19 Points

The NTSB distracted me

2011-12-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

NTSB recommends full ban on use of cell phones while drivinghttp://www.cnn.com/2011/12/13/us/ntsb-cell-phone-ban/index.htmlLet's review distractions shall we?Aside from illegally driving while impaired, we have your: kids, dog, hamburger, hair, makeup, sunglasses, big gulp, heater, air conditioning, defrost, wipers, cruise control, radio, MP3, GPS and BFF. This is only a partial list. There are

Passwords: the luggage locks of teh interwebs

2011-08-05T08:32:00.001-07:00

Do you remember those tiny padlocks that came with new luggage? They were no bigger than a quarter, had a universal key and could be picked by a 6-year-old with a paper clip. This is what modern passwords are. As the old saying goes, they only keep out the honest people. Take a moment to consider how many passwords are in your life. If you do banking online, with more than one bank, or have an

Stupider Than Expected

2011-05-19T08:16:00.001-07:00

Every morning I wake up to the local AM station. They play Rock and Roll from the 50s 60s and 70s. At the top of the hour they broadcast the CNN national news feed followed by the local news. Almost without exception, whenever the CNN economic segment includes some sort of statistical indicators, they are followed by "less than economists expected" or "more than economists expected" or "higher

Recommendation for Thesis/Dissertation

2011-05-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Some brilliant young Doctoral or Masters candidate needs to research and write a paper on the savings in fuel/oil/brake pads/pollution/etc. that could be realized by one simple concept: Time the traffic lights properly in urban areas.We all have witnessed the successful implementation of such a novel concept on some thoroughfare somewhere. Ask yourself why it can't be done on all streets? Too

It only feels like it's out of control

2011-04-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone keeps referring to "out of control" spending.Let me be clear on one fact: Spending is NOT out of control. Our elected representatives have complete control over what is spent. It would be more accurate to describe our spending as immoral, irresponsible and reckless.But most of all: Unconstitutional.Our Pharisaical government has created countless 'traditions of the elders' that are

2010 US Census

2010-03-12T09:19:00.001-08:00

Have you seen these commercials talking about how great the census is? Take a look:http://www.youtube.com/user/uscensusbureauWhy is my government spending money on airing advertisements for something as mundane as a census? Listen carefully. You'll hear the reason plain as day. It's about solidifying the federal government's control over every aspect of our lives. It's ultimately about Tyranny [

'tis the season

2009-12-14T16:35:00.001-08:00

For reduced gas mileage.Each year I notice a significant change in the number of miles I get out of my tank of gas. And each year I have to remind myself that E10 is the culprit, not some nocturnal siphoning gang.After each fill, I note how many miles are on the trip odometer, and then hit the reset button. I can get up to 350 miles on the tank with about 12 gallons added back in - somewhere

Prisons are no deterrent - come to think of it, neither are laws

2009-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

Why do we bother making laws? Think about it. Think about life with no laws. If you are a good person, are you going to do something that will have broken a law, had a law actually been passed? Would a bad person adhere to a law simply because some words were written down and published as a set of statutes?So why do we need laws? Why dole out punishments when they do not seem to deter the

I will not be frightened into voting against my conscience

2008-08-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the dire warnings: "Now more than ever", "This year it is too important", "There is too much at stake".Pick an election year in your life time -- no, the last century -- and tell me which year would it be ok to go ahead and vote your conscience on a sure loser? Which year would it be ok to throw away your vote, allowing the opposition party to win? Which year would it be ok for

My answer to a question that was posed regarding whether our nation is being destroyed

2007-11-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

I believe that this once great nation has already been destroyed.Once, we were a nation of individuals. The leaders were well read, literate, opinionated, and passionate. They had faults, and both good and bad ideas. There were always disagreements, dirty politics, subversives, and monarchists. But the majority of the founders felt it necessary to place the new government in its proper place. To

eau de humanity

2007-08-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a commercial on TV that convinces me our society is on the verge of collapse.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX8MzOKOzIWe have no shame. We put anything on the air.In our world of hedonism and excess, ignorance and apathy, it is only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down.Or should I say: "It's only a matter of time before we are all flushed down the toilet" ?

Coos County SSR

2007-06-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter someone wrote to the editor of a small Coos County newspaper:As the Coos County Democrats reflect on their first authentic caucus, I'm reminded of the people of Venezuela who elected their president leader, Huga Chavez. He was elected president of the country by the people with an overwhelming majority, but, within a few days a coup instigated by our CIA and that country's

Laziness

2007-05-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I sometimes participate in Yahoo Answers. A user asked a question:Why are 90% of Americans the size of a blimp?That question was removed by the administrators, which is puzzling because I have seen far worse questions. But I had answered it before it was removed.Because contrary to most TV commercials most Americans do *not* have an active lifestyle. In fact, most of the supposed

an actual email exchange

2007-05-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

At work, our company uses a spam filter to help cut down on junk mail. This email was sent from an outside user to someone inside our company after they discovered our filter had blocked their email. He sent it to the original intended recipient, and cc'ed it to her manager, and the IT distro group.You need to tell your IT guy to get a life. They seem to be to busy running around trying to

Mr Sharpton

2007-05-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

We all know it.Al Sharpton is one of the most bigoted people in the world.The reason that he can get away with it (contrary to the belief of many) is not because of the color of his skin. It is because he is a liberal that he has carte blanche to spout as much vitriol and hate as he wishes and still get a pass from the MSM. It is his ideology, not his race, that allows him to commit the very

PBS Prejudice and Ignorance

2007-05-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

Most of my comments are of a political vein or in relation to human nature, but today I will take a short detour.As a follow up to my previous entry, and being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I thought I would make a few comments regarding the recent PBS show about my religion.I admit not watching the entire thing. I actually turned it on halfway through the first

Perspective

2007-05-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

Lets pick any group of people and imagine four hours of film devoted to discussing them, but the film was put together by someone on the outside of the group.For instance, let's say that you wanted to watch a film on American History put together by the Chinese. Ok. . . perhaps the Chinese are more antagonistic towards the US than most countries, so we choose maybe the British or Spain or Mexico.

A Condescending Pat on the Head

2007-04-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

[read like that movie announcer guy]In a world where everyone is special, but non-conformity is unacceptable.In a game where there are no losers, but there are no winners.In a time when feeling better about yourself is more important than actually achieving something.Today is: 5th Grade Graduation day.I graduated from High School and then later on from College. I don't remember going through any

School shootings and what to do about them

2007-04-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

"Something has to be done!"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but sometimes bad things happen, and there is nothing you or anyone can do to stop it.You can try to institute gun control, but this only removes guns from the hands of the law-abiding citizens.You can try to diagnose mental problems in people early, but then you become Big Brother with a cadre of thought police running around

you_name_it -- ist

2007-04-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

With the current Imus thing in the news it's time again to point fingers of accusation. Buckle up, it's a long blog.We each belong to any number of demographic groups at a given time. One person may be 63, a woman, have white skin, and regularly attends the local bingo games at the catholic church. Another may be a male black man in his 20s who attends the local community college. Another might

Answer to Obama

2007-03-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

On Yahoo, there is an Answers section where people can post questions and receive answers from the community of users.Most of the time, questions posed and answers given are pure drivel.Recently, I spotted a question from Barack Obama:How can we engage more people in the democratic process?I will be asking questions to help create dialogue around this and many other important topics so please add

Cartoons

2007-03-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Most cartoons today are: Category I: Battling/Comic Book (or, as they are sadly called today: Graphic Novels) *Reincarnation of superheroes in a "teen" form *Nintendo-like Martial arts *Animal/machine/digital/fantasy/gaming battling where kids play cards, use digital devices, or send their monster 'pets' into an arena that looks suspiciously like it could be used to fight dogs or roosters *

Liberty Bell "Forever" Stamp

2007-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

The new USPS Stamp will cost 41 cents. The stamp, which will carry the word "Forever" instead of a price, will remain valid for sending a letter, no matter how much rates go up in the future. Does the USPS think that raising the price of stamps will net them more money? That's how it works, right? You have a set number of customers buying your product, and when you raise the price, you will get

Brad

2007-03-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Many of the classic songs now take on another meaning.We wont forget about you, Brad.Time doesn't wait for any of us. Our own time is coming soon enough. It's what we leave behind that matters.

Last night

2007-03-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

I went to an Asian place last night (March 9th) and this is the fortune I got:"Faith is the answer to peace of mind"This was a coincidence worthy of note.