll write about the fact that this money isn't even real. Long gone are the days where money meant something - it usually meant gold or silver. With the FED having complete freedom to create as much money as they want without backing it, it's anyones guess as to how bad it will get. To give you an idea, though... 100,000,000,000,000 (yes, one-hundred-TRILLION) Zimbabwe dollars recently sold on ebay for $14.10USD. My poor neice may be ahead of her class counting over 100 now, but she has a LOOOOOOONG way to go.

*Let's say you own a wonderful home and assist with a support group for abused families. Let's also say you are fairly close (proximity, not emotionally) to your neighbors; a single mother and a teenage daughter. The mother and the girls father are divorced and live separately, but for some reason (another rant I'll get into some day) the mother has full custody. Are we setup correctly? ok...

Considering that you live close to your neighbors, you overhear some things. The mother is very loud, and abusive. She berates the girl, and tell her that it is good for her. "It builds character!" She brainwashes the poor girl into believing everything she says and it really screws with her social life, self image, and even physical health. One day the girl tells her mother she's sick of it and wants to live with daddy. The mother laughs, says he's no good, and then beats her. You can hear the fight, and know exactly what's going on.

Would you:
A. Keep watching TV. You may not like her, but she has a pool and you don't. Plus the mother is still invited to the next support group for abused children.
B. Tell your family a week or two later what happened. "gee, that didn't seem right...", yet still keep the invite open to her.
C. Call the cops. Get the girl out. Take back your invite to the mother. Speak out against her and support the father

If you picked A or B, leave my site now. here's the thing... I completely agree that we should not meddle in our neighbors affairs. But I also believe in the saying "show me your friends, I'll show you your future". This whole situation with the Iran election is a huge deal for them. For Obama to be weak and not say anything denouncing the acts there for so long is such a shame. When election results came back less than three hours determining that Akmahinajajarbinks was the winner by a landslide when the other guy (who cares about his name?) was expected to win by the landslide, the first words out of Obama's mouth should have been "That shit don't seem right!". Apparently it's how things work in his line of business though - I mean he did come out of Chicago. Don't get me wrong, I'm from there and love it, but I'm pretty sure Obama got a few votes from many dead relatives of mine.

*Let's say you're a hard working American. Let's also say the government raises taxes to pay people who don't work as hard. Are you going to work as hard in the future, knowing most of what you are working for is going to lazy people?

*Let's say you're not a hard worker. Let's say you're a slacker. Let's also say the government gives you everything you need - housing, food, complete medical coverage, and a welfare check all paid for by the guy busting his ass. You even have enough money to buy a big screen TV and rent a limo to bring you to the welfare office to pick up your check. Are you going to want to bust your ass?

“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.” – Ben Franklin

I'm not struggling to pay bills because I took the entire $250,000+ mortgage that the bank offered me. I'm not struggling because I have a bigscreen TV. I'm not struggling because I spend money on the things I want instead of the things I need. I'm struggling because despite buying a home I knew I could afford, being happy with my 23 inch TV with a purple spot on it, and doing everything right, the amount of money I have becomes worth less and less every day. The stimulus packages don't help us, they hinder us. I'll hold onto my 'trucks' until I can get that %15 back. $5 just isn't worth what it use to be.

Smells like... victory

2009-06-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

ok, so it wasn't napalm I was smelling, but gun powder was a good substitute.
Last Friday my wife, one of our friends and I went to our second pistol safety course. We finally got around to shooting. The first pistol I ever fired (many many years ago) was a Ruger .22, and that was the first one we started with. It was nice to shoot it - .22's are always fun little guns to shoot. The big deal was having my wife shoot. A mentioned in a previous post, my wife has no experience with guns. so to see her shoot was pretty exciting. She was nervous, as expected, but did a very good job. She only shot about 5 to 7 yeards out, but was very accurate and handled her weapon safely. She loved shooting the .22 and wants more of it. When we moved to the .38 revolver she was a bit more nervous and wasn't thrilled with the recoil. Despite not liking the .38 as much, she shot a ton through it. I, too, did not like the .38. it had more to do with the grip and revolver frame than any "recoil". While I offered my 9mm to her to shoot she declined. She's not quite ready for that step up apparently - which is fine. I'm thinking when we get some cash I may pick up a small .22 for her for when I head out there.
I shot pretty well. The .22 and .38 were dead on accurate so I was hollowing out bullseyes with it. The I switched to my new 9mm. As before I was shooting a bit low. I was consistent - as in I would put bulletts through the same hole multiple times, but they were always 2-3 inches low at 7yrds. I had our instructor, which has 40 years shooting experience and has won many target shooting competitions, shoot my gun to see if it's the gun, or me (and my father and friend, who was also shooting low). She took 5 shots. 3 were on dead center, 2 were close to it, none of them were low. So it's me. Until I work on my trigger control I have to just adjust my aimpoint and/or sight picture. I do plan on getting both new sights and a trigger job anyways, so I imagine my shots will be better after that too.

BUSY!

2009-06-02T17:53:00.000-05:00

So other than my incredibly busy work schedule, just about every weekend until the middle of august is booked.
June
26th - Walking all night in Relay for Life
27th - Possibly going to a large gun show in Kankakee (I'm getting more "central Illinois" by the day. *facepalm*)
July
3-4th - Celebrating America. =)
10-12th - Party witht he family
17-18th - OMG A FREE WEEKEND?!
25th - Driving to Iowa for a wedding
30-2nd - Driving to DC!! (Ugh. This 12 hour drive will be a rough one)
On top of that I have to...
-Work on my exception to policy waiver for the Air Force
-See a dentist (I think I need my wisdom teeth out. ugh)
-Keep the wife happy =)
-Arrange some items on my web page for when I head to DC because the server is comming with me.
-Stay sane at work. Harder than it sounds!
Fun times.

Pissed off...

2009-05-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm angry enough to get on the border of sewaring somewhere that my family looks at. Sorry mom, sorry dad, sorry to my aunt - I'm no angel for the following post. I"M FU@(ING PISSED off!

On Memorial Day my wife and I went to a friends house for good times. We (the host and I) invited two of our friends. With these two friends they brought thier perspective girlfriends and another person who we know as the driver. All is good, the more the merrier, whatever... We played bags, I cooked some food on the grill, good times were had by all. Wifey and I left early because she wasn't feeling so well.

The next day we find out more than $100 was stolen from the hosts best friends purse. PISSED. Apparently she saw the two girlfriends walking away from the kitchen where her purse was and they left the purse wide open with both her checkbook and wallet out on the counter. She didn't say anything at the time because she didn't want to cause a scene, which the host and I are upset about now. No one will admit to stealing it, and my 'friends' are defending the girl who we think took it. One of the girls was somewhat social, and outside with us playing bags almost the whole time. The other girl was drinking quite a bit, and many times in the house alone while the rest of us were outside playing games or cooking. She was not social with us, and pretty much there to drink. Obviously she denies it. The other girlfriend denies knowing anything about it. One of my friends immediately got defensive and the other blames the dog for opening a purse on a counter she can't reach, opening up the wallet AND checkbook. The dog is cute, but she isn't that smart. I doubt it would be anyone else there because we were all friends of the host. Even theives try to not steal from friends. You'll steal from someone you wont ever see again in a house you're never going to goto again.

I understand the reason for stealing, I really do. You want something, and can take it. I just have morals and empathy. I don't do it because it's wrong. That money was going to be used to buy gifts for her husband who's in Afganistan right now!

Between issues at work, the Air Force thing, and this it's been a very rough two weeks. Oh well: I'm employed and impressing people and am managing to keep wifey happy lately - so it's not ALL bad. =)
I have to go put my halo back on now and write about my new weapon purchase: M&P 9mm.

Short and bitter...

2009-05-02T12:57:00.000-05:00

Medically DQd for a waiver I had in for a proceedure that I thought was allowed. Still looking into ETP proceedures, but it's not looking too good.
I'm too broke to go back to school, and too old to live with parents to lessen bills (and the wife would just LOVE that =/ ) so I have no clue what I'm going to do now. Just suck it up and realize hating your job and location is just part of life?

EH, I'll figure it out.

Job Security...

2009-05-01T14:35:00.000-05:00

When I was a child I remember seeing my father come home from work stressed out. He would sometimes be red in the face, mumble about things that really didn't matter just because he had work still on his mind, and basicly would vent through cooking. It made me almost upset at his company that it had this affect on him and I expressed this to my mother. She explained in very simple terms; "Your father fixes problem for a living. If there are no problems, there's no work, and therefore no job".
I bring this up because I've been very busy at work lately. Basicly I've had a great deal of responsibility dropped in lap in the last two weeks and I'm sorting out how to deal with it all. I'm doing fine, but I finally get it. Everyday I keep telling myself this problem gives me another three/four/ten days of work before they can get rid of me. =) Not that they would, but it certainly makes having a job you're not thrilled with a bit easier.

Geowhatnow?

2009-04-01T19:26:00.001-05:00

Me and the wife have picked up a new hobby. It's easily one of the most nerdy things we have ever done together - and that's saying a lot! With the recent purchase of a GPS we've gotten into Geocaching. I won't bore you with the details of what it is - besides, you obviously have the internet, use it!

So here I add to my dorkiness with a stat page of our new hobby...
Our geocaching experiment.

The Cut

2009-02-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

"Where we work is a vicious place. I’ll attempt to describe it, but the full comprehension comes only in a sky full of hot metal and smart missiles that all seem to be looking at you. You’re in a machine that is so fast and powerful that you intuitively know if death comes, it will be full of hot fire. Frail human that you are, you will be shredded to pieces. Worst of all, you’ll be alone in a fierce place where your comrades can’t hold you while you die. This is the real environment of a fighter pilot. Fighter pilots above all else, know who among their peers are hunters and who are hunted. They absolutely will not fly into a tough combat situation with a wingman they don’t trust, and not all men make the cut."
- Jerry R. Caddick

My name never looked so good.

2008-12-01T14:29:00.000-06:00

NOW it's official. =)
http://www.rs.af.mil/recruiter-online/story.asp?id=123127294
In the list of 233 names my common name sticks out. It will look even better with a "Lt." in front of it. I am one of 233 people selected to become an Officer in the Air Force, and one of 113 pilot selects. So here's the plan for the next year as far as this goes...
1. I take a physical next week.
2. That can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months or more to get approved.
3. My security clearance process starts
3. Once the physical is approved, I will get a class date. I expect to be in the 10XX class blocks, so about July/August 08 to Feb 09.
4. Three months of Officer Trainign School
5. Off to my base for Pilot Training.

I'll keep this updated as I can, but I wouldn't be surprised if it went away for a while. I still have about a year before I head out, so there is a lot of time for things to change.

Never trade luck for skill.

2008-11-01T22:03:00.001-05:00

I have a new job. It's title is 92T0: Pilot Trainee.

More details to come soon.

Something amusing...

2008-08-02T05:53:00.001-05:00

Found this and laughed.

I was talking to a friend's little girl, and she said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?"

She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people."

"Wow - what a worthy goal!" I told her, "You don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50.00. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out and you can give him the $50.00 to use toward food or a new house."

She thought that over for a few moments because she's only 6.

And while her Mom glared at me, she looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work and you can just pay him the $50?"

And I said, "Welcome to the Republican Party."

No whine, just cheese...

2008-08-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? RIGHT HERE! Doing nothing worth writing about really, but I'll try.

I was going to write a blog complaining about stuff, but I do that too often. Thanks to notepad, I highlighted and deleted it all. In it's place will be pleasant thoughts, because I am very grateful for too many things. Complaints can see the door for this post.

1. My wife. Nearly 3 years into marriage including big changes, personal adjustments, rough times, and some humbling moments I can honestly say that I have never been happier with our relationship than I am today. The lack of underatnding between us use to be a huge issue, now we both accept we will never understand the opposite sex and we have fun with it. She makes me laugh in some form everyday and I can't imagine being without that.

2. My family. My family asks nothing of me, and would give anything in return. I grew up in a pretty laid back, relaxed environment for the most part and seeing other families as an adult now makes me appreciate the kind of upbringing I had so much more. My father has worked his butt off for us every day of his life that I've known him. The only thing he asked for in return was enough money to put food in our mouths, and a decent vacation for the family. To this day he is still a hard worker and it's one of things I wish I could have inherited from him. Instead I got his sense of humor. =) My mother is me, but older, wiser, a female (obviously) and a bit more reserved-probably due to the "wise" part. For instance, we both love Family Guy, she just insists on shaking her head at fart jokes eventhough she's holding back laughter. We can string together a whole conversation of nothign but smart-ass comments. My sister use to beat me up. That sucked. I got bigger than her. That was nice, but by that time I was mature enough to not kill her for her prior acts. I'm glad I didn't. She is one of my best friends now and always has high spirits (unless she's biting someone on the basketball court. True story)

3. My job. Primarily because of the support of the people who love me I was able to pull my head out of my ass at a relatively younger age than most, finish college at 21 and get this great job right after graduation. It has allowed me to be self sufficient and become independant. Weird. I bought a house before I turned 23, own two cars, have nearly completed my pilots licence, and have even managed to NOT kill my credit score in the process! (go me)

(Are these too steriotypical yet?)

4. Realistic common sense. "Common sense isn't so common anymore". No kidding. I have a healthy dose of it though. Sometimes TOO much for my wife to deal with. =) In life I try my best to consider if what I'm doing is important. I prioritize things based on necessity. Sometimes this creates conflict - the dishes in the sink don't NEED to be done until it causes an odor or we need a plate (good lord, that one happens often) but in a greater sense it helps me keep grounded. Being able to filter out all the crap throughout the day which doesn't matter is a wonderful releif. My mother use to say if it won't affect you in 5 years, who cares? I think I simplify that a bit, but it's true. Life goes on. Every time in my life that I've thought the pain or a problem wouldn't end...it did. Common sense has allowed me to learn that when issues come, you deal with it, and move on - eventually it will just be a memory and you will be a better person, and much wiser, having dealt with it. Gain knowledge from everything you do in life.

5. Iced lattes. Just had one. Good stuff.

I have more, but I'm done writing these for now.

I am considering going back to college soon for some type of an aviation degree. More info to come soon on that. Also, November 25th is the projected release date for the 0901 OTS board. Early Christmas present for Brian? Wish me luck, pray for me, send cash, etc...

=)

LLH*

2007-06-01T17:29:00.001-05:00

So I finally broke down and got a REAL domain name. http://www.lostlocalhost.com

Localhost is the loopback address for any given computer. It can also be represented by the IP 127.0.0.1. The image of 127.0.0.1/localhost above was taken from a background I've had on my computer for years now. As a background image, it was appropriate. LOCALhost was displayed on my LOCAL computer. No domain name I could think of with my nickname or radio show name (Fuse/FuseBOX), or old nickname (Rubix) was available or sounded good, plus I already had that image on the site, so I used it. Being on the web = not so local = lost. Hence, lostlocalhost was born.

Now to expand like crazy on this place. Starting with a spellcheck for my blog posts. Then work will be done on the forum to make it actually interesting to go into.

Plans Later Tonight: Flight Lesson #2.

Brian