Paul's Psychotic Passages, Pics, and Passions

Home ownership, fatherhood, and other ramblings

2010-07-14T16:54:00.002-05:00

So we (my wife and I) bought a house. We mostly did it because it was getting cramped living in an apartment and $8000 worth of tax credits is really appealing. For the most part we're settled in. But being first time parents, we're being overwhelmed with a baby that is now starting to stand up, has been scooting around for over a month, and rolling from point to point since he was about 4 months old. The yard has been overgrown in thanks to weeks of wet weather followed up by ungodly heat and humidity making lawn mowing impractical. The plant beds have weeds galore. These are all nice problems to have.

I don't think fatherhood has changed me that much. I still like what I like. And if he's napping or out with some one, I'd do my old hobbies/watch shows etc. I do however love to roll around with him despite getting kicked in the groin/stomach, crawled over and choked as he bounces on my neck, concussed by blocks or other toys that he enjoys to hammer on objects because he likes the sound. We also enjoy rolling around the floor together, running into rooms with mirros and going, "Where's the dude?", banging the floor, and taking naps. I am not enjoying the co-sleeping aspect because he only seems to want to sleep on soft matresses with little or no barriers.

I think I finally found a "fiction" aspect for a Star Wars book. I tried pitching a non-fiction book last year but due to licensing it was never picked up (way to screw over a lot of people WotC!). I want to right the diary/journal entries of several characters over the course of the time line at signficant (and occassionally insignificant) events. What inspired this? Several lines in the story arc about Leia writing her memoirs that help to finance her and Han's "retirement" from government service. One you'd see how they changed, grew, and were affeccted. Any interst from any followers, publishers or agents feel free to email me directly, and I'll share what I got at the moment it is asked. I won't publish it here, because I want it to be edited professionally, and not just some fanfic.

BP you're screwed. I did buy some probably over priced shrimp from Louisana caught just before the spill. Don't know what to make of it though, the shrimp that is.

Follow up...

2010-02-24T13:37:00.002-06:00

The AP reports the widow of whack job terrorists is being sued by the widow of the IRS officials killed in his suicide attack with a plane on his place of work.

If this is what the Tea Party is, let's call them terrorists, jail them and try them as traitors

2010-02-19T20:15:00.003-06:00

In the Washington Post it cites several Tea Party posters as complenting and taking an airplane into the office of the IRS office in Austin as an act of heroism or true patriotism. No, it's an act of cowardice and terrorism. Yes terrorism, he used violence to carry out his politcal views in hopes that action will be taken by the majority to his view.

Terrorism. It is too bad he acted alone, because people leading and funding this movement should go on trial right after Kahlid Shiek Mohamed and the other Guantanamo torture suspects. Lucky for them, we stopped water boarding.

Some doozies here

2009-07-08T12:36:00.002-05:00

So we got some doozies...

Where to begin, let's go first with Gov Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Conservative family values Republican who went and had an affair possibly using taxpayer dollars to cover travel with a woman from Argentina. Let's start with the typical family values hyporcisy. I'm pro- this, anti-gay, anti-sex that. But see that latina bonita, and you just have to have it. Well most men may think that, fewer married ones with kids act on it. Fewer still take money from the state to enable us to carry through with it. Just remember, Mark Sanford could take money from the state to have an affair, but it is not alright to take money from the federal government to pay teachers and cops. While I personally think that the affair is the least of the "public" problems Sanford has, the reality is that he embezelled/misled the people of his state. Any politico's personal behavior is just that, just don't use our time or money to do it. Next, if you're elected and you are of a position where there has to be a constant line of communication open to you, never lie about where you are. What happens if there was a flood or huricane that hit the state? Who would've mobilized the national guard? Hell, do you have a national guard to mobilize because they aren't in Iraq or Afghanistan?

Sarah the hatchet girl, you're next. First, could you see the Obama's in Russian from your house? I'll caviat this like all others, if there truely is something wrong with your kids, or the first dude or even your own health than this is an acceptable act. If not, you're a quitter. That's what people are who walk away when the going gets tough. You brought this on yourself. Your ambition to be something other than in Alaska had consequences beyond getting you name recognition your ambition cravenly desired. You have to take the good with the bad. The scrutiny will only get worse the more ambitions you have. You clearly lack a general working knowledge of the basics of Federalism that junior high students have, you show all the lack of curiosity and policy creation that Shrub showed but have none of his shrewd people skills, and more than one person who's worked with you has said you've lied to the public. Quitter/liar, all the same to me. It's a pattern of behavior that says ego first, everything else be damned. See Pat Buchannan, Al Shartpon, Dennis Kucinich, Steve Forbes and Ross Perot on that. But more likely, you're just a bully. In Alaska, you may have been the meanest and the toughest. But you tried to go beyond what you could handle, and got popped in the nose and bloodied. Than the people of Alaska reacted like all people do when a bully goes down, they show it's very easy to stand up and push them back harder than the bullying threats.

FRAKIN' Computers

2009-06-23T13:17:00.002-05:00

My laptop decided to crash last weekend. Spent 3 days trying to format/reformat/install XP before it finally took. Things I'll need to try and track down are copies of EndNote, SigmaPlot, and Office. Not sure if I want to go open source or not.

It's been a busy 2 months...

2009-06-18T11:49:00.005-05:00

Alright, let's start ranting here!!!

First personally there's a baby coming in December. The "plan" is I get to keep my little collection/customizing room till October when I'll pack it up, store it, and than assemble baby furniture.

Professionally: The University of Iowa is announcing lay offs. I don't know if I'll get hit, but if I am, I'll allegedly find out by Friday. Next, I'm going to take the GRE again and hopefully get into graduate school someplace. The problem right now is I'm slightly confused and lacking focus. I have a lot of ideas rattling around, and not one place/program/project would seem to fit them all. "Best Fit" is hard to come up with when I find so much not to like at particular places.

Away from me...

Healthcare reform: Alright, the Democrats were re-elected basically for one reason. GET THIS FUCKING DONE!!!! This ain't the time to accomodate everyone. Listen, incorporate the BEST IDEAS, not the ones most likely to be voted through.

Oprah's Quack Medical advice: THey're CELEBUTARDS. They have no training, no knowledge, no research. They're there to peddle some movie or video. I'm going after the VACCINES GAVE MY KID AUTISM crowd. NO THEY DIDN't. A random genetic event that happened at fertilization gave your kid autism. It just shows up on vaccines because the protiens involved in that gene are starting to be expressed (or in this case not expressed enough) to make the glial connections to re-enforce synaptic connections. It's called critical period in development. Events happen at their specific times. The vaccine just coicidently is given around the time these events occur. I could say the pajamas you put your kid in caused autism because I'm guessing they just grew into a new pair around that time too, but I won't. AUTISM IS GENETICLY BASED. That is not being PROVEN. There has never been linkage/correlation much less proof on Vaccines Cause autism. Just because you're a parent and you "know" isn't proof. It's proof that you're so desperate and angry that your child will not be "normal" that you'll lash out at everything. That's ok. It's human. But continuing to deny after it's been explained over and over to you, is intellectually dishonest if not treasonous. Oh oh, I shoot traitors here.

Jon and Kate. Oh this is a guilty pleasure disaster. Wow, the kids are adorable, but it's like a permament preschool all the time. Of course, fundamentalist Christians cheating...they have a place for that, it's called the Republican Caucus of the US Congress. (Thought I forgot you about your Sen. Ensign or Newt?)

GM and Chrysler went backrupt. Good. Detroit made their bed, live with it.

The Boston Tea Party was about paying taxes though

2009-04-17T10:32:00.002-05:00

I'm going to comment on the idiots who aranged these so called "tea parties" on April 15.

First off a History Lesson for those that want to ban the books or make fun of the people who can read and remember the lessons from them. In 1773 a bunch of Bostonians protested the leveling of taxes on tea by dressing up as a local Indian tribe and dumping the tea into Boston Harbor. What they wanted was a represenative or two in Parliment to be able to vote on taxing, the amount, and where it was directed. It was never about not paying taxes but having a say in what and where taxes were paid. Sadly we have that already. It's called the US House of Represenatives. If you don't like the way yours makes taxes, vote him/her out next year.

Next, the leader of this so called grass roots movement is neither grass roots nor unknown. He's the former Majority Leader of the House of Represenatives, Dick Armey!!! He's trying the approach of trickle down organizing. Money pours down from the top, and people will spring up. Also, having a whole network say there's going to be this event, I'm going and speaking at it isn't reporting. IT'S STAGED!!!

That said, tea bagging, what the event was to be called, has an entirely different connotation now these days. It refers to the sexual act of sucking on the testicles. Yep, Dick Armey led an event to get one's testicles sucked.

That aside, if I take the theme that Faux Noise claims was the reason for the protests, the paying of taxes and out of control spending, can they answer me this. If the national debt is the biggest concern, than taxing is going to be the only thing that gets us out of it. You can only cut so much on the spending side of things. However, you are only brining enough in taxes year to year to pay for what you providing in terms of services and sallaries. You still have a massive debt, and the only way to get more money to pay it off is to basically take in more to pay it back.

So if you're truely against the national debt, you better be for higher taxes. Otherwise your hypocrisy is going to just explode the problem you claim to hate.

Best TV Finales

2009-04-03T12:30:00.002-05:00

I am begining to think TV Finales are improving with time. I feel as if this year alone, and 2 shows that actually inspire an emotional response and not just entertain, should go on the list. So I'll make a brief list of what I consider to be the best FINALES of all time.

1) M*A*S*H*. Umm, is there any question? Kept true to the series in the end of the war push, fire induced bug out, truce, celebration and finally the indviduals saying goodbye to each other.

2) BattleStar Galactica. It took the best of M*A*S*H*'s ideas, applied it to itself.

3) Newhart. While the rest of the episode isn't that memorable (they all move out of their sleepy Vermont town because a Japanese developer bought it and will make a golf course), everyone knows the last 2 minutes or so. Bob wakes up from a dream in his 1970s sitcom show with his 1970s sitcom wife.

4) e.r. What is it about anything related now to the character of Mark Greene that makes me cry? How about after 15 years finally getting to see the building in the very last shot? The cliched use of a certain Beatles song? Duplicating the shots/actions of the pilot episode? No, it was Ernest Borgnine's character letting go of his dying wife. That was us, the fan/viewer, and our show. Finally letting it go and dying with dignity.

5) Buffy the Vampire Slayer. GIRL POWER!!! How do you stop the armies of hell from being unleashed? Basically be releasing the one constraint we had by allowing the Slayer's power to go to all potentials.

6) Star Trek: The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine. Each had slightly different things. But both brought a nice end but let us all know there are many more things left for them to do. Trek has never been the same.

All the rest were either cancelled so a rapid rewriting was needed to create a finale, not that memorable, changed the meaning of the show, or set up spin offs that sucked.

With e.r. ending, the two longest running "scripted" shows I'm watching now are CSI (the Las Vegas one) and Smallville. One is going down in its ineptitude, while the other still brings the quality. So that leaves me with 24, House, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, Smallville, CSI, and Clone Wars as the only shows I'm still watching. 24 and Smallville seem to be the next likely ones to go. I'm sure I'll add Caprica and Stargate: Universe when it arrives, but whether they'll be worthy to stand on the shoulders of those that went down this year, who knows.

So long Galactica, we hardly frakkin' knew ya!

2009-03-23T16:16:00.005-05:00

Battlestar Galactica ended Friday night. I know I'm sad about it. And I just can't figure out why beyond its over. The ending was done in a style that is very much like MASH's final episode. Everyone got their 5 minute send off, even the smaller parts, and not in the way you expected either.

The saddest has to be Lee's. He wants to go off exploring, about to invite Kara, and she vanishes. Equally sad 2 weeks after the fact is just how alone he is. He's no friend of the Tighs. His father is mourning Rosalyn and all the opurtunity and living he lost by not acting sooner (and probably taking relief from the burdens of the Fleet). Helo and Athena have a kid to raise, he despises Baltar, and with Dee killing herself just weeks before he's all alone.

Sadder still that I just remembered Dee. That's what losing all hope comes to, but also a cold warning to not place too high expectations on anything. But will we repeat the mistakes? Who knows. We'll soon find out about the Plan and Caprica soon enough.

CSM, my guilty pleasure paper

2009-03-12T12:55:00.002-05:00

I read the Christian Science Montitor and probably brought about its demise as a daily paper. That's because I only read the online version. IT has decent reporting, good guest columns and from time to time, interesting blogs.

I'll take 2 that appeared on my iGoogle page today:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0312/p09s01-coop.html
Is why can't we teach critical thinking if it is the most essential skill. I think I've said a lot on that the past few weeks, but agree that I've been sloppy, incomplete and maybe prejudiced. But I realize that, so does that make it any less critical?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
This is some critical thinking by an Evangelical, the irony there. I could've told him most of that. But than you took a 1600+ old heresy of the Gnostics, used it to justify slavery, and have pushed everything from Temperance/Prohibition to faux-science and even religion without even having a theology. Bad ideas die for one simple reason, they're bad ideas.

Worst Senate Leaders Ever?

2009-03-03T08:52:00.002-06:00

This idea actually first came from Charles Krauthiemer of all people, Harry Reid is the most inefectual Senate leader ever. I'd also add that Mitch McConnel should be added to that list. Both these guys deserve each other. They're afraid to bring any debate or policy fights to the floor of the Senate.

Reid is constantly out maneuvered by both the House leadership (on both sides), the White House (Da Chimp Shrub 43, and Big Ears Big Ideas 44).

McConnel has been made impotent because now only 1 person needs to break ranks on a party line vote, and there will always be between 3-6 who will break ranks because they're not as kooky as the base of his party.

Both fail to grasp that there is a coalittion of about a dozen (Gang of 14 anyone?) who really run the Senate. It is bipartisian, most of them fairly popular outside of their states and not with the bases of their parties. These are the Democrats favorite Republicans and the Republicans favorite Democrats. I'll ignore Republicans dropping the "ic" when referring to the Democratic Party where as the person of the party is a registered Democrat for now.

So Mr Inept leader, and Mr Impotent leader, enjoy each other. You're the only Senate leaders we go. God save the country.

Not State of the Union and the Big Budget

2009-02-27T12:16:00.002-06:00

So 44 with the big ears dropped the budget on us this week. I don't know what is shocking me more, that he had the balls to include all things we spend money on or that he's being attacked for doing it. I mean, are Republicans so dillusional that they didn't think all these suplamental bills for Iraq, Afghanistan and disasters flew away into magic fairy land and not add to the national debt, deficiet and everything inbetween?

How does the human mind come to grips with trillions when concepually we can't get our minds around millions (fyi it is believed that 10000s are about what we can last understand because that's what it takes to fill an areana).

He also gave a hell of a good pep talk on Tuesday. What followed shows well total miscalculations. Obama gave us hope, optimism, longing for tomorrow. Jindal's response was at best read poorly and factually incorrect in places as well as fear mongoring. An idea has to be viable if it is something beyond, not what that guy says. We've been fucked over for so long, that any honesty is going to be shocking, if not overwhelming.

Gandalf the White said, "He maybe a fool, but he's an honest fool."

Facebook backs down from treason...

2009-02-18T10:51:00.003-06:00

Read the last post if you want to know exactly what is treason. Oh, and the only time treason isn't a capital offense, is when you give up your co-conspirators and take life in prison.

Next, many users on facebook were upset with the change in the Terms of Service/Usage agreement. The crux was that anything posted to Facebook became Facebooks and deleting or revising it would mean that it still was Facebooks.

That upset enough people to make them change it back. After all, ideas are the property of the originator or the group that paid for the originator to come up with the ideas.

So anyone doubt that ideas and intellectual property doesn't matter anymore?

Ideas, Intent, and Civilization

2009-02-06T18:37:00.002-06:00

"Pick a side," Adm. Adama. "I didn't know we were picking sides," Lee "Apollo" Adama.

Yes, we all have to pick a side. But this is probably the most insidious and vile thing imaginable and has been going on for far too long. I'm talking about the taking of an idea, incorrectly interrupting it, and than people propagate the mistake because they're too lazy to question or investigate on their own. This is happening in art, in politics, in science, and just about every facet of life. It is grotesque and it is an offense to civilization as we know it.

Ideas and their intent are the basis of a great deal of civilization. Where would we be without Jefferson, Locke, Hume? After all tyranny is the suppression of ideas and reason according to Kant, Bjerkley, Berkley and Kjerkergaard. But also, to those men, distortion or misinterruption of ideas makes one an offense to the very civilization and removes them from humanity. After all by distorting what makes us unique, they diminish themselves to the realms of animals, losing all potential to make them human.

I mean, what can be more simple? The thought of the creator is of an idea is that immutable. IT cannot be incorrect when compared to a third degree or fourth degree analysis especially when it contradicts the original basis or interruption of the creator's original thought. But those that claim the tertiary or quatenary thoughts are correct when there is a blatant contradiction are holding to a phallacy that assaults civilzation. No longer can the orignal thought or intent be correct, the incorrect assumption is correct. The creator of the original idea/art/work was wrong.

Imagine not talking about Mona Lisa's smile but instead whether her frown follows you like her eyes. Imagine some one saying Heart's Crazy On You isn't a response to critics saying the Wilson's were lesbians but how Nancy or Ann committed murder. Just wrong. That's just art. The assault hits science, particularly by uninformed supporters of evolution; the deniers assault all science but they also assault religion too. It attacks religion by the use of fundamentalism/literalism of scriptures. Soon, the ideas that are great will be diluted out and replaced by sheer idiocy and paths of least resistance.

What we'll have is a bunch of lazy, dishonest, and intellectually vacant discourse in all creative fields. The analogy would be letting Paris Hilton set national policies. We'd all look good and have online pornos, but it would be meaningless and contribute nothing to the greater good.

"The first duty is always to the truth. Personal, moral, scientific truths," so wailed Jean-Luc Picard.

I live in a country and society that is based on idea, as it seems to be said more than once here. Assaulting ideas especially with incorrect ones is treason. Treason has only one punishment in any society. Who's to blame? The people who do the first offense or the people who run with the offense and propagate it as truth? I cannot say. Often, the intial offender when pointed to their mistakes, retracts and appologizes. That leaves the person who continues with their treason to thought and ideas in the face of the truth!

There is no greater good than to generate a work of art of logically viable idea. But those who would distort it are an afront to all this greatness. They are traitors to our species, to our civilization, to our culture. Sadly, they'll claim ignorance but ignorance is no defense in the law except for those with diminished capacity. They will cling to their belief that they are fully awares, but they can be only one of two things. Blatant traitors, or people with such diminished capacity that they should be pittied on for not getting to enjoy the full extent of the human condition.

44th Time, 1st of its kind

2009-01-21T11:21:00.002-06:00

Obama's Inaguarl Speech.

My reflections on some passages.

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

In otherwords, I'm not a Baby Boomer and am sick of their crap too. I said the same thing way back when writing the platform at the county level. Actually I said, I'm so sick of this Baby Boom Vietnam shit that no one cares and you've cost me politically the military and generationally have screwed us with a debate that means nothing in the end.

"Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

We're not going to go shopping to fix this. There will be rules, taxes, and sacrifices. No longer is it the 90% don't have to do the 10% or the 10% receive 90%.

"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works "

I saw the McCain's also rans and the governator say the same thing. But it is sort of an acknowledgement that cutting programs and spending isn't the answer if things work. If it works it gets money. If it doesn't, than you make the cut. You don't take a hatchet to do an operating room.

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

That right there is the correct response and George Shrub still didn't get it. WE NEVER SACRIFICE THE FREEDOMS THE PAST EARN FOR FUTURE SAFETY. Freedom is too precious because it can only be bought by blood. To give it back for any reason is to say to that price paid, no, didn't want it, sorry, no thanks. If the false argument is that they hate us for our freedom, than let's really be free and open. To give that freedom some have said they regret they only have one life to give for their country. Never ever cheapen that price again.

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

My guess is that this will be the phrase forever remembered. Once you buy into an idea, and leave all other things behind and are tied to that idea, you may understand. Until you do, there is only one nation, one idea on this Earth that for the moment does.

"This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

Not in a long time have I heard that, and it makes me wonder why we haven't unil now.

"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
'Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]'"

See what I said earlier. The price has been paid, now we honor that payment.

God bless President Obama and these United States.

The Orlando Expierence, lines

2009-01-14T11:05:00.003-06:00

Anyone who has ever gone to Disney World or Unviersal Studios or just about anything in the Orlando area (that includes the Kennedy Space Center) knows the feeling of a cow right before it becomes hamburgers and steaks. You are snaked through long lines, pushed and prodded, before finally reaching the end of the line.

There are ways around it, paying for extra at a place like Universal, using the Fast Pass at Disney (1 per 2 hours though). Overall though I do enjoy this once every 5-10 years.

My favorite expierence I think was the Kennedy Space Center. We went on the extra tour called UP Close which takes you out to the observation stations of the actual launching pads. You also get more interactio with a tour guide instead of a bus driver pressing play on a video.

We got to stop here at the building assembly facility. We saw the launch pads for the Apollo and Shuttle programs. Standing underneath one of the Saturn V rockets that went unused was most impressive. You realize this is what human achievement is. There perhaps is nothing more mechanically impressive to date than this.

Daytona Beach was a nice different relaxing time on the Atlantic Ocean. We skipped the track and the following morning rushed back to Sea Worl on pure whimsy. It was a very nice trip, but returning is a whole other story.

Go Elf Your Self

2008-12-19T21:29:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Research, if only hitting the button twice was the answer

2008-12-17T10:24:00.002-06:00

This definitely is not supposed to happen. What are we looking at here? We're looking at the platinum electrode that broke off from the high voltage block of a Beckman Coulter PACE M/DQ Capillary Electrophoresis insturment. This is not supposed to happen normally. If you see this once in 3 years, it would be rare. To see this TWICE in a month, well, I should play the lottery apparently. These things will bend, which its done way more than its share. The capillary is more prone to breaking, but while it did break for the thrid time in a month earlier that day, this disaster shouldn't have happened. I enjoy doing research for the discover and the dificulty in figuring out what the meaning is. I didn't go into research because I wanted a 10k+ machine to beat me down and wear me out.

What this means is that the service agreement that my boss paid for (at basically the expense of me ever going to a conference) will be used a lot. I'm a researcher not a mechanic, I can hear Leonard "Bones" McCoy scream that now at Kirk and Spock. Of course, I'm dreading the next set of words, "He/She/It's dead, Jim". The other shoe will drop and I'll have done nothing but bring something to its death instead of using it like a tool to solve a problem.

Safe Havens

2008-11-21T11:52:00.002-06:00

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

Safe haven laws popped up in response to under sexually educated girls having babies and dumping them in the garbage literally. Why did they do this? Fear mostly. didn't want to tell their family they have had sex, much less a baby. Didn't wan to live with the burden to raise a child. Basically, as a parent, you can take your newborn to a hospital ER, say I can't, walk away, and the hospital arranges for the baby to be adopted. Simple. Only Nebraska could mess this up.

First, I lived in Nebraska while going to Creighton (where a great deal are being dropped off since it is the first major MedCenter one encounters if you take 480 going West; it's UNMC if you take I80). Nebraska is unique of all 50 states because its state assembly/legislature is unicameral, that is only one house (technially the Senate). Also, to be a legal adult you have to be 19 years old.

Because, there was no second house to review the Nebraska state haven law, no one bothered to think, maybe AGE LIMIT like the other 49 states have? It begs the question to how sadistic the parents are who first searched to see what state they could abandon their kids in after the first few who were Nebraskans were dropped off because the locals new child in Nebraska means 19 and under. The flood gates opened and kids every where dreaded the trip that said Omaha was where they were headed.

Luckily there are only a dozen or so parents so cold hearted. Unluckily, most dropped at least two. That means, we'll have two dozen really messed up people in 15-20 years. Good luck Nebraska, because you wanted results, never wanted to compromise, and still want to hold onto the spirit of the Consetoga wagon, you are now on the hook for two dozen teenagers and children.

HOPE

2008-11-04T22:28:00.003-06:00

That's all I got to say. HOPE.

Promise to return at least the possibility of HOPE over fear.
Promise of a middle class life to HOPE you do better than your parents
HOPE your children do better than you
HOPE that people can believe in a dream
HOPE that instead of division, we have unity.
HOPE that you are poor or even not rich that your voice will be heard.

HOPE. HOPE. My god, there are moments in history. Kennedy was the first WWII generation president. His generation served until Bill Clinton the first baby boomer. Now we have the post baby boom, pre Gen X the so called Jones generation. I've just watched another generational change.
HOPE,

Sadness

2008-11-03T17:13:00.003-06:00

Obama's grandmother passed away today. I can only hope she's proud of her grandson who should become the next president. We can put to rest any theories about why he missed campaign events last week. This lady did a wonderful job making sure he had it right in his head and heart.

I've figured it out!!!

2008-11-03T14:32:00.003-06:00

I've finally figured out who John McCain reminds me of. Senator Kinsey (played by Ronny Cox) from Stargate SG-1. He wanted to control everything, and if he didn't, threw tantrums and tried to wreck it for everyone else. Top it off, he always said "I put my country first". That's funny, as a senator, I'd think you'd put your state's residents first and sometimes, what is good for one state isn't good for the country or other states. Anyways, he always "knew" and didn't need to listen to expierenced field commanders. Things would go well if we did it his way only. In the end, it leaves you with a parasite and spaced.

Yet another reason to vote Barack Obama. Alright, not really, but Go STEELERS tonight on Monday Night Football!!!

Happy Halloween: The Definition of Being a Man

2008-10-31T16:21:00.001-05:00

First off, I voted yesterday. All done. Obama has at least 1 vote as do Sen Harkin, Jim Leach and handful of others as well as voting to retain all judges at this time.

Next, I'm reminded of That '70s Show where Red explains to Steven what it means to be a man. Doing things you absolutely loathe because the people you care about most want to do them or share them with you. I'm in that boat tonight. I hate Disney's High School Musical series. The songs are lame. The characters are cliches if not down right racial stereotypes (sans Zac Efron being a scholarship worthy basketball player--any college basketball fan knows if you're not recruited when you're 13/14 there is no way you'll be recruited when you're a Junior in high school). My wife is bribing me with things that I would normally accept, and I stil don't want to do it. I finally caved, went into start my CE work at about 6:45 AM today just so I'll make it on time home to leave. Definitely doing what I don't want to do all around.

Monkyes, Monkeys I say to you, MONKEYS

2008-10-28T18:13:00.003-05:00

What? I can't have a completely silly post?

The following are questions monkeys would like elected officials to answer:

When you throw poop at each other, do you really expect it to stick and not stink?

Why does the first one who throws his poop always get thrown out of the tree?

Do you believe in evolution? What about adaptation or selection of genes due to external pressures be it sexual selection, environmental, disease or food supply?

Do you know how hard it is to only eat your nuts save your raisins for Sunday?

Prehensile tails, why the discrimination/hatred towards them?

How come we're smarter than George W. Bush?

If you blow up or screw up the planet, in 4000 years, we're gonna kick your asses. Wait, not a question, but a statement of fact.

I can't vote for any canidate for Congressman

2008-10-27T15:33:00.007-05:00

I can't vote for either major party canidate for Congressman in the US House of Represenatives. Politically I just can't stand Marienette Miller-Meeks-R. Personally, I'm terribly disappointed in Dave Loebsak-D aka Nutsack!

When my wife was going through the immigration mess, after being told to wait 6 months for a response after being told the response will come in 6 months, and hearing nothing, I wrote a letter to both my Senators, Tom Harkin-D and Charles Grassley-R. Within 1 week I got calls, emails and letters form Sen Harkin's office. Within 3 weeks I got calls and letters from Sen Grassley's office. Grassley's staffers even apologized for not responding sooner because it went through the Washington office first before coming back to the Cedar Rapids office. Essentially they got the same responses that we got. They said this is infuriating/not right/all the things my wife and I were feeling with the process. Did it resolve anything? No. Did it make us feel better? YES. Immensely.

What did Dave Nutsack's office do? 6 months later, after the initial letters and 4 months after my wife received her Green Card/Permament Resident Status, Nutsack's office sent this tirade email on how Nutsack will fight illegal immigration. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? What the hell does her green card application have to do with illegal immigration???? Nutsack lost my vote for forever.

I think on election day (or early voting) I'll write in the name of the person Nutsack defeated in 2006 for this seat, Jim Leach, the founding member of the Obama-icans. At least his views are compatible for this area, and he's seeing beyond the direction of his party.

Why Obama not taking public financing shows McCain-Feingold work

2008-10-21T16:26:00.003-05:00

Barack Obama, hopefully the next President of the United States, opted not to take public financing of his election campaign. He promised earlier, when he thought he may not make it out of the primaries, that he would. Than something happened. I'm a fairly late comer to the party (about May). He started getting money, lots of money, in 20s and 50s and 100s. In all political campaigns, big money donors split about equally between the canidates. Now, the small donor on the internet makes up the difference.

John McCain and Russ Fiengold wrote a law capping donations to try and prevent any one special interest from becoming beholden of a canidate. Republicans decried this as opressing free speech. It isn't. Actually it has leveled the playing field.

Howard Dean came along in 2004 before Iowa and New Hampshire and decided to use this method to reach people to give small donations. He rolled up big money, but could never translate it to people coming out and voting in January. Course, that scream didn't help either. But the revolution began. The small guys together collectively had as much pull as the big donor.

If the big money is going to split like always, where's the difference going to come in? Yep, the small money donor. Obama is going to be the first politician in a long time beholden to the people. Assaulting him for opting out of public financing is ridiculous. The people have spoken in this case. Their small donations said, Senator Obama, we're with you, please opt out.

McCain is a victim of his own doing. He may have written the law that will bring about his political downfall. The people aren't donating to him (in all fairness I do think the Republicans are 1 election behind in internet fundrasing with Ron Paul being the Howard Dean figure, buzz, crazy and money, no votes).

While that is a lot of money, but it says to me, just remember, every person who gave you $20 they probably could barely afford in this economic time. You'll owe us, Mr President. But at least he'll be willing to listen where as the previous Presidents would not.

One Great Gift

2008-10-20T21:15:00.003-05:00

From Ungrouped Pictures

The first Chinese Emperor, almost 5000 years ago, commissioned an army to guard him in the afterlife. 1 Million Terra Cota warriors, each individually crafted were made.

From Ungrouped Pictures

That's one million custom warriors made of clay that are life size. The tomb was forgotten until nearly 15 years ago when it was rediscovered by a farmer in Shanxi province.

From Ungrouped Pictures

Now, there is a burgeoning tourist business both for foreigners and the always nationalistic Chinese to take back replicas of these warriors in scales from 4" to life sized replicas. My wife recently went home to Beijing, but traveled around as well. She got me 2 warriors in 6" scale.

From Ungrouped Pictures

Research is Insanity

2008-10-15T14:27:00.003-05:00

Research is Einstein's definition of insanity: repeatedly doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Yesterday, I spent nearly 7 hours waiting for that little bugger of a structure to elute on my capillary column. The first 3 times it didn't, the fourth time, it was exactly where it was predicted to be. What gives? Injector variance can only explain so much. Wall, head, my brains, all over the smashed parts of the CE.

Why I (sadly) cannot support the GI Joe 25th Aniversary line

2008-10-14T18:14:00.003-05:00

25th Aniversary Scarlet, Carded Scarlet, 1982 Scarlet

First, I'll say that I actually enjoy the appearance with the 25th aniversary GI Joe line. It takes many of the serious anatomical flaws of the A Real American Hero (ARAH) line that was from 1982 until 1994 and in various incarnations from 1997 to 1999, and 2000 to 2006. It also replaces the dreaded o-ring which was prone to breaking because it held the torso to the legs.

I consider Star Wars to be my soul, but GI Joe to be the more realistic side of my personality. My views on GI Joe have evolved as I have. I've gone away from the science fiction, laser cannon, aspects to everyone has a real (or real enough) world weapon, vehicles have to have some function, and the technology should match what is probable or available.

That said, during the 2000-2006 time frame especially, paint applicaitons and accessories improved. They could take fairly detailed or simple molds from the ARAH line, update a character, and put it out on the market. I bought a fair number during this time. Why? Some of my originals had broken thumbs, waist pieces, foot pegs, etc. Basically they were well worn toys, and I could recapture my childhood, possibly pass it on in the near future. Also, a plus is the different plastic is used in the arms/hands meaning no more broken thumbs!!!

So I have basically a "new" version of most of the classic charaters I owned and needed a replacement, and several other characters who I never was able to get. There were the same anatomical problems. The line sort of withered, never catching on with kids, and barely keeping the adult fans interested.

Than came the 25th Aniversary line. New body type eliminating the o-ring. It also moved the femur/pelvis joint to the side and instead of in front just to either side of the center line. My biggest complaint on the 25th line in terms of representation is that it doesn't hide the joint that is in the midchest representing the ribs on the lower body and they have chicken legs. These representations are fairl accurate to the card art, the comic art or the tv cartoon renderings. These figures are essentially superior to the ARAH versions. However, the technology to make them existed essentially from 2002 on. The other thing is that these are also quarter of an inch taller on average changing the scale from 3.75" to 4" scale. Why wait? Why not make these superior versions sooner? They have more articulation, they have more anatomically correct versions. The answer is probably adult GI Joe fan whining about the o-ring and body changes.

I bought these characters twice already in 25 years. I can't buy them a third time with most being in the last 5 years. I'm not totally boycotting, but I am only acquiring certain accessories, vehicles and only new characters or things called the DVD packs which bundle several figures, a build an accessory item (the M.A.S.S. Device from the original cartoon), and the DVD of 5 episodes that focuses on what was included toywise. The price point makes it the equivalent of buying a DVD movie anyways, so for the price of the movie I get a bunch of toys I can either keep or trade away to others for toys I actually want.

For this reason I don't actively collect this toy line. I realy don't actively collect Star Wars that much either. I'm only looking at comic packs for the most part in that area for pretty much the same reason (they make new characters instead of tweaking existing ones).

Fall TV 2008

2008-10-13T16:50:00.003-05:00

So what do I watch on TV?

Daily it's the news shows, usually with a political focus. Hardball, Countdown for me. The News Hour with Jim Leher. My wife however favors CNN shows. Also, the weather on KWWL out of Waterloo, IA, the local NBC affiliate.

The thing that I watch that consumes most of my time is the NFL. On TV, it is better to watch good offenses. In the stadium it is better to watch good defense. Since I don't have the money to have tickets, offense rules the day. Usually that means teams like Indianapolis, New England, San Diego, Green Bay, Dallas, Washington and Philadelphia. It's been hard watching this season since there's been injuries and turn over of rosters on all teams but Washington and Philadelphia. But they've shown great offense, a real explosive nature. This weekend helped with the Colts absolutely clobbering the Ravens top rated defense. There's just something about on TV watching offesne the preciscion, the close up replays that TV can do at home. At the stadium, where you can see the whole field, its better to watch defense so you can see the scheme and flow and speed of the players.

Next is the 3 CSI shows. I cried last Thursday as the original debuted and they went through solving the crime of who killed Warrick. It was one of the few times that the science actually played second fiddle making it much more like a Miami episode. The scientist in me looks at half the analysis they do and go, wrong insturment, not enough calibration, wrong method on insturment, etc.

In the spring, after football is over comes 24. I didn't watch the first season, but have caught every subsquent one and seen the first season reruns. Outside of having our foreign policy lifted from this show, there's really nothing wrong with anything about it.

After that comes House. Doctors are idiots, patients lie. House is just entertaining.

I've invested 15 years in e.r., so I'm watching the last season. Don't care if the show is a shell of what it was, that I don't care about anyone anymore. Time invested, stubborness, gonna stick it out this season for no other reason than the Marc Greene flashbacks.

After that comes Star Wars Clone Wars. This series is better than the previous, however pales to the books and comics. I loathe the character of Ashoka, Anakin's padawan. I do understand the concept and it's a good concept, they need Knights, so all avaialable Jedi Knights have to train any potential learner, and he's got to not pass on his bad habbits to her, but her syntax and personality make me shiver.

Stargate Atlantis. I love Rodney McKay, what can I say? Nice long story line with Daniel Jackson from SG-1. We find out there are "evil" Asgard in the Pegasus galaxy.

Last but not least, the PBS "how to shows" which I group together since they're all shown together in a block on Saturdays here. First off is my wife's favorite, Martin Yan's China. Dumplings, noodles, traditional Chinese comfort foods. Next, Steve Ralchain's Primal Grill. It's helped a lot the last few months especially on not burning and keeping the grill clean. The New Yankee Workshop and Ask This Old House. I don't watch these as much, but tell my wife they'll help us with what to look for in a home, Hometime and This Old House.

After that, my wife watches Prison Break. I'm indifferent. She tends to download shows from China off the internet. Since I don't speak the language, I don't watch them.

Lost ID

2008-10-08T16:44:00.004-05:00

Here is hiding in plain site. My wife will torment me over this. I have lost my ID today. I went out of my building for a bit just to escape. You have to understand I work in a big concrete building laid out like a DNA double helix (i believe I'm in a purine). But by being on an inside wall, I no windows, no visible windows, etc. I'm obvlivious to the weather, light/day unless I go outside or see what the little icon is on the weather report.

From Paul's Psychotic Passages, Pics, and Passions

Well that said, lost my ID someplace between the lab and outside. I've retraced all my steps several times. No luck. UGH $20 out the ass, plus gotta tell the dept secretaries/HR people to change my building access.

The Credit Crunch/Bank Crisis

2008-10-04T23:20:00.004-05:00

This is something that the bubba's of the world will never get. Be it their idealology, be it the fact they lack the sophistication to see the interconnected complexity, or the fact they don't want to try something, have it be ineffectual and retry it. This is and has always been about the local bank and the mortgages.

I come at this from obviously a scientist perspective as well as a more progressive. Believe it or not those things work well together. First, I believe you try something. You observe the results and make changes as needed. AS a pogressive/liberal my belief is that when things are important and hurting people, the government is the only entity that can intervene. Remember, enemies are also domestic and not always living beings.

First understand this, the problem resides with banks and their holding of mortgages. Because they are regulated, banks are not issuing loans to other banks, businesses and people right now. What normally has happened is that some Wall Street firms, foreign governments/investors, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac would purchase these mortgages. Things some how got deregulated that allowed Fannie and Freddie to than sell these to Wall Street or have all of Wall Street be able to buy these directly. This has frozen. This means banks won't lend.

Additionally, this is hurting governments that depend on property taxes. They won't be able to meet their payrolls/services. That means they'll have to borrow, but guess what, they won't be able to borrow. Further catastrophe. Actually I'm reading at CNN that califorinia is at this point.

But bottom line is that this is hurting people. People have to come up with more for down payments, pay higher fees/closing costs, pay higher interest rates to get loans that they would've qualified for a year ago/historically.

Business, I have learned, use short term loans to buy things to sell or improve themselves and for payroll. They can't do this. So they have to lay off employees. They can't order new inventories. This affects the manufacturers because they can't sell their products (and if you have money), thus you can't buy it from the stores. The factory has to lay some one off because they have to halt production. The little lunch shop has to lay people off because the factory workers aren't coming in. Worse, the people aren't collecting pay checks so they can't pay back their loans further exhasburating the problem. It's a vicious circle. That's relatively simple.

The free market is an idea just like democracy and communism. The ideal is obviously not the same as the implemented version. An ideal free market would still buy these loans from banks because 90% of everyone is still paying on them. However human fear and greed are involved. The problem is no one knows when they buy these large bundle of loans what the bad 10% are. Wall Street is the way these loans are financed through bonds (mostly) and stocks (some what). No one is buying these. Now that means nothing is moving, so things are freezing up.

The Treasurery Secretary made a plan. Make me a super investor with no oversight. Congress said, not so fast. Here are the rules. You only get so much money. You have to come to try to apply it to home owners and banks with mortgages. Etc. It also includes disaster assistance for Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma for floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. Is it perfect? No. Will it work? Don't know. On short notice, it is the best we got that'll get everyone at least moving a direction.

Sadly, our leadership FAILED MISERABLY at explaining this. Actually, knowing who our leadership is, Bush, its not suprising that it failed. He's got a track record of failing at business and government.

So why take this action? First, history. Herbert Hoover. Bush still wants to avoid topping the list that Hoover usually is mentioned on, although he still has a shot at being there. More history, the do nothing, let the market fix it was very popular response in the 1880s till the 1920s for people named Vanderbilt, Rockerfeller, Morgan etc which predates Federal Reserve and deficiet spending. We have a middle class now. We don't want to regress to the robber barrons who'd be replaced by athletes and celebreties are the only ones who can afford anything. Next, and a bit more relevant historical example is Japan in the 1990s. The banks in Japan basically stopped lending saying people/businesses were overextended. The Parliment voted to do nothing. Japan's economy has basically been in a state of minimal growth, job loss, and personal bankrupcy ever since.

Now, social scientiests/economists will say that they are true scientists. That's not true. While they have theories, study patterns, test hypothesis and revise them based on their observations, they fail the final aspect of the scientific method. The ability to make predictions accurately. While I may have historical actions, this won't predict actions taken now and how they'll work. However, we can objectively state that if nothing is happening, and it's making it worse, a logical rational person could say "doing nothing will make it worse". So doing something should change if we do something. This, for the Sarah Palin's of the world, is the weak point.

The scientist in me says that's equilibrium-like. Disturbing one side, should create a ripple to affect things so it doesn't achieve the maximum settling and no action taken can reverse it. Side note, equilibrium in biology means death unless prefaced as steady state. I also believe in network biology and economics in a global scale borrrows a lot from network theory which is borrowed really from computer science. A small change at specific hub, can feed through the network to change the entire dynamics in unknown and remarkable ways. But if we don't do the right thing, guess what? We can always go back and change it.

The progessive says by directing that at the home owners, by allowing foreclosure avoidance, and banks to lend people money, should be sufficient. will it be immediate? Nope. But it will happen. Either way, it avoids the possible greater moral hazard of leaving people without jobs unable to pay what they owe further exhasburating the problem. We also avoid putting it off till later.

People who oppose this are for job losses. They are for people having their homes foreclosed. They are for governments coming up short, closing schools, not repairing road and bridges (Minneapolis/St Paul anyone???) etc. To punish the greedy and the fearful, they want to punish us all. ENOUGH. Grow a set. Sacrifice for the greater good. Suffer briefly so you don't have suffer permamently. I'm running out of euphamisms.

Wife is away...

2008-10-04T18:53:00.004-05:00

Well my wife has gone home for the first time in almost seven years for three weeks. Believe it or not, I've been good.

What have I done? For the most part, slept. I've been sick.

I've played my choice for a video game on the Wii, The Force Unleashed. I actually started a few days before she left, but have finished the "light side ending".

I enjoyed this game. I like being able to swing the controller and have it work as a light saber. While there are almost 20 Force Powers, I only remember about 5. Which is highly effective enough for me. The biggest thing about the game are the hidden upgrades. You can upgrade your health bar, your Force Power bar (how long you can use your power before "resting"), lightsaber "crystal", light saber color crystal, light saber hilt, and holocrons. Holocrons are EU creations in which Jedi/Sith store their knowledge and pass it on for future generations. These Holocrons are accessible between levels and show concept art. Occassionally while viewing they give you a code to enter. All the codes are available online. But I only enter those the Holocrons give me.

I think I'm going to start using this to review more toys, games and shows as I remember to update, just to keep things light.

The REPUGNANT Convention

2008-09-02T19:54:00.004-05:00

I watched 15 minutes of the Republican Convention. I had to puke. Number one, everything is not solemn or special. Number two, when did all the manequins in Dillards/Von Maur/etc leave to go to St. Paul? I have yet to meet some one who wears the american flag in every piece of clothing, but forgot that 40 years ago you were opposed to that same thing by the hippies.

Well I went up one channel and who should appear, but everyone's favorite Libertarian kook, Ron Paul. Course, the only part of his message that makes sense is on patriotism. Patriots are for liberty and people, not policies and governments. Of course, how can he say people can do what they want when they can't do everything they want to them with respect to reproduction? Well he's got 10k or so with him. The convention hall has a few thousand more, but will be the last time McCain ever gets that sort of crowd.

Anyways, lets get back on topic. So McCain picks this woman from Alaska. She advocates she's a reformer. She hires Abromoff's law firm. She fires people in positions who didn't support her canidacy for mayor. She tries to fire the cops who won't fire her former brother-in-law because he divorced her sister. She was against the bridge to no where all along, but yet campaigned as being for the waste of money. She advocates absitance only education. Her daughter gets pregnant and says she'll just have to grow up fast. .

Maybe, just maybe, she should've said something like this, "First, don't have sex. That way you can't get pregnant, you can't get a disease. If you do choose to have sex, you better take the steps to make sure you don't get pregnant or diseases. Here's how..." It's much better than having a 17 year old girl being forced into a (sham) marriage. Not like statistics say the younger the mother and just marrying for the sake of the child do damage to the child. No that's science, the Republicans rejected that too. I wish that girl well. I wish her parents to hell for giving her such a crappy and misguided guidance.

But enough piling on this poor woman and her beliefs. What this says is what Obama's been saying all along. It is about judgement. It says, pander to women who wanted Hillary for VP after she ceded (but probably don't understand Hillary didn't want the position), pander to party who didn't want your first choices, pander to a bunch of people who called your own daughter illegitimate and worse.

Ron Paul just went after Federal Reserve Bank. Course, he's wrong on guns on planes. Just because they had guns, doesn't mean they would've been drawn or not taken over. Anyways...

It says McCain is a maverick. But do you really want a guy who doesn't get what he wants on the international scene go and respond using the military? He's a Sectagenarian throwing a tantrum with this pick!!! Of course, he's nearly been a washout at both the Naval Academy, Flight School, which probalby led to an inexpierenced INEPT pilot in a war zone. What do you think the consequences would be? Guess what, it happened. At least, he wisened up on the ground and became a hero than. But 5 years of car batteries to the testes in a pool of water does something to the brain. It doesn't make it work normal. Guess what, you shouldn't be elegible for office, much less being in public till you can get a team of psychiatrists who can say you're not wacko.

Barack Obama can't take a 10% chance on change. I can't personally take some one who is impulsive, rash and has faulty wiring upstairs. Bad judgement, bad history, bad politics and continuation of bad disproved policies.

I think John Kerry said it best, Senator McCain is the Maverick, is against the disastorous policies of the past, is his own man. CANIDIATE McCain is a politician, a conformist, thinks the status quo is good, is pandering to the worst degree. He was before it before he was against it. John McCain is the hypocrite, the liar, and the one who has betrayed his own character and principles of the past. If you want to make yourself about your character and convictions, don't change them and expect me or anyone else to believe them.

2008-08-28T11:53:00.003-05:00

Here's more of that conversation...

Mysogynist Pig: What are you still doing here?

PUMA Nutjob: Hillary was brain washed. Obama got to her and brainwashed her into nominating him

Mysogynist Pig (getting out Blackberry): One sec here. Zell, baby. You still got them dueling pistols? I want you to come to Denver and put one in me and this nut job here. ...Uh huh. Well large, small calibur, want me to see it coming whatever. Just make sure it's clean and blows both our heads clean off...No, I don't think that guy from SNL will be here too. Alright, later, thanks Senator. Ok, lady.

PUMA Nutjob: See, Obama got to him too. He's crafty, sly, and I have a $3 bill that says he's a Muslim! And that traitorus skank Pelosi never let us vote on HRC for Veep either. Instead it went to that guy.

Mysogynist Pig: Sure, listen crack pot. I could explain that to you, but alls that guy did was right the Violence Against Women Act, the Crime Bill, and a whole bunch of other stuff that basically would make it a really long time in jail should I do what needs to be done.

PUMA Nutjob: You can't buy into the propganda.

Mysogynist Pig: Olberman, get out the tazer. O'Reily's here!!!

Matthews vs the PUMAS

2008-08-26T17:21:00.003-05:00

Now this is funny. Plants or women who are so bitter that they can't see the end game. PUMAS are the faction of nut job Hillary Clinton supporters who think they were robbed and Hillary should be the nominee or at least the Vice Presidenial nominee. The Party Unity My ASs group takes just about any rumor and believes its true. Of course, Matthews is the mysogynst who's insulted Clinton and every chance (both deserving and not). This is sort of a funny conversation. The comments are even more hillarious.

Here's a hypothetical summary of their conversation
Mysogynstic Pig: Lady, you're a whacko.

PUMA-Nut job: You're a mysogynistic pig!!!

Mysogynstic Pig: True, but you're still whackier than fruit loops in chocolate milk

PUMA-Nut: HRC will still win, even if we have to lock all the doors to force a re-vote

Mysogynstic Pig: Christ lady!!! You're almost Ron Paul Psychotic honest in your zeal. Why don't you hand me over your kids now before they end up hung from the stalls in middle school?

PUMA-Nut: I have sources

Mysogynstic Pig: You got problems, screws loose, 48 cards while playing 52 pick up.

PUMA-Nut: Obama's a Muslim

Mysogynstic Pig: McCain's a woman hating two timing, abortion clinic doctor killing record.

PUMA-Nut: I got sources.

Mysogynstic Pig: This is hopeless. Shit lady, I'm calling the cops. I've been freaked before, but you could harm some one or yourself.

Free Radicals modulate signalling

2008-08-01T14:05:00.002-05:00

In this recent article in Nature, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature07181.html, there is talk of something that I've suspected and spent the last few years working on. Free radicals are one of the mechanisms that mediate fast synaptic transmission. In otherwords, free radicals could possibly explain why our thought seem so instantaneous and not as delayed as the whole process of synaptic release and binding and diffusion.

Let me break this down for some of the lay people out there. First, there's a molecule, a protien hormone that regulates hunger (there's several actually, but here we have one). What it does is help with mitochondrial potentials, the engery producing organelle of the cells. Most neuronal cells (both neurons and glial cells) have more mitochondria than other cells This engery production happens in the membranes of the mitochondria in several protiens aka the cytochromes. An electrial potential builds up along this chain because the membrane acts to separate charged ions on the varying sides of the membrane. Break up this chain of protiens, decoupling, and you change the potential, leave reactants (some free radicals), and have a general change in energy production.

Free radicals act fast in a bumper car like method. They bump into another molecule, not really caring what it is, and basically cause that one to become a free radical while the original goes back to "normal", and so on and so forth. Now the cytochromes use this process to transport electrons down its chain to produce energy. So where do these things go if this process isn't working? Well free radicals are fast. They difuse (travel) all over. Bumping into things. Change enough things, modulate the potential of the cell membrane, and an action potential could form leading to synaptic transmission.

My interests are in finding out what the exact radical chains are as they do this process. It's nice to know now that some one can generate them and explain how it starts. should I ever return to the neuro field full time this is where I'd like to go.

I'm back

2008-07-21T14:03:00.002-05:00

Been awhile, been kinda crazy. Mostly in my head. Got a new job at the university of Iowa. So I quit the hellish job that caused 95% of the problems in my head.

I now do capillary electrophoresis. I work with this stuff:

Yo' momma eats this for breakfast.

Started a group with no members on Facebook for CE. About to move. What a week/year its been.

The first new snow and driving

2007-11-25T10:24:00.000-06:00

The first new snow hit Wednesday night. It also coincided with Thanksgiving traffic. Of course, nothing was sticking to the ground, as you drove over the snow/road, the water was pushed aside. This means it was no worse than driving in rain in the spring or fall. There was no reason for people to be going 35 mph on the interstate. If you're too fucking chicken shit to travel the speed limit when it is allowable because the roads were not iced over, visibility was no worse than a typical rain storm,

STAY THE FUCK HOME PEOPLE AND GET OFF THE ROAD.

Ugh, it took me 35 minutes to leave Johnson county Iowa, which normally would be 12-15 minutes depending on traffic.

Wierdness, Was it a Test or Was it Just Weird?

2007-09-24T13:36:00.000-05:00

So on Friday, I go to an interview in Des Moines Iowa at an internal lab for a company, Darling International. They do food products analyzing for pesticides, protein content in animal fats, types fats in cooking oils etc. How was this one wierd?

First, I was told it was to be both the person and her boss. Just the person. No one else in the entire lab was there. While she was a lab person, and I'm a lab person, we walked through. Talked a little about bouncing around. All the while it seemed like I was being tested/quizzed over a variety of things, while she worked away at a variety of things.

Was I supposed to know everything she asked? Was I supposed to join in? What about my own protection until I read a chemical hygiene plan, read the MSDS of the area, etc I don't know what I'm being exposed to. I also wonder about chain of custody and validity of results. If I touch anything do I invalidate all their analysis? Just weird.

So now I'm in Minneapolis. Xin's training in SAS. Were going to meet my high school friend/teammate Aaron and his wife, but she's going to have surgery. Hope it goes well. She's too young and pretty to have these sort of eye problems.

What's downtown Minneapolis like? Well it's very nice. Lots of shops and office buildings all interconnected by a series of walk ways. It's called the Nicolet Mall, surprisingly because it is on Nicolet Blvd/St/Ave in the downtown area. There's Target, Macy's etc. The one complaint is that outside of Subway, all the food is a bit overpriced for the downtown expierence.

We're staying at the Ramada downtown (the university of Iowa will pay the final bill). There is a decent work out room for a hotel, the traditional weight station, exercise bike, 2 treadmills and a tv to watch while doing the deed. The pool is heated, and so far no unpleasant minors to kick out of the hot tub which is Xin's new favorite. It's also very relaxing after hard lifting. The rest of the place sucks. Double beds, crappy beat up, should be replaced, next to no channels on the TV, having to search hi and low for the remote, tub and bathroom very dated and no independent control of the light outside the bathroom and foyer. The worst of all is Xin and my reliance on free continental breakfasts at places we stay. This place has none (believe it or not, Super 8 Motels have a great breakfast). Had to search high and low before finding a Brugers Bagles.

The Chimp In Chief

2007-09-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

The Chimp in Chief is once again speaking, saying how fighting in Iraq makes us safer when even his own general lying for him and ruining his career says he cannot be sure that it is. Well here's to Bubbles W. Bush, hopefully the poop he throws will smack Dick Cheney, infuriating him and inducing his 245756th heart attack.

My God!!! I've hear turds make more sense than this, and smell better. No one with any brains will buy this. My wife, who is Chinese and not american, is going through her own faith development right now. She's deciding that maybe she wants to be Catholic because it doesn't say non-believers will go to hell or say that she's doomed to hell because she hasn't been baptized etc yet. She says due to all the young people that have died because of Iraq, George Bush will go to hell.

About the image, I did a search, Bush Chimp and got over 40000 images!!! See, I'm not alone. George, put down that piece of poop!!! It doesn't go up your nose!!! I mean it, George!!! When Dick gets in here, he'll screw things up more than you already have!!!

By the way, they don't hate us for our freedom. This isn't about right or wrong, or even Sept 11. This is about ideology and not taking a pot shot at daddy or regret from 15-20 years ago. Anyone who says differently either hasn't read anything by anyone with knowledge of the actual situation on the ground in the middle east or is an apologist for Bush.

2007-09-12T21:29:00.001-05:00

Testing picture posting

6 years and a day later?

2007-09-12T14:02:00.001-05:00

Why write about the day of Sept 11 until after you see all the memorials and what not? For the most part there weren't that many on TV. The best I had to say was MSNBC's rebroadcast of the 2 hours of Today/NBC Breaking News report from the moment after the first plane hit for 2 consectutive hours.

I read another report on Huffington Post by Michael Smerconish I began to think. It was the expierence, the tenor, and the calm of Tom Brokaw that really brought it all home. Just as I'm sure it is Cronkite for my parents, it is wake of 9-11 that we lost most of the voices that brought us the news. Aaron Brown, fired from CNN. Tom Brokaw, retired from NBC. Dan Rather, resigned/fired from CBS. Peter Jennings, died from lung cancer due to smoking which he started again on 9-11. Fox, pretty sure it was Brit Hume but he's gone way over to how can anyone be against Bush than reporting what really happened that it's not news.

My wife didn't want to watch any of it because of the tragedy. I watched it because you forget what it was because this was really the only focus on events. Kidnapped blonde girls, black woman abducted by white supremacists were the other stories of the day. Only this morning on CNN was an interview with a group of young Iraqis, the wrong war btw, saying you can't send the US troops home, but they can't stay forever; there are no good solutions. We are in a global war, but are we fighting it in the right place and in the right ways?

Is it so ugly that absolutism, what we're fighting, can't be used against it? Can one ideology defeat another? Or is this a time for realism and letting the grown ups tell us what need to be done even if we don't like their recommendations? I'm all for letting the intelligence and military types (colonels and task force leaders) be given a relatively free hand in doing what needs to be done where it needs to be done. If they say it is Iraq, it's Iraq, but I bet they say its the Afghani/Pakistani boarder and Indonesia. I'm sure I won't like it. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'll be terrified of what they'll say.

Something has to be done. The Arab world has more of its population under 18 years old than any other ethnic group in the world.

The only thing I won't do is trade liberty for security. We are an open society. We should be more open and transparent. This way we can ensure everyone around the world, you're only hitting and hurting a people that accept all. Rebuild it, let them tear it down, rebuild it again. Every time it is torn down by agression and murder, it will rally more to our side and less to theirs.

Doping and the Dopes who don't get it

2007-09-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

I'm going to take the time to post a little note that's been bouncing in my head about performance enhancing drugs in sports (aka doping).

Bicycle racing in America is irrelevant for the most part except for the days that Lance Armstrong or whatever American rider is behind/takes the lead and the day they finish in the Tour de France. Well this year, it was made totally irrelevant by entire teams being disqualified for taking banned substances.

I recently read the Game of Shadows by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru of the San Fransisco Chronicle. This book servers partly as a the biography of Victor Conte, the history of his Bay Area Lab Cooperative (BALCO), and a sort of who's who of professional sports that Conte was involved with.

This isn't so much aimed at the athletes as much as it is the sports writers and fans who say such things as "it wan't against the rules" or "it doesn't matter". WRONG. Each sport in American has something called the morals clause meaning that the team can void the contract if the player gets involved with something illegal. Guess what? Posession of these drugs, doctor/pharmacy shopping, being involved in distribution of the drugs, as well as conspiricacy to do any of the above would be just some of the FELONIES committed by the athletes. That does not excuse the felonies or ethics/license violations of the doctors and pharmacists, but we don't know who some MD or PharmD is, we do know who our favorite players are.

So violation of the morals clause isn't enough for you? What about the fact that most of these are horomones, either peptide or glucocorticoids derived from cholesterol. These will radically effect your own endocrine system, reproductive system, and give leave you open to a higher chance of cancer? From what I know the only time any of the so called anabolic steroids or HGH should be subscribed is for conditions of primoridal dwarvism or in the case of muscle reattatchment surgery. Even than, it is at a does that is 100-1000x less than what is being taken by these cheats. Yes, so this is more directed to the players unions, if you don't want to test, than fine, you provide for medical costs for your players future cancers, testicles shrinking into nothing, sex changes for females, as well as behavior problems that can't even be predicted do to hormonal imbalance. It was so bad for NFL players of the 70s and early 80s that they had to instigate testing. They woke up, and moved onto new drugs that need to be detected and removed from the game. With diet and exercise, yes, players can be 6'8" and 330 lbs, but they don't look like a body builder or professional wrestler.

So players/public health and contractual reasons aren't enough, how about integrity of the game? Sports is usually about competition and overcoming either an opponent, time, distance, field/course, history, injury etc. By giving yourself an edge that you can't have naturally, why should I appreciate you?

That's one reason, beyond growing up, I would never go back to watching professional wrestling. First, the results are fixed. Second, they're all on something, and those bodies aren't capable of being like that withoug working out 8+ hours a day 24/7/365. How can being on the road 50 weeks a year get you that way? It can't without the wonders of pharmacology.

I gave up on baseball along time ago because it was boring. You didn't do anything. And when you got the chance to do something, I hadn't done anything in so long, my body couldn't respond. That's why I got into football. I've trained for 3-4 hours a day eating into my sleep schedule. It kept me active and alert. Track and field keeps one really moving. After 90 minutes of practice one is exhausted, add to it another 40 minutes for field events, and 30 in general weight training and I wonder how or if I ever did homework in high school.

What should be done about these cheats? First this is just as bad as gambling, gambling with one's life. They should be banned from the game, all test results and prescription trails handed over to the FBI/Police and clean them out and put them in jail. Next, their records should be either have asterisks or double daggers placed next to it. Finally, contracts and endorsement bonuses should be sought by their teams and corporations like NIKE and REEBOK. That's right, get your money back.

Impeachment, Who I'll vote for, and other things

2007-09-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

I wrote this back in March of this year: Since than, Gonzales has resigned.

First off, it is not criminal to be a bad manager, incompetent, and inflexible in every job save one, President of the United States. So evading why Bush should be impeached for negligent homicide or at least felony murder or involuntary manslaughter of ever soldier for the moment, I will say let's not impeach him. This could be due to improper number of troops, lying about intelligence/motives for war, going to war without proper equipment, not adjusting strategy while rebuilding was to have begun.

Basic civics here folks. Impeach Bush, which would never get the votes to convict in the Senate, would lead to President Dick Cheney. Impeach Cheney first, than find the most palatable Republican to get throgh the Senate (Hagel or Graham?) . Than impeach Bush. Like I said, not likely.

Next, the firing of US Attorneys. All of them were political appointees. So yes, the president can fire them. It just looks bad when it is done while they are investigating people on your side, it looks bad. Top it off, they're considered the 10 best or so in the nation, and all their replacements are buddies of your chief aide with little or no qualifications, there's a problem. If this was your end goal, than at the change of terms between the first and second four years, remove them all. Now here's where it becomes criminal. No matter what, under oath or not, if you lie to Congress it is perjury. We have an attorney general who committed perjury. Negligent? Intentional? Incompetent? If the answer is yes to any of these, this man should be removed from office either by the president or Congress. This is the sole cabinet position in which they both serve and irritate the president. Instead of rewardign competency, this administration rewards loyalty and service to ideology. Is it any wonder that any minor disaster or event ins magnified not just due to natural (Hurricane Katrina) or unnatural (Sept 11, Iraq, Afghanistan) events? You can gage the supposed events of normal person/reaction to evidence, but when you're loyalty is to an idea, you are inflexible.

Maybe there is an increased number of investigations now that my party is back in legislative power. Maybe there is an increased number of problems because eventually after 6+ years in any administration abuses and scandals are uncovered from years before by reporters and public at large. The sad realization is that in this case it is due to the fact that these guys are really as incompetent as they seem, perfect administration for a time like the 1990s, but imperfect in a world that is constantly evolving and changing. The fact was that after so long out of power, and with their own party in the White House, the Republican Congress was afraid to look at it's own dirty laundry.

There is one tactic they keep bringing out. Anytime you dissent, or go against the president, you are a traitor and giving aid and comfort to the enemy. But when the troops are asked, what do you think about the dissent, they respond that it is great because some one is asking what is in their best interest. They are glad to have a party that will put the pressure on a defense department that is more interested in a missile defense when the primary enemy of the day is a non-nation state loose network with no manufacturing infrastructure. Last time I checked, one needed a pretty advanced factory and tech level to build a missile capable of going across an ocean. If the scenarios are true, and they're worried about a sleeper cell launching a missile, a missile shield capable of shooting an ICBM down is useless against a shoulder fired weapon that won't get farther than the neighboring 'burb. I'm pretty sure if you asked the troops they'd want more armor plating, body armor, and spare parts for the things already there.

So who will I vote for? I don't know. Obama brings hope, but he's been a Senator only, both state and federal. Hillary is just a Senator who does know how to do the backroom deal but just as we tire of Bush, will we have Clinton fatigue as well? Last sitting Senator elected, Kennedy. Johnson was sitting VP/acting president, not senator when elected. this country likes governors. Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Nixon were all state executives. That sort of puts Richardson in the driver seat. He's got foriegn policy behind him, Hispanic, but is he willing to risk the wrath of his former boss? I don't know. The good thing about being in Iowa, is that I'll be inundated in the next 6 months or so. I'll have a good idea by next fall who I'll vote for in the Caucus and than again in the election.

Some ramblings.

PS now in September of 2007...I'm leaning towards Hillary more because Obama is self imploding and Richardson just can't seem to gain the charisma needed despite saying all the right things. Of course, this is a caucus, so I may as well just say Richardson and hope the others in the state outside of Johnson County do the same.

First Post

2007-09-08T22:02:00.001-05:00

Something will be coming here soon. Maybe I'll finally get serious about an online series of writings, rants, and raves.