UF's Nuclear Waste

Motherboard Review

2007-09-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

So I just built my first computer and I want to go on a little rant about MSI.

MSI Sucks. First, I got a bad motherboard from them. I sent it back and ended up getting an ASUS motherboard, other than the power connection being in a wrong spot, it performs wonderfully.

The other MSI problem I had are the graphics cards. I got 2 650meg GeForce 8800 graphics cards from MSI and for some reason they do not work with a DVI to HDMI cord for my LCD TV.

MSI sucks. If you are building a PC avoid it. Get ASUS and ATI.

How Conservative or Liberal are you?

2007-05-10T14:38:00.001-05:00

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 80% Conservative, 20% Liberal

Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Life and Time

2007-05-07T08:44:00.000-05:00

Many of my friends that were at UF are graduating this spring. Some are getting married. Girls I knew in high school have had babies. There are many things currently in my life that make me feel old, in contrast to this would be that the aforementioned would make me feel young, but it doesn’t; they make me feel as if life has passed me by. There are people that are in your life for various segments, as if life came in certain segments tied together with glue that fades over time. People you randomly hang out with in your past, once you move to various other locations, fade away and only a handful of really good friends remain, but talking on the phone and hanging out every so often is not the same as being in the same city as them. I have recently moved to a very small town, a town no one would go to if they didn’t plan on going to it. The people here are fun but I have ties in my past to good people, people who I would want to hang out with all the time. Life comes, it goes.

However, the friends I met at UF I never would have met if I didn’t go there, and now I miss them greatly. The friends I met at BMHS I never would have met if I went instead to the high school I was districted to. I have realized that although I miss my friends at UF and many of them may fade away (except for the good ones :D) in this new location I may make new friends as well, ones that possibly if I move from this location I will miss too. It is time to make the best of the location I am in both physically and in time.

Go Gator Nation

2007-04-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

Wow, this looked like it took a lot of work:

I can't stand Grease..... but this was kinda cool.

Arab on Treadmill

2006-12-19T13:36:00.000-05:00

http://danerd.com/media/2656_arab+guy+run+treadmill+scream

rofl... Arabs

rofl.... Arabs on Treadmills

rofl.......... Arabs scream on Treadmills

that is what a Jihad must sound like.

Bad News on Wind Power

2006-11-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

From the National Post:

In May, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) announced that the province's grid could not safely accommodate more than 900 megawatts of wind-power generation, a target that will be met late next year. Proposals for 3,000 more MW of production have been thrown into indefinite limbo at an estimated cost to producers of $6-billion; meanwhile, the province is already spending $1-billion to strengthen the transmission system so that even the 900-MW cap can be reached. In Ontario, meanwhile, the grid operator warned late last month that 5,000 MW -- about one-fifth of the province's current peak consumption -- is probably the absolute technological limit. (A total of 1,280 MW of wind capacity is already in operation or being built.)

It is starting to look as though wind cannot meet more than a fraction of our energy demand even if other issues with the technology, like esthetics and wildlife impacts, are ignored. The problem, as engineers skeptical of wind power have been yelping for decades, is that power usage and production constantly have to be balanced in an electrical grid. Adding too much unstable, unpredictable power to the system creates a risk of failure and cascading blackouts. In fact, the EU is investigating the possible role of Germany's heavy wind-dependence in causing a Nov. 6 blackout that hit 10 million Europeans.

Found this Funny

2006-11-29T19:33:00.000-05:00

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal:
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks:
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.

-Props to Alicia for this

A quiz

2006-11-29T19:03:00.000-05:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
North Central
The South
Boston
The West
Philadelphia
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

UF pwns the entire state

2006-11-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

2006 Regular Season Results:
UF: 11-1
USF: 8-4
FSU: 6-6
Miami: 6-6
UCF: 4-8
Ah everyone sucks but us, Go Gators!!!

On a side note, USF now has better season results than Miami and FSU, go USF!

Casino Royale

2006-11-19T06:20:00.000-05:00

So I had my doubts about Casino Royale and Daniel Craig, a blond haired blue eyed James Bond... All doubts were answered, Daniel Craig makes an awesome James Bond and this movie is incredible! It's such a great movie on so many different levels.

Go see it! :D

Thoughts on the 2 Jewish Parites, 80's Night, and a party at AEphi Sorority

2006-11-18T10:28:00.000-05:00

So I went to two Jewish parties, a club for 80's Night, and a party at a sorority house last night, AEphi. I noticed something contrasting who I was with at these events. 80's Night was with a group of friends of mine, about 10 people I knew and a 2 I didn't. From there I met the two girls I didn't know and had a great time at 80's Night -- had a few bears, danced a bit, and had good times with friends.

I left the club around 1:20 am to go to a party at AEphi with a friend of mine. This wasn't like any house party I've been to, everyone was sober: it was a dry party. Because of this, for the most part everyone seemed more uptight and more self conscious than they are at most parties. What's worse is that I didn't know anyone except the friend I went with and a small group of friends that showed up, but they left son afterward, mainly bc it was a dry part and the uptightness. I felt like I was at some UF Housing Department function for keeping kids from drinking. Well, a friend of mine got together with this one girl there and I was just standing around. That leads me to another little rant, loyalty. He has a gf but was very obviously hitting on that girl. I really just don't seem to understand that. I have like the loyalty of a dog, when I am in a relationship I am incredibly loyal; with friends I would always put them first before anything else I wanted. The girl he was with had a bf too... I just do not understand it. I love parties of like 20-30 people where like a quarter of the people are my friends. This 100 people or so sorority parties are just... stupid. Way too many people to really socialize, and without any drinks the whole party just felt so... juvenile. Oh, and there were also several cop chaperone's there... pretty lame.

80's Night and parties with my friends are just so much more enjoyable. 80's Night was huge, but I was with people I knew dancing with people I knew, and I got to talk to people I didn't know through connections with my friends. Parties with friends I love because they usually have a large amount of drinks (beer, hunch punch, and hard liqueur), and it isn't random people hitting on random other people. I just can't stand that, it just feels so childish, and by childish I mean college freshmen-ish. Being at a real party with the people you care and love is so much more fun than strangers hitting on mobs of sorority girls at a dry party.

Anyways enough with the rants. The Jewish parties were kinda fun. I was talking to this one girl and she said something that was so incredibly "Jewish'. I wanted to say so bad "OMG, that's so Jewish!" (I'm not Jewish btw), but yeah.... so many Jewish people there, prob not a good idea. 80's Night was so much fun, my roommates, Stephanie, Nichole, and Kelli are awesome. AEphi was just stupid, but eh, I guess it's a great way for freshmen to keep from drinking. Go Bernie Machon and his dream of a Sober UF! lol.

An Amazing Dream: A Visit to Nepal

2006-11-14T11:07:00.000-05:00

Setting:
So I had a dream last night that was unlike any dream I have ever had. I was recruited by NASA to go to the International Space Station due to abilities I have in nuclear engineering (why? I don't know, it was a dream). At the International Space Station an incident occurs that somehow involves the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D and everyone has to evacuate to the escape pods to escape an explosion (does the ISS have escape pods? I don't know, its a dream). Anyways, it turns out all this was a set up to the main part.

Nepal:
The space pod I am in crash lands in the mountains in Nepal. The crash landing amazingly was within walking distance of a monastery of monks. The mountains were windy and covered in snow. The temperature was far below this Florida guy has ever faced in his life. I make my way over to the monastery and knock on its front door, still wearing the traditional orange NASA oversuits that do nothing for warmth. I am greeted at the door and allowed to rest in their 'lobby'. I say 'lobby' with quotes because it really was just an empty room with nothing in it, but lobby I think would be most descriptive because it was the first room in the monastery. The entire building looked old and was made of wood, the lobby was no different. I had a curiosity about the monks, a monastery out in the middle of nowhere is not something I am used to in day to day college living. A monk came into the 'lobby' area and greeted me in a language I didn't understand. he signaled for me to follow and I came to what appeared to be a teaching room; it was very dusty. He then proceeded to ask me various questions in that same language. After a few responses of mine he then started talking to me in English. This part of my dream had the highest detail, and I cannot remember what he taught me. However, I was a terrible student, all I could think of while he was teaching me was what my parents were thinking when the ISS was evacuated before it blew up. I kept playing with my cell phone in my pocket, thinking when this lesson will be over so I could call them. Then it occurred to me: my cell phone would never get a signal in the mountains of Nepal. After realizing this, I started to pay more attention. For some reason in my dream I felt totally at peace at this point. Everything in my life was gone but this old man's teachings. He taught me only a few things throughout the whole day, apparently he was taking his time. He then left me when he was finished and talked to many other old monks. They seemed to be quietly talking among themselves if I should be allowed to continue to learn at the monastery. Good news: I was accepted. He told me to rest up and I was led to a communal room of students' living quarters; they were empty. From here I went to a diving area and got some soup. I saw some students here, including three Americans, two girls and a guy. I talked quietly with one of the girls; the entire room was very quiet and I felt awkward if I said anything above a very soft voice (but louder than a whisper). I talked to her about why she was here, what she wanted from life, relationships, and such life-long subjects of discussion. She was tall, thin, blond, and very beautiful. She was very friendly, yet very reserved. It's somewhat hard to explain. I talked to the barmaid after that, I told her about how I was worried about how my parents. I was missing after a disaster at the International Space Station, they had to be worried out of their minds about me. I also told her how I did not think I could stay here. I had one more month left at UF, and I can't just stop that now before I completed everything. This made me think what I truly wanted with life. The monastery offered inner peace. My career offered the American dream. I decided that I would leave the monastery and come back once I have graduated from UF. The barmaid told me that if I did plan on leaving i had better do it before when the monks woke up each morning at 5am or else I would get a swift kick in the ass (yes those were the exact words in my dream, I remember smiling). I wrote the monk who was my mentor a thank you note on some parchment and told him that it was my intent to leave and come back within 6 months, then after learning all that I could learn (how hypocritical I was, I could never learn all they had to offer), I would then pursue my career in nuclear engineering. I made my way out, all anyone had to offer was a warm coat. Combined with my NASA jumpsuit, I was freezing more than I have ever felt before. I barely made my way to a town on the way down the mountain and then I had some more soup. I got some warm pants here and told a town dweller I would pay him once I found some way to contact my bank when I got to the base of the mountains and in a city. He declined my offer and I didn't think anyone else would help so I begun the long and lonely task of traveling down the mountain in freezing weather, not knowing if I would survive. I got stuck in about 5 ft of snow at some point. My only thought in my mind was to get back to the United States and let my family and friends know that I am okay, that everything is alright. At this point I thought that would never happen. I struggled to get out of the snow but it felt like quicksand; the more I struggled, the more I couldn't get out. My vision in my dream then went dark and I woke up.

What I think it meant
I felt so incredibly at peace and happy at the monastery, but I always had my friends and family in my mind. I had inner peace before me, perhaps the most sought after state of being in life, but I could not pursue it there. I had to be with my friends and family. I would have to find my own way in life, and I made the choice it would be with my friends and family. I don't know if I died getting back, but I have realized from this that what I truly want in this life is friends and a family. I want a career that will support a family of my own.

Description of the Chernobyl Accident

2006-11-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

Best Description of the Chernobyl Accident I have seen

This is by far the most accurate description of the Chernobyl Accident I have seen. It describes in detail all the human-errors and design flaws that went into the combination of events that lead to the accident.

Thoughts on Justice

2006-11-12T03:49:00.000-05:00

"No system is perfect, which can be said for the US Justice system." How many times have you heard someone say something along the lines of that? I just finished watching Sin City for the 2nd time. The first time I saw it in Theaters, now I just borrowed a roommate's DVD. If you are not familiar with this movie, it is a film noir based on a series of graphic novels by Frank Miller about a city that is corrupt from low life cops all the way up to a Bishop and a Senator. A senator's son can get away with raping and murdering little girls. A sick friend of a bishop is able to get away with cannibalizing live people. A few good people are able to stand up for what is right, but it is only on a level that "makes do". They can never seek true justice. This brings me to the US Justice System. It is not perfect, but it is the closest thing we will get to perfect. The United States has perhaps the best justice system in the history of the world. I can go to sleep at night knowing that if someone wrongs me, the wrong can be corrected in a court of law. I've never met a corrupt cop, and I doubt I ever will. I do not think I could feel safer in any nation than the United States. I love this country.

Wasted UF Business Professor

2006-10-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

Wasted UF Business Professor Dr. Hall

Another Lecture

Ahhhhhhhhhh UF :D

This is UF's professor Dr. John Hall teaching some business class when he was completely wasted. I really hope he gets another job, his lectures seem awesome, so much more interesting than most others.

Old Computer Ads featuring William Shatner and the "Best Commerical of All Time"

2006-10-15T11:42:00.000-05:00

rofl, this is awesome :D Old school William Shatner goodness.

For more on old computer ads, check out this article: A Brief History of Computers, As Seen in Old TV Ads.
This section includes the "Best Commercial of All Time" as rated by TV Guide in 1999: Apple Introduces Macintosh. There are many versions of this and it took me quite some time to find one where the audio matches the video, enjoy.

Columbia University Minutemen Protest gone Crazy

2006-10-10T23:30:00.000-05:00

Wow..... This is crazy. These college students at Columbia act like they are 8 years old. How can they just not tolerate opposing views to their own? What really gets me about liberals is how they parade themselves as the champions of tolerance... yet they look like a violent mob, unable to accept an opposing view in a civilized manner.

Then.... these libs start using racial slurs! Libs, the so called "champions of tolerance" use the 'N' word against a black Minute Man! Click here for a follow up interview that shows this. This video is even more descriptive than the one above. A commenter on the video summaries it best "The MM are trying to protect the borders of a country with whites, black, latinos, etc. They are not there just trying to protect white people."

In closing I leave you with this thought: College Universities... center for freedom of speech and civilized discussion of ideas or liberal breeding ground bent on pushing their own agenda and silencing all that oppose?

Nuclear Power Knowledge Quiz

2006-10-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

People really should know the answers to this little quiz before they make opinions on nuclear power.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Talents

2006-09-26T09:27:00.000-05:00

So this morning, the morning after an exam, I really don't want to bother doing anything academic-related, so I am going to post on my talent specs for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. I have a 60 Pally, Druid, and Warlock, and will possibly have a 60 mage and warrior by the time the expansion comes out.

Here are what my expansion talents look like for my characters:

Druid Talents 1 (8/11/42 - Tree of Life with Shapeshifting and Feral Charge) or...
Druid Talents 2 (8/30/23 - Strong Feral and fair healing, perfect for pvp) or.....
Druid Talents 3 (38/0/23 - A spec Similar to my current spec, the balance tree has decent talents that complement the restro tree to form a mage/priest hybrid)

However the best Druid solo-feral / healer build ever is my Favorite Druid Build.

Mage Talents 1 (31/29/0 - Burst Damage Build) or....
Mage Talents 2 (21/40/0 - Heavy Damage Raiding Build with Moderate Burst Damage)
Mage Talents 3 (41/20/0 - Slowing mage with damage based off total intellect, burst damage build as well)

Paladin Talents 1 (21/0/40 - Judgement Spam PVP Build with healing abilities) or...
Paladin Talents 2 (41/0/20) - Healadin Spec with Minor PVP Abilities)

Warlock Talents 1 (7/11/43 - Heavy Damage Build)
Warlock Talents 2 (7/41/13 - Felguard Build with a little caster damage, only going to use if the Felguard is insane)
Warlock Talents 3 (33/7/21 - A SM/Ruin Build with Dark Pact)
Warlock Talents 4 (30/0/31 - A SM/Ruin Build with Conflagrate)

Warrior Talents 1 (41/20/0 - PVP Build)
Warrior Talents 2 (33/28/0 - Another PVP Build)

On my druid I am probably not going to be using my Moonkin build after seeing how much the damage sucks compared to mages and locks. I'll just be doing pure instancing with my druid so no real need for dps. However, considering you can't use NS, decurse, or use Healing Touch in ToR form, it may be better to do the Tri-Spec build I made. My mage I am having the most trouble over. To get the burst damage of arcane power I have to waste a lot of talents, but Arcane Power, PoM, and Pyroblast just does such a huge amount of damage all at once I think it is worth it. On my paladin I am debating if I should go deeper into Holy, I will if I ever use him for raiding again. The new seal for paladins is a DoT, which won't be good for spamming judgement unless the DoT's stay on the target after the judgement occurs, in which the new seal will be awesome for spamming judgements. On my lock, I am fairly happy with my build but I am debating if Nether Protection and Soul Leech vs. Emberstorm. The warrior build I have is like my mage build in which I have to waste several talents to get something awesome.

If anyone still reads my blog and happens to play WoW, drop me a comment about what you think :D

2006-09-25T00:25:00.000-05:00

William Shatner trashes Trekkies

heh heh heh heh... classic :D

Family Guy is going downhill

2006-09-24T20:37:00.000-05:00

What is with these new Family Guy episodes? The one that just aired was a Wal-Mart hate marathon, and the one next week will be the same thing, but for the US Military. These episodes just aren't that funny anymore. The first 4 seasons were hilarious, they did so well. Now days Family Guy is getting too political and the humor is just fading away. Damn you Family Guy, be funny.

Basshunter - Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA

2006-09-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

Basshunter - Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA

heh heh heh, all these guys play Warcraft III while the hot girls are bored out of their minds; it is rather amusing. This guy, Basshunter I think his name is, makes reference to Ventrilo, aka Vent, communication software that I currently use to play World of Warcraft. DotA is a popular Warcraft III multiplayer mod game. The dance scene is funny :D Half of them are dancing, the other half are staring at computer screens. Weirdest club scene ever.

"Death to Pope Benedict" cries Muslim Protesters

2006-09-18T20:20:00.000-05:00

So Pope Benedict XVI opened his recent speech, "Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections", with a quote from Byzantine Emperor Manuel II that said

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.".

The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable.

"Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. God is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats."

Benedict said that quote solely for the purpose as an introduction discussing that it made him think harder about the relationship between Christianity and Islam. After this he goes on to refute the statement made by the emperor. The intent of his speech was to invoke an intellectual discussion to bring closer understanding between Islam and Christianity.

So Muslims all around the world react with violence protesting that Islam is not a violent religion? I don't get it. Radical extremists had this to say regarding Pope Benedict speech:

"You infidels and despots, we will continue our jihad and never stop until God avails us to chop your necks and raise the fluttering banner of monotheism, when God's rule is established governing all people and nations".

A cleric in Somalia said:

"Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim".

This was a cleric! The only insult to Mohammed was that he spread his religion by the sword. They are reacting their leader being called violent with violence! I will never understand these people.

Link: Entire Speech by Pope Benedict XVI hosted by BBC (Adobe PDF)

Whoever thought UCF is better than UF is horribly mistaken

2006-09-11T21:55:00.000-05:00

So I have heard of many people at UCF that thinks that their school is better than UF. Hey, UCF won their conference championship and UF did not; that makes UCF better, right? UF just destroyed UCF 42-0. That's right, a complete shut-out. UCF had spirit for the first 10 min or so as they made 4 first downs, gaining yards against UF. However, after that, they did not get a single first down until the 4th quarter. They lost all motivation at UF's devastating offence. UF destroyed the champions of the MAC. To those of you that still think UCF is better than UF, I only have the words of the All Your Base Are Belong to Us.swf..... "you have no chance to survive make your time".

In other football news, Troy was beating FSU for most of their football game. Where is Troy? No idea. Do they suck at football? hell yes. How were they able to lead the scoreboard for most of the game? Only possible answer is FSU Sucks.

Steve Irwin and Albert the Alligator in an ESPN Commercial

2006-09-08T14:27:00.000-05:00

I don't know whether this is sad or ironic, but I like it. Go Gators.

55 MPH Ridiculed by GSU Students

2006-09-08T14:21:00.000-05:00

It is ridiculous that several interstate still have a 55 MPH speed limit. Few obey that limit. It was put into effect 25 years ago and is outdated. Even most cops won't pull you over in those zones - particularly in large cities. So, in an act of "civil obedience" students from Georgia State University and other local colleges paced the entire midmorning flow of Atlanta Perimeter (I-285) traffic behind them at 55 mph for half an hour. Check out the video.

Video Courtesy of Google Video

How to End Terrorism and Illegal Immigration in the US

2005-12-11T14:51:00.000-05:00

So I am reading Michael Savage, and I get to the Terriorism part of his book. What I read I have found to be the most comprehensive way to wipe out terrorist attacks in the US.

First, our Gov't has told us that they dont know when the next terrorist attack may be, or where it is. Know what? that Sucks! I want a Gov't that will kill the terrorists and not allow them to carry out their hideous crimes. How do we do this?

Well, odds are that we know what the terrorists will look like. 19/19 of the terrorists on 9/11 were Arabs. Racial Profiling is the surest way to find and apprehend the terrorists. Also, completly close our borders to anyone from a terrorist sponsoring nation. Militarize the border with Mexico. The Great Wall of China worked. It could work here too.

Also, realize the fact that it is us vs. them. This was realized by a much better people than our current government in 1945. We would of had to send in a huge invasion force to bring down Japan. There would of been huge American casualties. It's us vs. them. The atomic bomb ended the war and brought peace. It caused huge Japanese casualities, but they were the enemy, American lives were saved. This can be the same for our war on Terrorism. We could issue an ultimatum to every terrorist country that if one American dies, just 1, we will be launching a nuclear assault and leveling their cities. This tactic worked for so many civilizations in the past, such as the Romans and the Carthaginians (sp?).

Also this solved the problem with Immigration. Militarizing the border would end people coming over if we did it correctly, but what about the people already here? TB was practically non-existant in the US since we destroyed the disease, but its coming back.... why? Immigrants coming over and not passing a health exam. Some kid from the Pacifc came over with TB and ended up effecting 50 other kids at a school. Your kid could get TB bc of this. Many immigrants also just come over and suck off the welfare system, do not learn English (even take pride in not knowing it), and no not even obey our laws. They get sent to jail, and they love it. 25% of our jails are filled with Illegal Immigrants. This takes up an insane amount of money. What do we do?

My solution: Find all illegal immigrants. If they do not have a job, deport them to their country of origin. Then of the remaining ones with jobs, give them a medical exam, then, deport the ones that have diseases. This remains only employed and healthy immigrants. Do you think this is too extreame? This is what we did at Ellis Island in the 1800's. People were sent back due to disease.

Dell Tech Support: Mismanaged or Evil?

2005-12-09T17:23:00.000-05:00

I was on hold waiting for Dell Tech Support for so long, I decided to try to solve the problem I was having with Windows myself. This was after I called Microsoft and they transferred me to Dell bc my Windows Serial is from Dell (Purchased with PC). So after I get Transferred to Dell Home Office, I get a wait..... then I finally talk to someone..... he says my Express Service Code is for Big Buisness and not Home Office (I think my dad purchased my PC using his Lockheed Martin discount), so then I get transferred to "big buisness". This wait was pure hell. I never got to talk to anyone bc I eventually solved my own problem and just hung up on them.

Is this some type of scheme to avoid work or hiring new, competent tech support people that are not from India? If you make anyone wait for something long enough, they will eventually figure out how to get it. What a terrible experiance with Dell, if I hadn't figured it out on my own, who knows how long I would of been on...

But here's the creepy thing... if I hadn't figured it out on my own, would I ever of gotten tech support? Their plot has to be to make u wait long enough to solve your own problems, so my guess would be 'no'.

Awesome!

2005-12-06T00:56:00.000-05:00

Such Precise Mehcanics! Tiny Men moving things!

This is awesome :D http://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/

Scott Adams Blog

2005-11-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

w00t, just found out Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has a blog. Very funny and has his newest book for free in pdf format.

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/

argh

2005-10-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

I must say "argh".
"argh" for having a nuclear systems thermodynamics heat and mass transfer heating 7 project due on Monday.
"argh" for having a radiation shielding MicroShield homework due on Monday.
"argh" for having a radiation shielding exam that same Monday.

Now, all these things wouldn't be that bad if... the FL-GA game was not this weekend! ARGH!

Football Weekend!

2005-09-20T09:04:00.000-05:00

Florida beats Tennessee!!!
Florida - 16, Tennessee - 7

This game was awesome, the frist two quarters were really tense. I remember feeling just... "wow" at the end of the first half at which UF and UT were tied at 7. It wasnt until the third quarter that the tension was lifted when we socred again, then towards the end of the forth, UT was forced to do a 4th and 24 (4th down and 24 yards), in which I felt assured of victory after which it failed, and it was up to UF to kill the clock.

In other football news, the "big" UCF vs USF rivalry was this weekend, competing for who is the best Central Florida team, and the best Florida team after UF, FSU, UM, and every other team in the state. The scoreboard:

USF - 31, UCF - 14

Needless to say, UCF's display of their football skill to yet another team that has yet to be ranked in football compared to UF beating the #5 team in the nation, Tennessee, proves that UF is far superrior to UCF. For more information on this, see my "UF vs UCF website"

Pepsi takes over UF's campus

2005-08-25T20:37:00.000-05:00

So now that PEPSI has become the only soft drink company offered at UF, maybe people are complaining that the administrators based their reasons for switching purely on financial factors, e.g.: how much money they will give UF, and not based at all on student preference. Well, I don't care. I prefer the taste of Coke over Pepsi but if Pepsi is going to give UF 30 million dollars, I'd support it. I also prefer Coke to Pepsi bc Pepsi is a huge contibuter to the Democratic Party. However, do I care that much to condem UF? Of course not.

In the past two days on campus, Pepsi has had stands set up all over the campus giving away free Mountain Dew, AMP, Pepsi, and Hot Dogs. I've never seen Coke do that, but they never really had any reason to. Pepsi's showing of good will through giving away free food and drink makes me content. Oh, and all of the vending machines for soft drinks are all brand new and quite shiny :D

Here is the Alligator article on Pepsi's newfound glory.

Oh wow

2005-08-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

I just got back from another long day at my RA training and was talking to a friend of mine from my classes who is now at Tulane in LA. She got proposed to today and she said 'yes'. She has been proposed to several times but turned them down.

What is really ironic is that just last week she was in a car crash in which she got t-boned by a cop going 60 in a 20. I hate cops. So many are hypocritical rude bastards. What I find to be really sweet about the proposal is the timing. She is in really bad shape right now and can barely walk. The door to her car was smashed in and wrapped around her steering wheel. This proposal I think really says I love you no matter what happens, which is really what marriage is all about.

RA Training Week

2005-08-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

RA Training is so incredibly time consuming. Everyday I wake up at 7am and the training lasts until 9pm. This takes up the entire day! By the time I get back to my place, I am exhausted and just want to relax instead of doing door decorations, room condition forms, or bullitin boards. I am writing this post in the 15 min that they gave us between the second Crisis Street training and lunch, which is organized by Housing. I never thought I would say this bc my fall semester classes are harder than ever, but I really wish the year started so I could have more free time. It really got to me last night when a friend of mine said: "are you avoiding me or something?" Because I am never around, and can't go to dinner or movies with anyone, unless its after 9pm, but by then I am exhausted anyway.

Semester's End and Thoughts on Freedom

2005-08-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

A very lazy semester has ended. It was probably the easiest semester I will ever have at UF. I am netherless glad it's ended and I am free from responsibilities now. It's such a nice feeling. I think there are different levels of freedom. The one which we have in our country is the freedom to choose whatever we want to do with our lives, but another type of freedom is even more enjoyable: freedom from responsibility. That only comes in brief stages in our lives, usually assosiated with vacation. However, if we all had this freedom all the time the world economy would collapse and we would fall back to a hunter gather state because no one would do anything, sort of like France.

I had dinner last night with a friend I have not seen in a while, Allison Kreiger. She is probably has the best chance of everyone I know of becoming famous, well, she already is, but becoming like, movie star famous. She is the second hottest girl I know (if any girls are reading this, insert your name here as number 1, *snuck out of that little trap*) She is finishing up UF and going to Miami. It's so sad that people are leaving UF and I still have another year left. Damn engineering majors... But, in reality, I really don't want to leave UF, and she said she doesn't either.

I hope I will have some time to go back to Orlando over the next two weeks so I can hang out with friends and family. RA training is of course going to prevent this.... grrr...

Randomness!

2005-08-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Other cultures are so much fun ^_^. I have no clue what this is or what it means, but I can't help but laugh.

http://www.koreus.com/files/200408/dschinghiskhan-moskau.html

Update:
While looking around for more info, I found the lyrics in Russian and a crude English translation. Although, I still don't really know what the song means after this :P I think it is praising Moscow.

A meme

2005-08-04T00:58:00.000-05:00

1. What is your name? Joe

2. What color pants are you wearing? khaki, and they are shorts

4. What was the last thing you ate? Empanadas de Carne de Res

5 Do you wish on stars? I used to. Star filled skies are often the best nights.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Blue

7. How is the weather right now? It's 2am... its dark, no rain.

8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Allison K. from BMHS

9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes

10. How old are you today? recently turned 23

11. Favorite drink? it varies, usually go for Iced Tea at meals, Gatorade for a drink drink, and Long Island Iced Tea for the party drink, although very few have all the ingredients to make it.

12. Favorite sport? Football

13. Hair Color? Dirty Blonde

14. Do you wear contacts? Yes

15. Siblings? 1 sister

16. Favorite month? July: summer, freedom, moon landing, Caesar, my birthday and many of my friend's birthdays.

17. Favorite food? Lobster

18. What was the last movie you saw? The Island. It was so bad it was funny.

19. Favorite day(s) of the year? Fridays

20. What do you do to vent anger? Run or lie down

21. What was your favorite toy as a child? Legos

22. Summer or winter? Winter, because it is so rare in FL.

23. Hugs or kisses? hugs for people you like, kisses for those you like more and both for those you like best!

24. Chocolate or Vanilla? eh, both?

25. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Since this is a blog post from an email... no.

26. Who is the most likely to respond? see 25 :P

27. Who is the least likely to respond? see 25 :P!

28. When was the last time you cried? Eh...

29. What is under your bed? shoes and papers

30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? hmm... Allison since 6th grade.

31. What did you do last night? Took a final exam.

32. What are you afraid of? the unknown

33. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? buttered, but only eaten with a movie :D

34. Favorite car? Porshe 911

35. Favorite flower? Eh... ones in my parent's yard.

36. Number of keys on your key ring? 8

38. Favorite day of the week? Friday

39. What did you do on your last birthday? Parents came up had dinner.

40. How many states have you lived in? 2: Florida and Lousianna

41. How many cities have you lived in? 4: Palm Beach, Orlando, Gainesville, and Baton Rouge

42. What color is your toothbrush? blue and white

Comments

2005-08-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

So I just noticed all the comments that were on my site were wiped bc they were too old. Damn you HaloScan. Worst Commenting Service Ever. I like to look at past entries and review what people wrote, its fun. The removal of people's comments was one of the major factors that contributed to the lack of updates to my blog. It just feels so pointless to post now that I know people's comments will be deleted with time :(

The Very Secret Diary of Boromir of Gondor

2005-07-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

Day One

Went to Council of Elrond. Aragorn acting all superior as usual. He thinks he's so great because he's shagging that bit of elf crumpet on the side. I mean just because someone has a broad chest, firm, defined muscles, an outdoorsy tan and loads of manly stubble doesn't mean that....what? Got distracted there for a bit.

Seem to have agreed to go on some sort of mission while distracted by Aragorn's enormous...rudeness.

Ooops.

Day Three

Stupid Ring, stupid Quest, stupid Fellowship.

Day Four

Frodo dropped Ring today. Picked it up, but Aragorn made me give it back. Arrogant bastard. Wonder how he'd feel with Horn of Gondor shoved right up his...

Stupid Ring.

Day Four

Is obvious that Aragorn is strangely attracted to Frodo.

Ha Ha! Ha!

Sam will kill him if he tries anything.

Day Six

Aragorn still into Frodo. "Boromir, give the Ring back to Froooodoo." "Boromir, let *me* carry Frodo up Caradhras." "Boromir, quit trying to cut off Frodo's head while he's asleep so you can get at the Ring."

Blatant favoritism most annoying.

Day Ten

Why isn't Aragorn into me ?

Day Eleven

Carried Frodo out of Mines of Moria.

Kind of liked it, actually.

Hope am not turning into pervy hobbit-fancier like Uncle Windermir. Not after what happened to *him.* Merry and Pippin are cute little things, too...

In other news, Gandalf died.

Day 30

In Lothlorien. Galadriel quite a babe. Feel sure she was attracted to my rugged yet unwashed manliness.

Legolas took a bath in her fountain. Got in trouble. Ha. Ha. Big elfy git. Am quite sure he dyes his hair. Also, he has spot on his nose.

Aragorn suggested we take baths as well. Only realized in nick of time he did not mean with each other.

Stupid Aragorn.

Day 33

Frodo being all weird about the Ring. Won't even let me look at it. Must admit I had a bit of a tussle with him trying to get a gander at it. Rolled around on him till he went invisible. Resisted urge to have a little cuddle (made easier when he punched me in the face.)

Aragorn would be jealous. Ha!

Day 35

Killed by orcs.

Stupid orcs.

Social Security Office

2005-05-11T18:41:00.000-05:00

So I can't find my social security card; on occasion I clean out my wallet and make piles of what was in it and put it some place, so it's not in some malcontents hands. I went by the social security office today to get a replacement...

You will find the strangest people in the social security office. First off, it was in the ghetto. The parking lot had lots of unkept grass and a few abandoned shopping carts, potholes in the road, and large buildings with signs "Space Available"; more "Space Available" signs that any shopping area should have. Also, almost everyone was ugly. Have you ever seen Tom's wife on Tom Goes to the Mayor? That really huge woman with a belly that just flows out and several chins? Well, her double was at the office. But what I found the strangest was a family trying to tell a social security worker who was the father of whom... very weird. One of the women was wearing some redneck shirt with a joke I didn't understand (JEET YET? <-- does anyone know what this means?) Anyways, they started off at number 97, rolled over at 100, and I had number 19. Most of the people that got numbers left, so that was good. Talked to the Social Security worker, said it will take two weeks to print. Damn that's long. This is one of the many reasons why I favor more things being privatized. Companies usually have better organization and service that the government.

Yay for Ghetto-side Gainesville! :P

UF beats Kentucky!

2005-03-09T22:56:00.000-05:00

Finally, after 8 years, UF has finally beaten Kentucky, the #3 team in the nation, in basketball. I was listening to the game on my drive to UF from Orlando. It was awesome, as the time ran out, and UF seemed to have a chance of beating Kentucky, thoughts of previous years in which we only lost by 1 or 2 points came to mind. I drove up the Sunday before the Modnay that classes start, so many other UF people were on the road too... I felt like yelling to them on I-75 about how exciting and tense the game was, but I didn't, too shy. But anyway, Roberson's final free throws put UF in the lead, and Kentucky missed the three pointer that would of won the game! Victory for the first time in 8 years! I inadvertantly put one of my hands in the air when the clock ran out when I was on I-75. I was happy. I did not lose control, all was well.

Parking was great coming back to UF, everyone was leaving campus due to the game getting out, I arrived about 10-15 min after it ended. Btw, Dave, you said the Gators were going to lose :P I wish we would of put money on that. Your hate for UF can only increase as we win yet another game.

Oh funny note: oh the trip up an old lady with grey hair had a bumper sticker "It's hard to be humble when you are a Flordia Gator". So true.

What's Your High School Stereotype?

2005-02-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

You scored as Loner.

Loner

75%

Prep/Jock/Cheerleader

63%

Goth

56%

Geek

56%

Drama nerd

38%

Ghetto gangsta

31%

Punk/Rebel

25%

Stoner

What's Your High School Stereotype?
created with QuizFarm.com

Yeah, don't post for three months, then come out with this. yay. Loner then Jock -- odd combination. I always thouhgt I was somewhat of a geek in hs, maybe I have changed and that altered what I thought of hs.

Dave is right, this is obvously flawed :P

Joe goes to Washington DC!

2004-11-20T01:22:00.000-05:00

So I skipped school Monday through Wednesday to go on a American Nuclear Society (ANS) trip to Washington DC from Sunday to Wednesday for the ANS National Winter Conference. A bunch of people from UF nuke went. It was so much fun. I went in thinking that we would spent a lot of time attending seminars, listening to old men speak about nuclear energy advancement and particle/energy transport theory. I could not of been more wrong. We spent most to the day sightseeing and most of the night going to parties. Before this trip, I had never had a hard drink that had a name, other than traditional UF stuff like Hunch-Punch. In Washington, I can say I have had a long island iced tea, white russian, gin and tonic, chivas regal (scotch on the rocks), and several others I forget the names of. Just an FYI, I did not get drunk in Washington, nor have I ever been drunk.

One night, I went to like 4 parties. Started off with the UF ANS social. We had a crappy open bar (get 1 ticket for 1 drink, no more) and little good food other than some chicken on sticks and veggies. After that, some company had a social (it actually competed with ours for a while), which was MUCH better. They had a full open bar, perogies, pasta, and the usual veggies. I had several drinks at the ANS and "some company" socials. After that I went to my room and fell asleep on my bed while watching "Master and Commander" with Brian. After I woke up, I went to a party in another room hosted by University of Winsconsin people. I got there very late since I watched much of "Master and Commander", which was good bc it was funny to see everyone drunk. Like this one girl in UF nuke whose name I will not mention introduced herself to the Winsconsin guy I was talking to. She spilled his drink on himself, then seemed to forget his name, then reintroduced herself. The Wisconsin guy was in a little awkward position, the guy that interviewed him from Lockheed Martin's Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) was drunk at the party. Not only was it odd to see a middle aged man at our party, but he was making out with some girl around his age. The guy from Wisconsin was like, I had a good interview with him, but should I say "hi" to him now? At the party I was invited to go with a bunch of nuke people to a club. So after that party ended, we headed out. We took the Metro (DC Subway) to Dupont Circle. Many people there wanted to go to the club that the grad students were already at, so they called for directions and we went there. It was a gay club. Seeing guys without shirts serving test-tube drinks was odd, but I got over it. Luckily there were three girls from nuke with us, which made things easier, but two of them were wasted. All this was on Tuesday night, so by then I had already tried a bunch of drinks and wanted ones I had not tried. I did this twice, oddly, both drinks turned out pink. They were still good tho. Dancing was ok. I had not danced in a long time, and I think running stadiums in Conditioning class helped a lot :P I stayed completely with the nuke people I went with, dancing either in a group with them or with one of the nuke girls. Some of them danced with others. Many of the guys were happy to dance with this one girl from nuke, but oddly some actually did not want to. Some guy in nuke who was straight also danced with gay guys. Towards the end, I noticed one of the nuke grad students making out with a guy. I was like.... wha? Well, it turned out he was gay (go figure), but who he was making out with is a funny story. At the UF ANS social earlier that night, two UF nuke guys were talking to a guy from MIT who was working on nuclear space propulsion, it turned out he was obviously gay. One of the nuke guys told the other to ask the grad student mentioned above to meet him. The one that asked he other to get him knew the grad guy was gay, but the guy who got him did not. The guy who got him knew the grad guy got annoyed with people easily, and thought it would be funny to see how he reacted, but they hit it off well. (sorry about all the pronouns, I try to keep names out of my posts) At the gay bar, both seemed drunk and went home together after they made out. One nuke girl thought we should try to stop him, since he was drunk, but we didn't. Combination of who cares plus the fact that hey, he is a grad student in nuclear engineering, he is old and should be able to take care of himself. Anyways, by the time the night ended, many nuke guys were buzzed but not drunk. Two of the three nuke girls though were very drunk, and we had to stop them from walking into things on the walk home. We could not take the Metro due to it being closed bc of the time of night.

Sunday night, the first night we got there, ANS (National) organized all the schools to get together at an Irish pub / restaurant. That place was awesome. It reminded me of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games: being at an Irish pub with a live Irish band in the middle of Washington DC while hunting down terrorists. That was exactly like it was where we were, except for the terrorists. The Irish band was very good. They were one of the best Irish bands I have heard. The service was poor tho, but I didn't care about the service, just eating food, drinking Guiness, listening to the band, and talking with friends.

As for sightseeing, we saw many things in Washington, most of which seemed under construction. Here is a list of what we saw with commentary:
White House with men in black on the roof with large guns.
Washington Monument, which was under construction so no one could go near it. Oddly, in the name of national security and the possible prevention of a terrorist attack, they are building a moat around it. I guess it will keep the black night at bay, but terrorists? Argh, what a waste of money. I hope it looks good,
World War II Memorial. First time I saw it, very nicely done. Looks great.
Lincoln Monument: had scaffolds.
Capital: had scaffolds for building the platform for Bush's second inauguration, plus it is under more construction for the visitor's center.
Smithstonian Natural History Museum: Very nice, very large, I wish I could of been there for more than two hours.
Holocaust Museum: By far the most emotionally draining experience I have experienced this year. It was very nicely done, it had so much information there. Some of the stuff was just so horrific..... The stories at the end of the museum's path were very emotional. America is such an awesome country. It makes me feel very proud to think that we liberated them.
FBI building, closed until Feb 2006.
On the way to the FBI building I saw a motorcade. It started off with 4 cops on motorcycles, then 2 police cruisers, then two black SUV's, then a black minivan, then two more police cruisers, then 4 more motorcycles. I found out another nuke guy, who was at the White House at the time we saw them, that they went into the White House, but before then they removed everyone from standing around the White House's fence. I also found out from someone today that the same day we saw the motorcade was he same day Pope John Paul II was in Washington. So there is a very good chance that I was very close to the pope!
Supreme Court, scaffolds.

The DC Metro was awesome. They have a very good transportation system, no waiting at lights like busses. It was a very huge system too, the Merto Center (where several rails cross) was several stories high, all underground of course.

The seminar I had to be the AV guy for was on general transport theory, aka; very boring. Most of the presenters used PowerPoint and solved their problems using computer codes (Monte Carlo), but one guy did them analytically, which means it takes forever to solve and you can only do very simple problems. He also used transparencies instead of PowerPoint. He was incredibly boring and I had a hard time staying awake. He also ran overtime, but when he was done, he gave a second presentation. ugh.... Luckily the last guy / the guy after him was a grad student from our nuke department and gave a quick, clear, and interesting presentation, a great way to wrap things up.

Travel was good. Took a plane up and back. On the way back, our place was so small it could not reach the terminal. Instead, we had to take a bus out on the tarmac and load from there. Since we walked onto the place on stairs, I had a huge urge to do the Nixon "Victory' pose as I got on, lol.

Anyways, back at school now and loaded with huge amounts of HW. I have multiple assignments due in every class next week, as well as an exam on Monday. Sigh.... Coming back to UF would be so much more pleasant if it wasn't for all this work. I want to go back to Washington DC, or even better, back to Baton Rouge.

Only moments ago, Kerry Concedes!

2004-11-03T11:34:00.000-05:00

Thank God my prediction was half-wrong and Kerry is not putting us through the legal nightmare that was Election 2000. Kerry did the honerable thing and conceded, although Kerry's call came a few hours after White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card announced that the Bush campaign was convinced the president had won. Last night I went to bed happy and confident that Bush would win with over 100,000 votes ahead in Ohio, the state that would decide who would become the President. What's even better is that Republicans control both the House and Senate. However, what bothers me slightly is that all the FL Admendments passed. I only supported half of them, Admendment 8's passage bothers me slightly, since it might hurt FL's doctors greatly. But to end in a good thought, Mel Martinez, whose son I went to high school with, beat Caster. Martinez if you do not already know is a Cuban that came over here on a raft and is now a Senator. Perfect story how freedom allows even the poorest invididual to achieve greatness. Another great story is how even powerful people lose office when the people they represent no longer believe that they are represented. That is exactly the case with Tom Daschle. Our leaders represent our people. God, I love this country.

Election 2004: My Prediction on Results

2004-11-01T10:54:00.000-05:00

I think Bush is going to win both the popular and electoral vote. Why? I beleive that Kerry has the "anyone but Bush" thing going on. That is great for appealing to the left, but you cannot win over moderates with that. But what is more important is what happens after the election.

I believe that Kerry is going to contest the election results in swimg states. He already has his team of lawyers assembled to do this. He is going to be annoying and cry "Bush is trying to get your votes not to count". I have no idea what is going to happen if he does this. Will Bush have the Supreme Court put an end to the Democrats trying to steal the election like in 2000?

Documentary on the John Kerry's effect on Americans in Vietnam

2004-10-27T21:33:00.000-05:00

http://64.23.82.105/jpl/kerry/stolen_honor_final1.wmv

The above hyperlink will play a documentary on Vietnam and John Kerry. I really recommend you watch it, it is 30 minutes, but well worth it.

This documentary talks of how John Kerry and others made up stories of fake war crimes, and swore before the Senate that they were true, and how John Kerry's own words were played on tape before POW's in Vietnam, as proof that they were criminals and deserved their torture. POW's were tortured to say the things that John Kerry said freely before Americans. He dishonored and abandoned his brethren and increased the time they were a POW for about 2 years. I cannot believe this man is running for president. The arrogant bastard will not even apologize for what he has done, not that any apology can make up for the treason he has committed.

Updated Voting Preferences

2004-10-26T08:02:00.000-05:00

On October 23rd I listed my thoughts on the Florida Amendments and what ones I was undecided on. Permalink to that post. Well, today I know how I will be voting. This is also how I recommend everyone else in Alachua county votes. :D

President & Vice President: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney (R) (4 more years!)
Senator: Mel Martinez (R)
Representative in Congress: Cliff Stearns (R)
State Attorney: Bill Cervone (R)
Sheriff: Steve Oelrich (R)
Supervisor of Elections: Ernesto Herrera (R)
County Commission, District 1: Abstain
County Commission, District 3: Mark Minck (R)
County Commission, District 5: Jeff McAdams (R)

Amendment 1: YES
Amendment 2: YES
Amendment 3: YES
Amendment 4: NO
Amendment 5: NO
Amendment 6: YES
Amendment 7: NO
Amendment 8: NO

County Referendum 1: NO (time limit on contributions)
County Referendum 2: NO (cap on contributions)
County Referendum 3: NO (extra sales tax)
County Referendum 4: NO (extra sales tax)

Freedom at Last! Ron Zook is no more!

2004-10-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

Ron Zook, head coach of the Florida Gators, has finally been fired.

I am happy. Ever since Zook took over Spurrier's job in 2001 it has been nothing but disappointment (except for the UF-LSU game of 2003). It would have been nice to of had him fired under nicer circumstances, aka not after a loss to Mississippi State, a team that was 1-5 and lost to Maine, a 1-AA team. Zook is 20-13 since he took Steve Spurrier's job, many teams would like to have such a record. They can have Zook. I want Spurrier back.

The President of the University of Florida, Dr. Bernie Machen, used to be the President of the University of Utah, and now he is looking at the head coach of Utah for Zook's remplacement after the end of the 2004 season. I think this is a bad idea and Spurrier would be a much better choice. Why? Trust. We, the fans and students of UF, trust Spurrier. We saw what he did for us in the early 90's: He got us more SEC Championships than I can count on one hand. We saw what he did in the late 90's, but we were not pleased since we did not finish in the top 3. Many teams would love to finish in the top 3, but we were spoiled. We had a National Championship, we wanted more. Yet through it all, we trusted Spurrier. Even if he does not make us into the top 10 his first year here, we will still stand by Spurrier. The UF Administration can be assured that we will be happy, and will continue to sell out every game, if we get Spurrier back.

ESPN Article on Ron Zook's Firing

Headline in the Florida Alligator about Ron Zook's Firing

My post on Zook and Spurrier printed in the Florida Alligator!!!!

Ballot 2004, Florida Amendments: OmniPrime's positions

2004-10-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

So here is how the owner of this site will be probably voting on the Florida Constitutional Amendments. Got my info and formed my decisions from VoteSmartFlorida.org

Amendment I: Parental Notification of a Minor's Abortion
OmniPrime supports this. An abortion is a major decision and parents should have the right to know.

Amendment II: Constitutional Amendments Proposed by Initiative
OmniPrime is undecided, leaning towards opposed. It would help voters to see Amendments further ahead of time, but the Florida Constitution is already way too easy to modify. Hell, we have an amendment about pregnant pigs in the constitution.

Amendment III: The Medical Liability Claimant's Compensation Amendment
OmniPrime supports this. The Florida Medical Association supports this, but trial lawyers are opposed to it. Need I say more?

Amendment IV: Authorizes Miami-Dade and Broward County Voters to Approve Slot Machines In Parimutuel Facilities
OmniPrime is undecided. I am not sure whether a county should have the right to allow casinos or the state. I support gambling if the casinos are heavily taxed, but I also do not want higher crime rates. Yes, this is hypocritical. That's why I am undecided.

Amendment V: Florida Minimum Wage Amendment
OmniPrime is opposed. Not only would this ballot raise the minimum wage to $6.15/hr but it ties the minimum wage in Florida to the consumer pricing index, which can increase annually. A higher minimum wage would mean employers might have to lay off workers in order to survive. It could cost tens of thousands of Floridians their jobs, health care coverage and retirement benefits. In addition, 18,000 children will lose their health care if this passes.

Amendment VI: Repeal of High Speed Rail Amendment
OmniPrime is supports this. A high speed rail would cost a huge sum of $25,000,000,000 (25 billion dollars). Sure, high speed trains are cool, but our state has enough financial problems as it is, and this money can be spent in better areas.

Amendment VII: Patients' Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents
OmniPrime is undecided. With a fee, you can learn about doctor's records. However, doctors cannot review other doctors under this amendment.

Amendment VIII: Patients' Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents
OmniPrime is undecided, leaning much more towards opposed. This would throw all doctors out of Florida if they have 3 or more malpractice incidents. It sounds nice, but high risk doctors such as ob-gyns, neurosurgeons and trauma surgeons, will leave Florida and new doctors will decide not to come to Florida to practice. This will limit patient's access to quality healthcare.

Cold Mountain

2004-10-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

So I just finished watching the movie, Cold Mountain. Here is what I thought.

Ok, so this movie starts out with Union solders setting off gunpowder under Confederate troops, so I thought this movie was going to be an action-style Civil War movie. I could not of been more wrong. This movie turned out to be a tear-jerker love movie about a guy trying to get back from fighting in Virgina to his lover in North Carolina. It was a good movie for a romance-genre. I rarely watch them to begin with. i thought the movie was going great until the end, and movie which made me think "damn, this thing is a tear-jerker". The guy travels across several states fighting against both Union troops and Confederates trying to capture deserters. Then, at the very end, he dies! it's like, wtf? he finally meets his love, they talk for a bit and then make a baby and the next morning, he is shot. grr... So pointless.

Which File Extension are You?

2004-10-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

Which File Extension are You?

"You are .mp3 The kids love you. You get along with just about everybody except the music industry. You really make yourself heard." w00t! mp3's also mean you get many things for free online :D ...not that I would ever dream of doing such a thing...

You Know You're Too Big of a Harry Potter Fan When...

2004-10-14T16:23:00.000-05:00

You mutter nonsense latin words under your breath.

You call your least favorite teacher Snape. (Horvath at UF! He even "taught" me Potions, CHM2045! I despise him greatly)

Your computer says "You've Got Mail" and you run outside looking for an owl.

You actually ask for a broom for Christmas.

You mutter "lumos" under your breath every time you turn on a flashlight.

You sort everyone you meet into the four Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. (I'm a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor, Mike N. is a Ravenclaw, I think Phil is a Slytherin, Alicia's a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, Alex's a Ravenclaw for sure, Sam is a HufflePuff, Kristy's a Gryffindor, Dave is a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, Branille is either a Ravenclaw or a HufflePuff, Dustin is a Slytherin, Anthony is a Gryf., and most of the nuke dept. are Ravenclaws...)

You were burned when you couldn't get through the flames of your fireplace.

You had to go to the hospital after you broke your nose running headfirst into the wall between platforms nine and ten.

The wand order mistake in GoF drove you crazy, and even after it was "corrected" you still came up with dozens of theories to explain why that happened.

You point a normal things like parking meters and say "Look at the things these muggles dream up!"

You collect plugs.

You try on every piece of silvery fabric your mom has to see if you turn invisible

Before getting up to get something, you always try to summon it first. Accio TV remote!

You watched "Love, Actually" because two minor Harry Potter actors were in it.

You were reduced to tears when you finally had book 5 in your hands.

You refer to your Chemistry class as Potions.

You spend hours tapping bricks in special orders hoping that a secret entrance to Diagon Alley will appear.

When playing chess, you yell orders to the chess players and get upset when they don't move.

You yell into the "fellytone."

You get emotional every time you hear "Hedwig's Theme".

You say "wicked" all the time because Rupert Grint does.

You get thoroughly overexcited every time you see a word somewhere that is distantly linked with HP (ie. Saint Hedwig's).

You name all of your pets after HP characters. *well, I will try to name several of my World of Warcraft characters after them. A friend of mine made a character that looks like and is named Sirius Black*

You get in to heated arguments over how much gel Tom Felton had in his hair in the first two movies.

You know that Harry's birthday is July 31, 1980, Hermione's birthday is September 19, 1980 and Ron's birthday is March 3rd, 1980 even though it never said in the books. *yes, they are not in the books and am interested in knowing why 1980 for year of birth and what is with the 31st for Harry Potter? All the books said "near the end of July" So I was quite content with my birthday coinciding with Harry Potter's! :P*

You refer to Voldemort as "You-Know-Who", and no one has any idea who you're talking about.

You went out and bought the latest editition of the Webster's Dictionary because they added the word "muggle".

You were kicked out of the movie theater for standing on your chair, throwing your shoe at the screen and yelling "THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THE BOOK!" *me in movie 3, well, not thrown out but I complained a lot*

You count the days until you're old enough for your apparating license, and everyone else thinks you're talking about driving.

Your free time on the computer is spent constantly refreshing your favorite Harry Potter news site, hoping for an update.

Kerry: Legion of Doom

2004-10-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

I think most people believe Kerry has had multiple opinions on every issue. But some of them are starting to get very scary. This site goes into what Kerry has said on a variety of issues. Kerry: Wrong for Catholics

What I find odd about Kerry is that he can conflict with himself within the same sentance. :P

For example, Kerry believes life begins at conception but also believes abortion is not murder. He also said he shares the Church's pro-life views, but also said he firmly believes in abortion (well, he said anti-abortion, not pro-life).

Other odd views (which have been flip-flopped) are supporting euthanasia, but then opposed to it, unless the government is involved.

Is it just me or is this guy going crazy? I have no idea how someone can be for everything. Things conflict with each other! Do you not think it is clear that voting for Kerry will put someone unstable in the White House?

And even though the following image has little to do with my post, I found it funny but true, so I'll post it anyways.

Weekend with Kristy (with commentary by Kristy)

2004-10-12T13:23:00.000-05:00

Once again, Kristy has added commentary to my post after I have written it. It appears as I wrote it right now; her commentary will appear when you select the white space with your mouse *despises many parts of it*
It should be stated that I attended LSU and Joe currently attends UF. His parents invited me to attend the LSU-UF football game. This was my first trip to Gainesville.

Kristy came from Baton Rouge to visit me and attend the UF - LSU game (To be more precise, Kristy drove twelve hours by herself to visit Joe and attend the LSU-UF game). *very happy that she could make it* (But not as happy as I was to finally be able to go to the bathroom) Much fun was had. What we did
(or at least the PG version. It had been six weeks since we'd seen each other after all.):

Friday (otherwise known as the day BEFORE UF got their butts kicked by the LSU Tigers):
Met at the Days Inn she was staying at (scary third rate hotel with TACKY comforter and cheap art)
Walked around mall aimlessly, Kristy wanted a UF shirt (w00t!) (Not so much wanted a shirt as felt obligated to get a shirt since I bought Joe an LSU shirt when he was here for the summer)
Went to Reitz Union to get the shirt after having little luck at the mall
Had dinner at Ko-To-Bu-Ki (yummy all-you-can eat sushi) with Alicia and Steve (Two of Joe's very nice friends)

Saturday (otherwise know as the day OF the game where UF got their butts kicked by the LSU Tigers)
Breakfast at Zaxby's (decent knock-off of Raisin' Canes in Baton Rouge)
Hang out at my place (otherwise known as the institutional-looking shoebox where Joes sleeps) until parents come
Walk with parents to Harry's Bar and Grill downtown (From UF's campus, Harry's is halfway back to Baton Rouge.)
Go to Reitz so Kristy can get her mom a postcard
Go to mass at St. Augustine (Apparently, some people needed to get in a few extra prayers for the gators before the before-mentioned butt kicking.)
Walk to O-Dome (HOSTILE TERRITORY, WILL ROBINSON!!)
Walk to the Swamp (EVEN MORE HOSTILE TERRITORY, WILL ROBINSON!)
Watch UF-LSU game (Otherwise known as the butt kicking.)
See drunks
Curse Ron Zook repeatably (It must be hard to have a coach that isn't revered as a god, ALL HAIL, NICK SABAN!)
Walk with parents to car
Say goodbye to parents

Sunday (otherwise know as the day AFTER UF got their butts kicked by the LSU Tigers)
Have breakfast at Panara Bread
Walk around UF's botanical gardens and Lake Alice (pretty, peaceful walk, but way too short)
Say Goodbye to Kristy (sad, sobby scene)
Cell phone conversations on her trip home (Thank goodness for unlimited minutes on weekends. Gosh, that is a freakin'; long boring drive.) The visit was too short, but it was great to see Joe. It was great that everyone so was nice to me considering that I am an LSU alum. Sympathy to Joe and all his poor Gators friends for going to an athletically-inferior school.

Which one of these men do you want leading our country?

2004-10-05T22:28:00.000-05:00

Click here for Football Veterans for Truth. It has more pics of Kerry Playing football, well, maybe "playing" is too stong of a word... More like, "behaving in a manner no man should", with a football. Anyway, pics such as this one:

Octopus Pizza

2004-10-05T18:37:00.000-05:00

So I just got back from my conditioning class and I am worn out. I am cooling off with some beer from Holland and Octopus pizza. The pizza is Tombstone, the octopus is from Thailand. I noticed something. Octopus tastes like chicken! Classes have been rough, I have Sheilding and Reactor Dynamics hw due tomorrow in addition to detection lab write up and studying for tomorrow's detection lab quiz. The write up is also due tomorrow... sigh... My pizza tastes good.

UPDATE: After eating the whole pizza I realized octopus doesn't taste all the great... I still think it tastes like chicken, but more like what chicken would taste like if it was made of rubber.

Kerry's New Iraq Policy

2004-09-28T17:28:00.000-05:00

"Don't question my patriotism", "Audience left hours ago" heh heh heh, It's so true!

My Blog Mentioned in UF School Paper!

2004-09-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

"UF's Nuclear Waste" has now been mentioned in "The Independent Florida Alligator", the school paper for UF. w00t!!! This is awesome!

Here is the link: In political battle: Bloggers - 1, CBS - 0

It couldn't be for a more appropiate article! The column that mentioned by blog was on bloggers finding the evidence that Dan Rather's documents were forged, a triumph for the credibility of bloggers and the downfall of the elite media as America's only news sources.

UF-UT Game Crap

2004-09-20T18:15:00.000-05:00

UF should of won Saturday's game against Tennessee, but we lost to let another damned ref. Here's what happened:

UF was beating UT 28-27. UT was somewhere around their own 45. There was a fight, a UT player started it. The proper course of action is to penalize both teams (15 yrd penalty on each team, cancel out) and throw both players out of the game. HOWEVER, the refs in this game decided to penalize only UF. That made their position only 50 yards or so from a field goal with only about 10 seconds left. If both sides got penalized Tennessee would be far out of Feild Goal range. Either dumb refs or Gator hating refs screwed up out game, once again.

On another note, I saw Cher today as she got out of her limo for the concert in the O-Dome, but I couldn't care less. I actually didn't even roconize her, until I aksed a middle aged couple what was going on at the O-Dome, the 55 or so aged woman said, Cher! woooooo! *sigh* I hope I am not like that when I am old.

UPDATE (9/25/04): The refs at the UF-UT game have been disciplied by the SEC. They have been told their call was wrong and are facing penalties for their actions.

Doom 3: Insane

2004-09-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

Doom 3 san be summarized in one word: Fear. This game takes horror to a new level. The faulty lighting combined with murmurs in the background create an eerie effect, and the dead bodies and dirty blood all over the place can really effect the player. Many demons will leap out at you and strart hacking away at your face and chest, creating a fear in the user when entering new rooms. At night when I was playing Doom 3 alone in the dark, one of my roommates sneezed outside my door, which was closed. I felt like yelling "DON'T DO THAT!" but luckily I had enough self control not to. I have just begun to play this game and will probably become desensitized to it later on. But enough with the fear factor, on to the rants :D

Ok, so this game takes place on a large base on Mars in the 22nd century. How the hell do zombies have chainsaws? Chainsaws..... on Mars.... WHY? Some have guns, but that makes sense because the marines carry guns, and often the zombies are marines. But chainsaws? Also, since it is so dark in some areas, having you have to always switch back and forth between your gun and your flashlight. But, you can't have your flashlight on at the same time as a gun. It's the 22nd century, why can't they have mounted lights on guns, or better yet, find a nice useful roll of duct tape to put your flashlight on your gun. The best research facility mankind has to offer and no duct tape. I know! A shipment of chainsaws and duct tape got switched! Sigh... I need to do hw.

Let's Just go Protest

2004-09-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

I love watching liberals in action. It's Tuesday, and the arrest numbers near 1000. Peace and Love, man. Many of them don't even know what they are protesting. The average liberal has absolutely zero idea about the issues. They just drink the Kerry Kool-Aid. Joel Mowbray attended several of the protests. At one, he encountered Bryan Martin, 25 and a New Yorker. He was carrying a placard that said "No Draft, No Way". Joel interviewed him, and here is how the interview went......verbatim:

Q: "What are you protesting?"
A: "I'm protesting a war we shouldn't be fighting."

Q: "Are you protesting the Democrats with that sign?"

A: "No, the Republicans."

Q: "Are you aware that the Democrats are the only ones proposing a reinstatement of the draft?" (he was carrying a sign reading "No Draft, No Way")

A: "Wasn't that tongue-in-cheek?"

Q: "No."

A: "Oh. Well, they just gave me the sign at 14th Street (the demonstration's starting point). I don’t really know what it means."

Ahhhhh, the future of the Democratic Party. How quaint.

Via Dog Snot Diaries

Another Bunny Reinactment!

2004-09-02T13:05:00.000-05:00

The Exorcist in 30 Seconds (and Re-Inacted by Bunnies)

This is very funny.

I find this Funny

2004-08-31T22:53:00.000-05:00

skyofoctober: getting ready for the hurricane?
J0E one: I am leaving Friday for Pensacola to spend the weekend with Kristy
J0E one: You deal with the damn hurricane!

El Guapo Phyl: imagine a homicidal, 6 foot tall, blood-thirsty Mr. Potatohead
El Guapo Phyl: that speaks Yiddish
J0E one: LOL!
El Guapo Phyl: oh yeah you laugh
El Guapo Phyl: but will you be laughing when a deranged Yiddish Mr. Potatohead Mutant Hybrid eats your face off while saying, "Schlmiel! Schlmazl!"

Changes to OP: About Me Page

2004-08-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

I have completly redone the About Me page. I have changed it into an index page for the other About Me pages. I am also doing away with Randomness and Deep Thoughts. Randomness was one of my earlier pages. Deep Thoughts I always wanted to do, but never got around to doing much about it other than writing one essay. Since the page will be taken down soon, I have moved the content on the Deep Thoughts page, an essay I wrote about understanding God, to my blog. Hopefully, one day I will get Moveable Type and will be able to categorize my posts, so that the post below this one will be part of a "Deep Thoughts" label. I plan on changing the headers of all the About Me pages to reflect the page reductions and a new page added. I am creating a 100 Things page; a page that contains 100 random facts about me.

Thoughts on God in Relation to What Subjects of Study Further our Understanding of Who God Is

2004-08-31T20:32:00.000-05:00

There are many religions in the world. All these religions have a god or gods. By so many religions, there are many different perspectives on God. For my beliefs, please refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that is truly what I believe, but not what I will discuss in this essay. Here, I will put aside my ideals and try to take on a very objective stance in regards to what subjects of study further help our understanding of God though the theology classes I have had verses the science and engineering classes I am currently taking. I will attempt to show that, when all things put aside, the most direct method for studying God is studying what he created: the universe, which is most directly studied though science, mathematics, and engineering.

Throughout human history, we have tried to further our understanding of God though many different ways. Many beliefs include tradition, ancient texts, logical reasoning, and meditation. In the traditional way of understanding who God is, we refer to theology. Webster's dictionary defines theology as "The study of the nature of God and religious truth; rational inquiry into religious questions." Understanding God has traditionally relied upon such ways. Most religions can be said to use these ways. Now consider the classes one would take in college to make rational inquiries into a greater understanding of God. Besides theology, one might take classes on other religions, such as Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, or Shinto; other classes might include philosophy and history. However, all of these classes were developed by humanity. It was not God who did philosophy but Socrates, Plato, etc. With the exception of divine events in history, humanity is primarily responsible for how our history unfolds (I will not bring up the possibility that God could be responsible for humanity's history, that can be argued without end). Most of the classes we use to further our understanding of God are the liberal arts fields. However, all these areas are based on human reasoning and events. What then would be an absolute? What area of study has God created without any doubt? Science, Engineering, and Math.

Assuming that God created the universe, Science, Engineering, and Math are the fields that God is the architect of, not any liberal arts field. I realized this last night at 4am. It has been said that Physics is the study of the universe. It is like poetry or novels in their attempt to represent the world. For instance, a poet would write a poem about waves at the sea. A physicist could explain why the sea has waves, their frequency, period, amplitude, and wavelength. A chemist could describe it's composition. A biologist could explain the life living in it. An engineer could harness the wave's energy for some useful function. If God created the universe, then he is responsible for how it works. Who tries to understand what can most closely be defined as God's work? It is the engineers, scientists, and mathematicians. An example of this: If God created the universe, then He is responsible for the universal gravitational constant. Who deals with this? Scientists and engineers. The Milky Way galaxy follows a mathematical curve (name to be inserted once found). That same curve can be found in countless other places in nature: the swirling of water, the shape of a shell, etc. Understanding physics, engineering, and math, is the most direct method of studying the language of God.

Science is the creation of God and the sole power of man.

Hero and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

2004-08-30T13:56:00.000-05:00

Hero is a movie that makes you think as you watch it. But not in the crappy think way such as "have you ever considered this?" but making you think to keep up with the plot. Hero consists of a man talking to a King. As they figure out "certain events", flashbacks appear. As new information presents itself new flashbacks appear and the old flashbacks had old, wrong information.

The fight scenes were done perfectly.

Janet Jackson blames Bush for showing her Boob

2004-08-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

How dumb are these stars? Janet Jackson now blames Bush for the hype about her boob falling out of her dress at the Super Bowl (Source: Fox News GBlock 8/25/04).

She said that all the hype in the media was created by our president in order to distract everyone from Iraq. This is just ridiculous, but hell, while we're on the subject of Bush distracting us, I think Bush did the following:

1. Pulled out Janet's breast at the Super Bowl
2. Sent that little boy to Michael Jackson's house
3. Killed Laci Peterson
4. Had sex with Paris Hilton on the tape
5. Raped the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape
6. Caused Hurricane Charlie to rip up Florida

End of Second Day of Classes and Job Interview Tomorrow

2004-08-24T21:06:00.000-05:00

So I had my second day of classes today. They were nice. At 6 I went to a presentation by someone from Lockheed Martin for Knolls Atomic Power Labatory. They research new technology and design the reactors that are used in America's nuclear navy. They are also working on a reactor for the Prometheus Project. I got an interview setup for tomorrow with them. Second day of class and already a job interview... not bad. Only thing is, it is in upstate New York, which is normally a place I would be happy to visit, but it is out of the way from where I want to be now.

I'm back

2004-08-20T08:27:00.000-05:00

So now I am back at UF. I don't know if it is any better than Orlando, but both are much worse than Baton Rouge. I already got an assignment for class, rewrite the report I wrote for what I did at Entergy. I was thinking more of one to two pages with technical terms, my advisor was thinking about an inch thick of paper with graphs and plots. I have no idea what I can do for that considering I spent the entire time writing visual basic code. Plus I really miss Kristy. I wish I was back in Baton Rouge. She's preparing for grad school at LSU.

My house in Orlando got hit pretty hard. We lost 9 / 11 solar panels. They were on the roof of the back of our house and ended up on our front yard. We lost a bunch of trees too: avocado, precimin, tipawannatapoo (sp?), banana, and many other non-fruit trees. Insurance is nice, but the deductible sucks. Here are some images from my house:

I got everything moved in to my apartment at UF now. I don't think I am going to try to move in with my former roommate Steve, since everything is nicely organized now in my room, plus the one roommate I have met so far seems like a cool guy. I might be doing something with Alex today or tomorrow, she went to Russia over the summer and got dysentery there, interesting, no? Party tonight at Dustin's place, that should be interesting too. Well, I guess it is finally time to take a shower and go down to the monster line at UF's parking services and spend a few hours trying to get a decal.

Holy Shit!

2004-08-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

This is aiming right where I am going! This tropical storm will be hitting the panhandle late Thursday, early Friday. My lease expires on Friday, which means I will be having to leave that day. Fortunatly, Kristy has invitied me to stay with her Friday night, so I can drive home during the day on Saturday (w00t!). She told me yesterday about the storm via email when I was at work, so I checked out weather.com and thought what was presently over the panhandle was the tropical storm and thought it would dissipate by the time I got there (the image was zoomed in on the panhandle). It wasn't until today that I saw the gulf and then I was like, Holy Shit! in my office (well, almost). I am so glad I am driving the day after it hits, not during the storm. w00t for aftermath!

Better Late than Never, Microsoft releases SP2 for Windows XP

2004-08-11T07:54:00.000-05:00

It's about time, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP is sceduled to come out this Monday. This thing took so freakin' long to come out. It is supposed to contain a Security Center, IE pop-ups, a firewall, etc.

What is ironic is I have been searching download.com for a firewall program, since I had given up hope waiting for Microsoft's new firewall to come out. I am really glad that they greatly improved the power and flexibility of their firewall. Apparently, Microsoft's firewall is said to be too protective (Source), blocking out stuff like the Sony Clie's ActiveSync, but you can make allowances for your programs with MS's new friewall. IE will have a pop-up blocker, but I doubt anyone cares at this point, Google beat them to it and their pop-up blocker works flawlessly.

One thing that interested me is a "Security Center", which organizes all of SP2's myriad security features and provides a snapshot of your system's firewall (either Microsoft's or a third party's), Automatic Updates, and third-party antivirus app. The center keeps you abreast of the status of each security tool and alerts you to any needed updates. A centralized security center is cool. It's like a Department of Homeland Security for your computer.

SP2 is a bitch when it comes to size. It can take up anywhere from 100MB, if you have downloaded every MS Critical Update, to 270MB, if you do not download MS Updates. Luckily, since the service pack is going to be up before I get to UF, when I get there I can take advantage of a 10MB/second connection to get it.

I guess we can thank Microsoft for finally coming out with SP2, but still, why the hell did it take so long? It had better be good.

A few quizzes

2004-08-09T09:41:00.000-05:00

Take the Desert Creatures Test!

Which Font Are You?

take the butt quiz

"Auto Identity"

Adventure Machine
You want to go outdoors, and live a little. You need a car that can trek the mountains, and survey the desert.

Which Computer Component Are you?

a meme

2004-08-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

1. Using your Current Initials, choose a different name for yourself.
Jebadiah Abraham Coolio

2. Outside of your era, when would you want to be born and why?
Reign of King Louis XIV, b/c he was cool.

3. If you ran a store, what would you sell/have?
Electronics

4. What part in a movie would you love to play?
In an epic movie, the hero's elder friend who teaches him then tragically dies.

5. In your opinion, why do people suck?
Some do, some don't.

6. If you had your own state, what would you put on your new quarter?
Me in a pose like Jebadiah Springfield

7. What's the oldest article of clothing you own?
Some baby outfit.

8. What piece of furniture have you replaced the most?
I have not yet replaced furnature.

9. What instrument do you wish you could be more than great at?
instrument? intstrumentation? I guess nuclear reactor since if you know how to operate one you make lots of money. If not that then the guitar :P

10. Record, Tape or CD?
People still use tapes and records?

11. What do you think would be the best concert ever?
Sinnister Squirrel, but replace their lead singer, Josh, with Celine Dion, that would be funny as hell.

12. What's the best part of your favorite movie?
Sam and Frodo in Mt. Doom

13. What do you think is the most over-rated candy ever?
over-rated? hmmmmm..... off to the nuke plant's candy machine for an answer to that question! brb... back. KitKat. It has such happy commercials and catchy phrases but the bar itself is quite small.

14. If you were writing out your will, who would you give your CD collection to?
Phil, since he found this meme.

15. If you could only debate two topics the rest of your life, what would they be?
Why communism will never work
why hippies are wrong about everything

16. Out of your friends, who would you say you are most jealous of, artistically?
Barrett probably...bitch can draw

17. Most jealous of....intellectually?
Uh.... Kristy!

18. What do you collect?
Old coins
star trek, simpsons, family guy, and invader zim episodes.

19. What is broken that you have, that you wish was fixed?
my Oakleys
my car's ash tray that I use as a compass holder / coin holder

20. What do you do when you're home sick?
lie down

21. Why does this survey rock?
cuz Phil wrote it? really?

22. Story behind your username?
omniprime.... first came OmniStrain, which was my first website based off a book called OmniStrain, "Omni" because my site had several different themes. My second site was called OmniPrime since i wanted to keep the "Omni" thing going...

23. Current Favorite Article of Clothing?
Grey Polo and grey shorts

24. Line from the last thing you wrote to someone?
ttyl, (aim message)

25. Famous people you have met?
Macho Man Randy Savage
Chekov from the Original Star Trek
Bill Clinton
Jeb Bush

26. Favorite way to waste time?
web surfing, well, not favorite, but most often way

27. Last thing you bought yourself?
Escort Solo S2 radar detector

Veterans Alive from the First World War?

2004-08-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

I didn't know that World War I veterans were still alive today. August 4, 2004 was the 90th anniversary of the start of the Great War. Apparently, there was a ceremony in Great Britain and 4 WWI veterans attended. This is awesome! I am glad that there are still some of them still here. Here is the article. I have never been one to say old people are cute, but just take a look at this image.

Waffles!

2004-08-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

John Kerry did yet another flip flop yesterday.

John Kerry (CNN 8/6/04): "Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whispered in my ear, 'America is under attack,' I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the president of the United States had something that he needed to attend to -- and I would have attended to it,"

John Kerry (CNN 7/8/04): "...And as I came in [to a meeting in Sen. Daschle's office], Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon..."

Note: the second plane hit the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m., and the third plane hit the Pentagon at 9:43 a.m. By Kerry's own words, he and his fellow senators sat there for forty minutes, realizing 'nobody could think'.
(via BlogsforBush / Red State)

What an Ominous Feeling

2004-08-06T07:24:00.000-05:00

So I am working at the nuclear plant today and not next Friday* and no one is here. The entire engineering parking lot is empty. No one appears to be on the floor I work on... nooooooooo ooooooooooonnnne. Thus I am sitting in my cube blogging. The sound of the keys appear very loud compared to this huge office floor's emptyness. I am thinking of running off to a Sonic to eat some breakfast (since the cafeteria is also closed) and come back later. I can't take the eeriness in here!

*We get alternate Fridays off, since I leave my job next week and work that Friday, I switched to work this Friday so I can get out one day early.

2004-08-05T13:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.motorists.org/ma/

A Realistic Plan for World Peace

2004-08-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

The most insane, funny, and completly irrational plan for world peace: IMAO: Nuke the Moon. This essay is a work of art, it is enjoyable and political, but not the boring type of political that so many essays on the web are. Basic Idea: America becomes so irrational and so insane that we lash out against the slightest thing that provokes us, thus creating a fear so great no one would ever want to get in our way.

Want GMail?

2004-08-04T12:35:00.000-05:00

GMail, the invitation-only webmail service that gives you 1 gigabyte of space, is now available to all blogger members. There is an invitation once you sign in to blogger. This is great! GMail for everybody! I am really glad that I got an invitation from a friend of mine early enough to get a cool address ("joeone") before all Blogger members could sign up.

Finished Viewing the Internet

2004-08-04T12:32:00.000-05:00

I have finished viewing the internet. There is nothing left for me to see (or at least it feels like that). I am so incredibly bored at work that I have been viewing everything that I could find amusing on the internet, and now I have concluded that there is nothing left to see. This is so sad.

2004-08-04T07:44:00.000-05:00

What? I'm not Stewie?

Which Family Guy character are you?

Hell Yeah! I am good at... Cudding?

Never do this

2004-08-03T12:30:00.000-05:00

I learned something today. Never mix Tabasco sauce with soy sauce. *mixed Tabasco with his stir fry today for lunch* It tastes like that acid you get when ur about to throw up but u don't... NEVER DO THIS! You'll be sorry! :P

Abortion t-shirts

2004-08-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

I bet every girl will want one of these for Christmas. Hey, you can even get one as a gift for your mom! oh wait... nevermind...

*barfs*

"I had an abortion t-shirt"

The Florida Gators and eBay.

2004-08-02T14:56:00.000-05:00

Two 2004 Season Tickets for UF Football on eBay - $1,225.00 . Who would pay that much? Apparently, many people; it got 17 bids. UF Football is just that good.

2 Florida - Georgia tickets - $600.00 Of course, the UF-UGA game is very popular. However, tickets to UF's season opener, which should be low due to it being a poor team - Middle Tennessee State are $179.99 for 4 tickets. Most UF tickets are $25.00 each, so apparently there is quite a market for this stuff. If two UF students got season tickets next to one another... the possibilities on eBay are endless.

Random Memes (A few from Steve)

2004-08-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

Your Homicidal Rampage! by crash_and_burn

Your name:

Weapon of Choice:

Handgun

Your Favorite Target:

Dendrophiliacs

Your Kill Count:

544,174,194

Your Battle Cry:

"My kidneys tingle with pleasure!"

Years You Spend in Jail:

How Much Money In Damages You Cause:

$288,315,235,215,930

Your Homocidal Insanity Level:: 9%

Quiz created with MemeGen!

What stupid celebrity are you destined to kill? by daydreamer8852
Name
Birthdate
You killed
With a
On	May 11, 2011

Quiz created with MemeGen!

What will your Funeral be like? by rashock
Username
You will die by:	You body was found mangled in a brutal death from an insane lover or jealous significate other.The murderer was sentenced to death row but the chair or gas was too good for them. They sowed you up in a bag and tossed you in your casket, It's a closed case unless your friends and family want to be sick.
Death Date:	September 23, 2023
Number attending your funeral?	19
How much will you leave to friends and family?	$852,532

Quiz created with MemeGen!

A very "special" dictionary. by lily22
Look up:
Definition:	Dictionary-like; one who speaks in an abstruse fashion; one whom people frequently consult.

Quiz created with MemeGen!

last one is made for more than names. nice...

Kerry and Kerry are rude to common Americans, Cheney rude to a Senator

2004-07-30T13:12:00.000-05:00

What Teresa Heinz Kerry said
HEINZ-KERRY: We need to turn back some of the creeping un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are coming into some of our politics. I remember a time when people who (unintelligible) party in Pennsylvania (unintelligible.)

During a recent interview
McNICKLE: You mentioned un-American?
HEINZ-KERRY: No I didn't say that.
McNICKLE: What did you mean?
HEINZ-KERRY: I didn't say that.
McNICKLE: What did you say?
HEINZ-KERRY: I didn't say that.
McNICKLE: I'm just asking you what you said.
HEINZ-KERRY: Well, why did you put those words in my mouth?
McNIKCLE: You said something about un-American.
HEINZ-KERRY: No, I did not say that, I did not say activity or un-American. Those are your words. You can record it and listen to what I said. Are you from The Tribune- Review.
McNICKLE: Yes I am.
HEINZ-KERRY: Of course, Understandable. You said something I didn't say. Now shove it.

Ok, John Kerry pretty much told a someone to shut-up in March (click to see my post about it). Kerry's wife told a reporter to shove it. What is wrong with these people? Apparently, other democrats are no better. On CNN's American Morning, Hillary Rodham Rodham said after asked about what Teresa Heinz Kerry said, "A lot of Americans are going to say good for you, you go, girl," and that's certainly how I feel about it. But doesn't Heinz seem a little like Hillary with all the denying what she said? (referring to Hillary's "I do not recall" answers to many allegations to her during the 90's) Also, who the hell says "you go, girl" anymore? She is stuck in 1995.

Cheney isn't above being rude either
I was going to leave this out, but for the sake of fairness, Republicans are no better. While Cheney was posing for a photo in the Senate, Sen. Patrick Leahy started to argue with him. After a heated debate, Cheney allededly told the Democrat to "f--- off". When pressed on whether the vice president had actually dropped the F-bomb, Cheney responded: "That's not the kind of language I usually use" but he was not sorry for using it.

So what's the difference? Cheney cursed at a Senator, Kerry and his wife use bad language to common Americans like you and me. Not that that excuses Cheney, but a Senator getting cursed at is better than us :P

It'd be kinda cool if Cheney went on national TV after winning the election and started cursing out all the Democrats that annoyed him. But it would not be cool if Kerry went on national TV after winning and curse at all Americans.

eBay is Awesome

2004-07-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

*just signed up for an eBay account* Yeah, I know, I am way behind the technology curve when it comes to this, but now I am really glad that I signed up. They have some good deals there, if you can find them, and eBay is fun to use. I have been bidding on some radar detectors and DVD's. I lost the bid that closed last night on the Escort Passport 8500 X50. My max bid was $290, but someone else bid "something more" within an hour before it closed, so I decided, well, $10 isn't that much more, so I'll bid $300. The retail value was $339.99, so I figured $300 was the highest I'd go. Once I bid it, I saw it wasn't enough and someone's max bid beat mine. I could of tried $305, but that's too much, so I just stopped bidding at that time. I just found out what the price was that the guy who beat me paid today since the betting was closed and the numerical value of the bets became visible. He bid $300, the same as what I bid, but since he bid it first, he got the deal. I don't really mind since I didn't lose anything bidding.

Today, I am bidding more more stuff, such as the 2nd best radar detector available (best available cordless detector), which has a retail price of $329.99, but right now I am the lead bidder of $204. The betting closes in a day, so I am sure I will be outbid if I do not keep going higher, but we'll see how it goes. I also am bidding on the anime DVD set Evangelion: Perfect Collection. It has a retail value of $129.99, and my current bid is $34.99, a really good deal if no one else bids.

I would have much different feelings on all this bidding if I did not have a job right now. Like, if I screw up, I will be wasting my own money, not my parents. If I was not working I probably would not be doing all of this.

UPDATE: I won the bid on one of the Escort Solo S2's. I had to stay up to right before the bidding closed in order to win. I was in bed at 11:30pm with my laptop making sure I got the last bid in. Props to Kristy for putting up with me not kicking me out :P Staying up was worth it. Like, half of all eBay bids occur in the last 5 minutes or so. Two guys tried to outbid me at T minus 3min and 2min, but I was able to get a bid in within the last minute. w00t! I lost the other radars I was bidding on, which was good, since I did not want to buy more than one radar. So far, I have paid the guy via Paypal, but have not received the item. It should be delivered 2-3 business days after payment, but I paid on Saturday morning, so I have a bit of a wait.

Missing Radar Detector

2004-07-28T14:03:00.000-05:00

So I called the manager of the Queen and Crescent, whose valets lost my radar detector. The detector was attached to the windsheild when we dropped it off with the valets, and not there when we picked it up. The manager said there was nothing he could do unless I filed a police report. I am dreading that. How do you tell cops to look for something that is designed to avoid them? I doubt that they will ever find it and I doubt the hotel will give me monetary compensation. I feel as if there is no longer any point in trying to get it back.

The Manchurian Candidate, Communism vs. Global Corporations, and the Bible

2004-07-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

The Left Coast Report is a Hollywood watch newsletter of some type. I found this in the comments to a LMAO post about "The Manchurian Candidate". It brings up some interesting stuff.

The Left Coast Report.....
Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep Do Some Bible Bumping

Tinseltown is at it again -- changing classic plots to make them P.C., that is.

In the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate," rather than using communism as the source of villainy as in the 1962 original, a multinational conglomerate called "Manchurian Global" is used.

Angela Lansbury, who was nominated for an Academy Award in the original, made clear her feelings about the remake. She has said: "I'm so unhappy. I'm so sorry they had to mess with something that was so perfect."

Director Jonathan Demme and two of the stars of the retooled version, Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, were out promoting the flick on "Dateline NBC."

Demme told interviewer Katie Couric that the story line of the film "suggests that the multinational corporations that profit on war may just be a huge ingredient of a great global threat today."

Politicizing things further, he said, "Now with the war in Iraq going on, we're reading about the misadventures of some of these multinational corporations. So I don't think we're making anything up in our movie."

Couric seemed taken aback by the anti-corporate rhetoric from this wealthy representative of corporate Hollywood. She asked whether the idea hadn't been "taken to the extreme."

In another interesting turn, she brought up Streep's comments of late about the president's faith, in which the actress says, "Through the shock and awe, I wondered which of the megaton bombs Jesus, our president's personal savior, would have personally dropped on the sleeping families in Baghdad."

This prompted a fascinating exchange between Streep and Washington regarding, of all things, Scripture.

Streep brought up the following sayings and teachings of Jesus Christ: "'If a man smite thee on the cheek, let you turn the other that he may smite it also.' And He says, 'He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.' And He says, 'Love thine enemy.' Jesus could have raised an army against the people that persecuted him. He didn't. So that's what I was pointing out in my speech, and ... I couldn't imagine how Jesus would vote. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. Would the Prince of Peace vote for a war president?"

Washington responded by saying: "It's open to interpretation. Jesus also went into the temple and kicked everybody out."

There was further debate between the two about money, with the multimillionaire Streep saying, "Money's bad," and Washington noting that "we all make money. So does that make us bad? Maybe he's talking about us?"

The Left Coast Report remarks that it's nice to see Hollywood stars debating the Good Book, but it would be even better if more of its principles showed up in the movies.

My Birthday

2004-07-27T09:47:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: Since yesterday (July 26th) when I first wrote this post, Kristy added commentary. If you just read the black text, the post appears as it did when I first posted it. I made her commentary invisible so you have to highlight the white space with your mouse in the obvious places, it's just more entertaining that way.

Greetings to the readers of Joe's blog. He asked me to read this post for accuracy about the trip to New Orleans that I gave him as a birthday present. Jokingly, I suggested that he allow me to add some guest commentary for authenticity, and, he agreed. It looks like the first phase of my plan to take over everything in Joe's life is complete. Now that I have infiltrated his website, absolute control is within my grasp. (As you can see, one of the many characteristics that Joe and I share is a desire to take over others, and perhaps, the world. [see his post titled Birthday DOOM! for more information.])

Last weekend was the best weekend I have had since I got to Louisiana. The three days were a birthday present from my (Joe left out inadvertently several adjectives such as beautiful, intelligent, beautiful, funny, and beautiful) girlfriend, Kristy. It all started Thursday night when she gave me a wrapped box with that stuffing stuff (otherwise known as tissue paper to people who have a decent grasp of using nouns) in it. I thought she was giving me boxers and socks, since she got that idea for a present stuck in my head. (I am tricky, tricky like that) Instead, two sheets of paper labeled "Romantic Weekend in Historic New Orleans" with an itinerary below the heading consisting of:

Friday, July 23, 2004
2:00pm	Depart from Baton Rouge
4:00pm	Arrive, the Queen and Crescent Hotel in New Orleans
7:00pm	Dinner Jazz Cruise on the Mississippi River, Steamboat Natchez, Toulouse Street Warf
Saturday, July 24, 2004
9:00am	Breakfast at Mena's Palace in the French Quarter
10:00am	Sightseeing, Shopping, and Relaxing, French Quarter and Riverwalk, Downtown New Orleans
2:00pm	Streetcar Ride through Garden District, St. Charles Street.
6:00pm	Dinner at the Red Fish Grill, 115 Bourbon Street.
9:00pm	Harrah's New Orleans Casino, Canal Steer at the River
Sunday, July 25th, 2004
11:00am	Checkout from the Queen and Crescent
12 noon	Sunday Mass, St. Louis Cathedral
1:30pm	Lunch, Pat O'Brien's
3:00pm	Leave for Baton Rouge

*(As you can see, I have the obsessive compulsive need to schedule every second in my life. DON'T JUDGE ME!)

Well, it looked nothing like this. It had lots of graphics and many fleur-de-lis' (she had to satisfy her fleur-de-lis fetish). (I do like fleur-de-lis) This was one of the best birthday presents I have ever received. I was really surprised when I saw it. This trip was the most thoughtful thing a girl has ever done for me. (AAAAAWWWWW!!! Gag me with a spoon)

The cruise was lots of fun. We were able to walk there from our hotel, which in itself was awesome. The Queen and Crescent was in downtown New Orleans so Bourbon St. was two blocks away and the Mississippi was about 20 minutes away. The dinner on the cruise was pretty good. They had very good spinach (Gotta love Joe's attention to detail. Can't you almost taste the spinach? Silly rabbit!). We finished dinner shortly after the cruise started, so we were able to spent most of the cruise above deck watching the sites (such as a huge number of LA's petro-chemical plants, oh, and of course, New Orleans, even saw some homes along the way). One of Kristy's friend's parents lives near where we cruised by, but we never saw them. We got a photo of us on the steamboat with an awesome background: a huge petrol-chemical plant :P How cute. (Really, it wasn't that cute. Some old guy and a huge smoke stack are in the background of our first photo together.)

The next day we got up and ate breakfast at a little, but very good place called Mena's Palace. It had a good breakfast. It cost less than the hotel and had much better quality. Kristy is really easy going when it comes to what to do sometimes. (I guess he is referring to the occasional times when I'm NOT snapping my whip and yelling that we are 3 minutes and 48 seconds off schedule??) We just walked around until we came to a restaurant that looked good, which happened to be one of the first ones. There was only one table left when we got in there; it was a two seat table next to a window. Perfect. After that we walked to the French Quarter. There was a lot of cool stuff for sale there. Kristy went purse shopping there. (He makes it sound like I took four hours to shop for purse! I only looked at three purses while we were walking around and bought one, which took a total of 5 minutes) Apparently, you are supposed to haggle with the people before you buy what you want to buy. Just looking at some of the stuff on the French Market was fun, like the very odd hot sauces. We went to many other stores around that area. I got 4 cans of escargot, 1 can of octopus, and some Cajun seasoning from one of them. Mmmmm... snails and octopi in butter... (Tulips are my favorite flower if you are looking for something to send to the hospital when I go in to get my stomach pumped from eating snails and octopus.)

The streetcar ride down through the Garden District was fun. We got on it near the hotel (we went to the hotel to clean up after walking through the French Quarter). I got to see many old homes in the Garden District. Kristy had this whole day planned out well. She told me a few things about the houses as we went through the streets.

After that, we went to the hotel to change clothes for dinner at the Red Fish Grill, what has been voted the best seafood restaurant in New Orleans for the past 4 years. That was a really nice place, great atmosphere, really good food *blackened red fish with crawfish patties* mmmmmm... Kristy had known a head of time to order a dessert that took 20 minutes to make. (The menu said to order dessert with your entrees because it takes 20 minutes to prepare so I ordered dessert when we ordered our entrees. If that makes me a genius, so be it.) Damn that was chocolaty. :D

Next was Harrah's casino. Kristy does not gamble, (It isn't like I am against gambling, I just can't justify wasting money on little colorful chips when there are so many beautiful pairs of shoes at Dillard's just looking for a good home.) but she brought me there just to see it or to gamble a little. I did very well playing craps at UF, so I figured I would try my luck at Harrah's in craps. I joined the cheapest table ($10 minimum bid), and put in $30 worth of chips. It was just my luck that the person rolling the dice threw a 7, everyone loses. For some reason beyond me, I got $3 back, so I lost $27, a little over an hour and a half's hour of work, in about 10 seconds. I am never going to gamble for money again (except if it is like, against my friends, so then its not so bad if I lose, better my money to go to a friend than a huge casino). (I told him that next time he wants to waste money, we could buy a mini craps table like you see in those cheesy mail-order catalogs. We can play pretend-craps and he can just give his money to me to help the homeless shoes.) Kristy was just like, "I'll sit down you go have fun" when I actually was going to gamble after walking around the casino a few times. Well, that didn't last long. There was one craps table there with a $500 minimum bid. Damn, some people have way too much money to spend. After the casino, we just called it a night and went to bed early. Saw some of "Rush Hour" before going to bed. Sleep was good.

The next day we got up, had breakfast at the hotel to save some time. Went to mass at St. Lous Cathedral. It was huge. We had some time to spare before we got there so we walked around Jackson Square. We got our picture taken in the square with the cathedral as a backdrop. It turned out really well. (But it would not have turned out so well if we had done that stupid "prom pose" that Joe wanted to do. No one does that pose except at prom. What are we, in eighth grade?). After mass we went to Pat O's for lunch. I had some really good shrimp Creole while Kristy had some shrimp pasta. After a nice walk back to the hotel we checked out. When we got Kristy's SUV back from the valet, we noticed my radar detector was stolen. No one but the valet had the keys and there was no damage to the car. I filed a complaint and will be talking to a manager about it this evening. Everything else though had been great this weekend. I am really happy with Kristy's birthday present. (Watch out, friends of Joe. The brainwashing is almost complete. You won't even recognize him when I get through [insert evil laugh here…Muwah Hah Hah])

Weekend AIM Stuff w/o Joe

2004-07-26T07:06:00.000-05:00

So I left my computer on but locked this weekend at the plant, which meant my away message on AIM was left on last weekend. I got a bunch of Happy Birthday messages (Thank You all!). The away message I left on AIM was "at the plant and away from my computer, might be a while". This produced a few funny responses from some people, however, the best response had to of been from Dave:

skyofoctober: you've been at the plant for awhile now
Auto response from J0E one: at the plant and away from my computer, might be a while
skyofoctober: um
Auto response from J0E one: at the plant and away from my computer, might be a while
skyofoctober: was there a meltdown?
skyofoctober: um
Auto response from J0E one: at the plant and away from my computer, might be a while
skyofoctober: why are you still there!
skyofoctober: are you alive?

This site was sent to me via AIM this weekend by two of my liberal friends: JibJab.com. I have not seen it yet since I am back at work now, but I posting it here so I can check it out later...

Thank Tony Blair!

2004-07-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

When the call came to stand and be counted, the United Kingdom answered the call. w00t! for the UK! Even when Blair's own Labor Party did not support joining the Coalition, he did because he felt was the right thing to do. w00t! for Blair!
ThankYouTony.com

I, Robot and the Soviet Union

2004-07-21T12:14:00.000-05:00

I, Robot, a great movie and a huge success for Will Smith, has a theme of why communism will never work.

I, Robot showed that people were not happy when their lives were controlled. That is what VIKI wanted; that is what happens under communism. When everyone's lives became controlled, they revolted. Our free will does not allow communism to work. That is why the USSR failed. That is why all nations that follow in their footsteps will fail. I, Robot was not only an awesome movie, but a triumph for capitalism.

Here is some proof from the movie to back up what I have said (aka: "References" section of some sort)
1) VIKI wanted to protect all humans from harm by forcing them to do as she commanded. She thought she knew better than all people on how to run everyone's lives. The communist party took over Russia thinking that they could orchestrate everyone's lives better than the people could themselves, and by doing so, create pure equality.

2) VIKI wanted to put an end to war by controlling all nations and thus protecting humans from harm in battle. The God given sprit of free will that each human possesses prevents us from being happy when every aspect of our lives is controlled, even if that control prevents us from engaging in war. The goal of communism appeared to be to take over the world, as the USSR extended its influence over Asia. Because of the USSR's influence, many Asian nations, most notably China, Vietnam, and part of Korea, became communist. VIKI and the USSR had the same goal.

3) The corporation that VIKI was a part of was called USR. Its similarity in acronym to the USSR is obvious.

Nuclear Arms Reportedly Found in Iraq

2004-07-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

The Washington Times reports:
Iraqi security reportedly discovered three missiles carrying nuclear heads concealed in a concrete trench northwest of Baghdad, official sources said Wednesday.

The official daily al-Sabah quoted the sources as saying the missiles were discovered in trenches near the city of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"The three missiles were discovered by chance when the Iraqi security forces captured former Baath party official Khoder al-Douri who revealed during interrogation the location of the missiles saying they carried nuclear heads," the sources said.

They pointed out that the missiles were actually discovered in the trenches lying under six meters of concrete and designed in a way to unable sophisticated sensors from discovering nuclear radiation.

The sources said al-Douri, who is related to former Vice Chairman of the Iraq Revolution Council and Saddam's right-hand man Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, was captured after Iraqi police intercepted an e-mail message in which he set a meeting with another former Baath official.

The report could not be authenticated by the interior ministry or the national security department, but the paper noted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zibari made a surprise request recently to Mohammed el-Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to resume inspections for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Found this via Blogs for Bush

UPDATE: The US government has denied that there were 3 nuclear warheads in Iraq. *sigh* I am tired of having our government play the final round of "hide the nuclear warhead" with Saddam. Btw, has anyone heard any news of the US trying to interrogate him? It's just a feeling, but I think he knows information that would be of benefit to the US.

Unfairenheit 9/11: The lies of Michael Moore.

2004-07-21T09:51:00.000-05:00

Article: Unfairenheit 9/11
I really hope every American knows that Fairenheit 9/11 was filled with lies and half-truths. I have seen people that have taken Moore's "work" at face value making no effort to question him. This article does a great job of exposing them. Here are a few excerpts:

Moore portrays Bush as lazy, taking too many vacations. He shows a shot of him "relaxing at Camp David" side by side with Tony Blair. But the photograph is on-screen so briefly that if you sneeze or blink, you won't recognize the other figure. A meeting with the prime minister of the United Kingdom, or at least with this prime minister, is not a goof-off.

"More interesting is the moment where Bush is shown frozen on his chair at the infant school in Florida, looking stunned and useless for seven whole minutes after the news of the second plane on 9/11. Many are those who say that he should have leaped from his stool, adopted a Russell Crowe stance, and gone to work. I could even wish that myself. But if he had done any such thing then (as he did with his "Let's roll" and "dead or alive" remarks a month later), half the Michael Moore community would now be calling him a man who went to war on a hectic, crazed impulse. The other half would be saying what they already say -- that he knew the attack was coming, was using it to cement himself in power, and couldn't wait to get on with his coup."

"Moore asserts that Iraq under Saddam had never attacked or killed or even threatened (his words) any American. I never quite know whether Moore is as ignorant as he looks, or even if that would be humanly possible... Saddam boasted publicly of his financial sponsorship of suicide bombers in Israel. (Quite a few Americans of all denominations walk the streets of Jerusalem.)... In 1993, a certain Mr. Yasin helped mix the chemicals for the bomb at the World Trade Center and then skipped to Iraq, where he remained a guest of the state until the overthrow of Saddam." Where not Americans at the 1993 World Trade Center bombing?

"Moore goes into great detail to expain Bush's close relationship to the Saudis." Then why did Moore's evil Saudis not join "the Coalition of the Willing"? Why instead did they force the United States to switch its regional military headquarters to Qatar? There is no "close" relationship.

The entire article goes much more in depth and brings up many more points.

Stephen Hawking's New Theory on Black Holes: Boring

2004-07-21T06:32:00.000-05:00

We all know of Stephen Hawking. He is the guy that pioneered the understanding of black holes -- the matter-consuming vortexes created when stars collapse -- in the mid-1970s. The problem that faced him back then was where matter and energy went when they entered a black hole. His theory was that the matter and energy is brought into a parallel universe.

Now he has a new theory. The black hole eventually dies and the matter and energy is released back into our universe. Hawking: "It is great to solve a problem that has been troubling me for nearly 30 years, even though the answer is less exciting than the alternative I suggested." Some "Star Trek" fans have become depressed to learn that parallel universes no longer exist.

I think I can speak for everyone (yeah right...) when I say we will all miss no longer having the possibility of traveling to parallel universes via a black hole. But I guess on the plus side, if you ever are sucked into a black hole, you can have the comfort of knowing you will be spitted back out once the black hole dies, but in a horribly mutilated state, probably in the state of a tiny dot less than the size of a tick, while mashed together with random objects, like a crushed hocky stick sticking out of your ass.

Hawking has previously insisted that the holes emit radiation but never cough up any trace of matter consumed, a view that conflicts with subatomic theory and its view that matter can never be completely destroyed.

Source: CNN Science and Technology

Birthday DOOM!

2004-07-19T14:59:00.000-05:00

My 22nd birthday is coming up very soon. This year my birthday will fall on the same day of the week I was born. w00t for coincidental weekdays. What awaits me this Friday? Kristy is plotting something. I have no idea what it is other than getting underwear as a present, which I am sure she was kidding about. I get Friday off this weekend as well. Many great people were born on July 23rd, such as Monica Lewinski and Harry Potter (well, his Birthday is actually just "near the end of July"). How about the year I was born? What happened in 1982?

In 1982 (the year you were born)

Ronald Reagan is president of the US

The space shuttle Columbia completes its first operational flight

Actor John Belushi is found dead of a drug overdose in a West Hollywood hotel

Automobile manufacturer John Delorean is arrested and charged with possession of 59 pounds of cocaine

The first artificial heart is implanted in American Barney Clark

The Cable News Network, or CNN, is launched

750,000 people rally against nuclear weapons in New York City's Central Park

Time Magazine's Man of the Year was for the first time given to a non-human, a computer

The first computer virus, written by Rich Skrenta, escapes into the wild

Kirsten Dunst and Elisha Cuthbert are born

St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series

San Francisco 49ers win Superbowl XVI

New York Islanders win the Stanley Cup

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the top grossing film

Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off of a live bat thrown at him during a performance, later hospitalized with rabies

"I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts spends the most time at the top of the US charts

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

How about what happened in the last two millinia on July 23rd?
07/23/0636 - Arabs gain control of most of Palestine from Byzantine Empire
07/23/0685 - John V begins his reign as Catholic Pope
07/23/0945 - Richarius, bishop of Luik (922-45), dies
07/23/1148 - Crusaders attack Damascus
07/23/1215 - Frederik II crowns himself Roman Catholic king
07/23/1253 - Jews are expelled from Vienne France by order of Pope Innocent III
07/23/1298 - Jews are massacred at Wurzburg Germany
07/23/1298 - Rindfleish Persecutions-Jewish community Wurzburg Germany annihilated
07/23/1339 - Birth-Louis I, Duke of Anjou/King of Naples (Battle at Poitiers)
07/23/1373 - Birgitta van Sweden, Swedish saint, dies
07/23/1401 - Birth-Francesco Sfoza, soldier
07/23/1403 - Battle of Shrewsbury fought by Percys against King Henry IV
07/23/1403 - Henry Percy, [Harry Hotspur], killed in battle at 39
07/23/1431 - Council of Basel opens
07/23/1431 - G Cesarini opens Counsel of Basel (Ferrara/Florence)
07/23/1453 - Battle at Gavere: Philip the Good beats Gentse rebellion
07/23/1532 - Karel I & evangelical monarchy signs Peace of Neurenberg
07/23/1540 - Turkey recognizes J nos Sigismund Z polyai as vassal-king of Hungary
07/23/1558 - Battle at Grevelingen: Gen/earl Lamoraal van Egmont beat France
07/23/1562 - Gottfried/G”tz von Berlichingen, German Knight of kingdom, dies
07/23/1568 - Don Carlos, son of Spanish king Philip II, dies at about 23
07/23/1572 - Willem van Oranges troops occupy Roermond on the Spanjaarden
07/23/1581 - Georges Lalaing, viceroy of Friesland, dies
07/23/1594 - Groningen surrenders to earl Mauritius/Willem Louis
07/23/1599 - Caravaggio's 1st public commission for paintings
07/23/1645 - Aleksei Mihailovitch Romanov succeeds his father Michael as czar
07/23/1645 - Michael Fjodorovitsj, tsar of Russia (1613-45)/1st Romanov, dies
07/23/1659 - Birth-Antonius Schultingh, [Schultingius], Dutch lawyer
07/23/1664 - 4 British ships to drive Dutch out of NY, arrive in Boston
07/23/1685 - Pietro Reggio, composer, dies at 53
07/23/1690 - Richard Gibson, minature painter, dies
07/23/1726 - Benjamin Franklin sails back to Philadelphia
07/23/1734 - Birth-Antonio Maria Gasparo Sacchini, opera composer [or Jun 14 1730]
07/23/1735 - Birth-Johannes Herbst, composer
07/23/1745 - Charles Stuart, the Younger, lands at Eriskay Island, Hebrides
07/23/1757 - Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (La Silvia), dies at 71
07/23/1764 - James Otis publishes views on taxation without representation
07/23/1769 - Birth-Alexey Nikolayevich Titov, composer
07/23/1773 - Birth-Karl Ludwig Hellwig, composer
07/23/1775 - Birth-Fran‡ois-EugŠne Vidocq, British police detective
07/23/1793 - Birth-Joseph Hartmann Stuntz, composer
07/23/1793 - Thomas Mckean, US attorney/signer (Decl of Independence), dies at 72
07/23/1796 - Birth-Franz Adolf Berwald, Sweden, composer
07/23/1798 - Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt
07/23/1803 - Arthur Wolfe, 1st viscount Kilwarden/Chief Justice of Ireld, murdered
07/23/1803 - Birth-Johann Vesque von Puttlingen, composer
07/23/1803 - Robert Emmett's insurrected in Dublin
07/23/1806 - Birth-Eduard Marxsen, composer
07/23/1812 - Battle of Mogilev Russia-Napolean fights Czar Alexander I
07/23/1816 - Birth-Charlotte Sanders Cushman, US, actress (Lady MacBeth)
07/23/1816 - Elizabeth Hamilton, author (Cats: A Celebration), dies at 68
07/23/1822 - Birth-Darius Nash Couch, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1897
07/23/1823 - Birth-Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore, English poet
07/23/1824 - Birth-Gabriel Colvin Wharton, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1906
07/23/1825 - Birth-Richard Hol, Dutch composer/organist/conductor
07/23/1827 - 1st US swim school opens (Boston Mass)
07/23/1827 - Birth-Pieter Caland, Dutch hydraulic engineer (New Waterway)
07/23/1828 - Birth-Jonathan Hutchinson, surgeon/scientist
07/23/1829 - William Austin Burt patents "typographer" (typewriter)
07/23/1829 - Wojciech Boguslawski, composer, dies at 72
07/23/1834 - Birth-James "Cardinal" Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore
07/23/1834 - HMS Beagle anchors in Bay of Valparaiso
07/23/1838 - Birth-Edouard [Judas] Colonne, composer/violinist
07/23/1840 - Frantisek Max Knize, composer, dies at 55
07/23/1840 - Union Act passed by British Parliament, uniting Upper & Lower Canada
07/23/1841 - Birth-Edward John Armstrong, poet
07/23/1844 - Christian Gobrecht, 4th US chief engraver (1840-44), dies in office
07/23/1848 - Battle of Custoza-Italian War of Independence, starts
07/23/1849 - Birth-Geza Zichy, composer
07/23/1850 - 17th Postmaster General: Nathan K Hall of NY takes office
07/23/1851 - Birth-Charles Bannerman, Aussie cricket batsman (1st centurion)
07/23/1851 - Treaty of Traverse des Sioux signed by Sioux Indians & US
07/23/1852 - 1st interment in US National Cemetery at Presidio
07/23/1853 - Birth-William H Gillette, actor (Sherlock Holmes on stage)
07/23/1856 - Birth-Arthur H Bird, composer
07/23/1856 - Birth-Bal Gangadhar Tilak, British-Indian Hindi leader
07/23/1857 - Birth-French [M J Fran‡ois] Erens, lawyer/literary (Pursue Years)
07/23/1858 - Jewish Disabilities Removal Act passed by British Parliament
07/23/1861 - Birth-Alexander W F Idenburg, gov-gen of Neth Indies (1909-16)
07/23/1863 - Alexandra Park opens in North London
07/23/1864 - Battle of Woodstock, VA
07/23/1865 - Birth-Friedrich Aereboe, landhuishoudkundige
07/23/1866 - Birth-Francesco Cilea, composer
07/23/1866 - Cincinnati Baseball club (Red Stockings) forms
07/23/1866 - Thomas Forbes Walmisley, composer, dies at 83
07/23/1870 - Emperor Napoleon III appoints Empress Eug‚nie as Regent of France
07/23/1875 - Isaac Merritt Singer, inventor (sewing machine), dies at 63
07/23/1876 - Birth-William Gillies Whittaker, composer
07/23/1877 - 1st US municipal railroad, Cincinnati Southern, begins operations
07/23/1877 - 1st telephone & telegraph line in Hawaii completed
07/23/1878 - Miguel Hilarion Eslava y Elizondo, composer, dies at 70
07/23/1880 - 1st commercial hydroelectric power planet begins, Grand Rapids, Mich
07/23/1883 - Birth-Alan Francis Brooke, 1st viscount Alanbrooke fieldmarshal [or Jul 4]
07/23/1884 - Birth-Albert Warner, US producer (Warner Bros)
07/23/1884 - Birth-Apolinary Szeluto, composer
07/23/1884 - Birth-Emil Jannings, Germany, actor (Faust, Passion, Blue Angel)
07/23/1885 - Ulysses S Grant, 18th US pres, dies in Mount McGregor NY, at 63
07/23/1886 - Birth-Arthur Whitten Brown, aviator
07/23/1886 - Birth-John C Poortenaar, painter/etcher/cartoonist
07/23/1886 - Birth-Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo, writer/diplomat
07/23/1886 - Steve Brodie supposedly survives plunge from Brooklyn Bridge
07/23/1888 - Birth-Gluyas Williams, SF, cartoonist (Fellows Citizen)
07/23/1888 - Birth-Milan Stoyadinovich, Serbia, fascist Yugoslavia PM (1935-39)
07/23/1888 - Birth-Raymond Chandler, writer
07/23/1888 - John Boyd Dunlop, applies to patent pneumatic tire
07/23/1890 - Jack Barrett carries his cricket bat for Australia at Lord's (67)
07/23/1891 - Birth-Maurus H Hulsman, Dutch priest/editor (Amigoe di Cura‡ao)
07/23/1892 - Birth-Haile Selassie, [Ras Tafari Makonnen], emperor of Ethiopia (1930-74)
07/23/1892 - Birth-Petros John Petridis, composer
07/23/1893 - Birth-Karl Menninger, psychiatrist (Menninger Clinic)
07/23/1894 - Birth-Arthur Treacher, Brighton England, announcer (Merv Griffin Show)
07/23/1895 - Birth-Florence Vidor, [Arto], Houston TX, actress (Jack Knife Man)
07/23/1898 - Birth-Mervyn "Red" Dutton, Manitoba, 2nd NHL pres (1943-46)
07/23/1899 - Birth-Gustav Heinemann, President of West Germany
07/23/1900 - Pan-African Congress meets in London
07/23/1902 - Birth-Walter Burle Marx, composer
07/23/1903 - Ford Motor Co sells 1st Model A car
07/23/1904 - Birth-Adone Zecchi, composer
07/23/1904 - Ice cream cone created by Charles E Menches during La Purchase Expo
07/23/1904 - John Simon, public health pioneer, dies
07/23/1905 - Birth-Daniel M K "Daan" Inghelram, Flemish author (Ang‚lique)
07/23/1905 - Birth-Erich Itor Kahn, composer
07/23/1905 - Jean-Jacques, painter, dies
07/23/1906 - Birth-Clancy Cooper, actress (Enchanted Forest, Girls in Chains)
07/23/1906 - Birth-Wolfgang Gentner, German nuclear physicist
07/23/1906 - Pogroms against Jews in Oddessa
07/23/1907 - 7th Davis Cup: Australasia beats British Isles in Wimbledon (3-2)
07/23/1907 - Birth-Elspeth Josceline Huxley, English author
07/23/1908 - Birth-Karl Swenson, Bkln NY, actor (Lara-Little House on the Prairie)
07/23/1909 - Ernest F Cambier, Bel colonial pioneer (1st Congo railway), dies at 65
07/23/1909 - Zygmunt Noskowski, composer, dies at 63
07/23/1910 - Birth-Pimen, [Sergei Irzjekov], patriarch Russian-Orthodox Cathederal
07/23/1912 - Birth-Michael Wilding, England, actor (Courtney Affair, World of Suzie Wong)
07/23/1913 - Arabs attack Jewish community of Rechovot Palestine
07/23/1913 - Birth-Coral Browne, Melbourne Aust, actress (Margaret-Time Express)
07/23/1913 - Birth-Michael Foot, MP
07/23/1914 - Austria-Hungary issues ultimatum to Serbia leading to WW I
07/23/1914 - Birth-Alastair Down, CEO (Burmah Oil)
07/23/1916 - Birth-Ben Weber, St Louis Missouri, composer (Thorne Music Award-1965)
07/23/1916 - Birth-Ronald Ridout, school textbook author
07/23/1916 - William Ramsey, chemist, dies
07/23/1917 - Birth-Charles Kerruish, president (Tyndwald Isle of Man)
07/23/1917 - Birth-John Stokes, MP
07/23/1917 - Birth-Kurt Kreuger, St Moritz Switz, actor (Fear, Unfaithfully Yours)
07/23/1917 - Cleveland Metropolitan Park District establishes
07/23/1919 - Birth-[Harold] Pee Wee Reese, Hall of Fame shortstop (Dodgers)
07/23/1920 - Birth-Malcolm Hughes, artist
07/23/1920 - Birth-Marcel Maeyer, [de Maeyer], Belgian sculptor/graphic artist
07/23/1920 - British East Africa renamed Kenya & becomes a British crown colony
07/23/1921 - Birth-Calvert DeForest, Brooklyn NY, comedian (Larry "Bud" Melman)
07/23/1921 - Birth-David Lawmn, CEO (Prestige Group)
07/23/1921 - Birth-Harry Hookway, pro-chancellor (Loughborough University)
07/23/1921 - Birth-Heinz Bennent, Aachen Germany, Actor (Possession)
07/23/1921 - Birth-Jerome Rosen, composer
07/23/1921 - Birth-Peter Twiss, test pilot
07/23/1921 - Chinese communist party forms under Henk Sneevliet
07/23/1921 - Edward Gourdin of US, sets then long jump record at 25' 2 3/4"
07/23/1922 - Birth-Moses Rosen, chief Rabbi of Romania
07/23/1924 - Birth-Betsy Haworth, deacon/minister
07/23/1925 - Birth-Donna Anderson, Akiak AK, actress (On the Beach
07/23/1925 - Birth-Gloria De Haven, LA, actress (Bog, Yellow Cab Man, Irene-Nakia)
07/23/1925 - Birth-Pierre Baugniet, Belgium, pairs ice skater (Olympic-gold-1948)
07/23/1925 - NY Yankee Lou Gehrig hits his 1st of 23 career grand slammers
07/23/1926 - Belgian NMBS/SNCFB forms
07/23/1926 - Birth-Ludvik Vaculik, writer
07/23/1926 - France govt of Poincar‚, forms
07/23/1927 - Birth-Al[fred] A McCandless, (Rep-R-CA, 1983- )
07/23/1927 - Birth-Elliot McKay See Jr, Dallas Texas, astronaut
07/23/1927 - Saad Zaghlul, Egyptian parliament chairman, dies at 74
07/23/1928 - Birth-Leon Fleisher, SF Calif, pianist/conductor (Annapolis Symph 1973-77)
07/23/1929 - Birth-Andrew Rutherford, warden (Goldsmith's College)
07/23/1930 - Earthquake strikes Ariano Italy, 1,500 killed
07/23/1930 - Glenn Hammond Curtiss, aviation pioneer/airplane builder, dies at 52
07/23/1930 - Pitts Pie Traynor ends both games with HRs (1st in 9th, 2nd in 13th)
07/23/1931 - Ashmore & Cartier Is in Indian Ocean transferred to Australia
07/23/1931 - Birth-Jan Torell, Limhamm Sweden, director (New Land, Emigrants)
07/23/1931 - Birth-Richard Searby, deputy-chairman (News Corp Ltd-Australia)
07/23/1931 - Birth-Viktor Korchnoi, chess champ
07/23/1931 - France announces they can't afford to send a team to 1932 LA olympics
07/23/1932 - Birth-Alistair Graham, headmaster (Mill Hill School)
07/23/1933 - Birth-Bert Convy, St Louis Mo, actor (Snoop Sisters, Win Lose or Draw)
07/23/1933 - Birth-Richard Rogers, English architect
07/23/1933 - Max Schillings, German composer/conductor (Mona Lisa), dies at 65
07/23/1934 - Birth-Nicholas Barrington, high commissioner (Pakistan)
07/23/1934 - Bradman completes 304 at Headingley, 430 mins, 43 fours 2 sixes
07/23/1935 - Airplane crashes into the Empire State Building
07/23/1935 - Birth-Cleveland Dunkin, rocker (Penguins)
07/23/1936 - Anthony M Kennedy, Sacramento CA, Supreme Court Justice
07/23/1936 - Birth-Anthony M Kennedy, Calif, 106th Supreme Court justice (1988- )
07/23/1936 - Birth-Don Drysdale, Van Nuys Calif, pitcher (LA Dodgers-Cy Young 1962)
07/23/1937 - Isolation of pituitary hormone announced (Yale University)
07/23/1938 - Birth-Ronny Cox, Cloudcroft Mass, actor (St Elsewhere)
07/23/1938 - Bradman scores 103 in 178 mins on a Headingley sticky, 3rd Test
07/23/1940 - "Blitz" all-night air raid by German bombers on London begins
07/23/1940 - Birth-Don Imus, radio disc jockey (WNBC)
07/23/1940 - Birth-Gary Stites, rock vocalist (Lonely For You)
07/23/1942 - Andrew Ducat, cricketer (England 1921), dies whilst batting at 56
07/23/1942 - Birth-John de Hont, Dutch guitarist (ZZ & Masks)
07/23/1942 - Birth-Madeline Bell, US singer (Black Nativity)
07/23/1942 - German troops conquer Rostow
07/23/1942 - Hitler's Directive #45: order to occupy Stalingrad
07/23/1942 - Nikola J Vaptsarov, Bulgaria poet/communist, executed at 32
07/23/1942 - Treblinka Concentration Camp destroyed
07/23/1943 - Battle of Koersk, USSR ends in Nazi defeat (6,000 tanks)
07/23/1943 - Birth-Tony Joe White, rocker
07/23/1943 - Emanuel Querido, publisher (Sobibor), dies
07/23/1943 - Meijer de Hond, [Emanuel Querido], rabbi (Sobibor), dies
07/23/1943 - US 45th Infantry division occupies north coast of Termini
07/23/1944 - Bernard M Cohen, attorney, killed at Belsen concentration camp
07/23/1944 - Birth-Dino Danelli, Jersey City NJ, rock drummer (Fotomaker, Young Rascals)
07/23/1944 - Birth-Judith A Bosch, Dutch radio/TV-hostess (Tweekamp, Zeskamp)
07/23/1944 - Chicago Cubs Bill Nicholson hits 4 HRs in a doubleheader
07/23/1944 - Conference of Bretton Woods signed; IMF operations begin
07/23/1944 - Helmuth J von Moltke, German earl (July 20th plotter), executed
07/23/1944 - Max HHR Nettlau, Austrian historian (Der Anarchismus), dies at 79
07/23/1944 - Soviet Army marches into Lublin Poland
07/23/1944 - US forces invade Japanese-held Tinian in WW II
07/23/1944 - US troops occupy Pisa Italy
07/23/1945 - Birth-Harold W Hennep, Arubians/Dutch dancer/actor (Plus Echo)
07/23/1945 - Marshal Henri P‚tain, leader Vichy-regime, goes on trial
07/23/1946 - Birth-Andy MacKay, London, rock sax/oboe (Roxy Music-Dance Away)
07/23/1946 - Birth-Keith Ferguson, blues guy (Fabulous Thunderbirds)
07/23/1946 - James Maxton, politician, dies
07/23/1946 - Menachem Begins opposition group bombs King David Hotel
07/23/1947 - 1st (US Navy) air squadron of jets, Quonset Point, RI
07/23/1947 - Birth-David Essex, [Cook], London, rock vocalist/actor (That'll be the Day)
07/23/1947 - Birth-Spencer Christian, weatherman (Good Morning America)
07/23/1948 - D[avid] W[ark] Griffith, US director/producer, dies
07/23/1948 - Progressive party convention nominates Henry Wallace for President
07/23/1949 - Birth-Clive Rice, South African cricket all-rounder (WSC 1978-79, ODI 1991)
07/23/1949 - Test Cricket debut of Brian Close aged 18 years 149 days
07/23/1950 - Birth-Alan Turner, Aussie cricket left-handed opener (World Cup ton 1975)
07/23/1950 - Birth-Belinda J Montgomery, Winnipeg, actress (Man From Atlantis)
07/23/1950 - Birth-Blair Thornton, rock guitarist (Bachman-Turner-Overdrive)
07/23/1950 - Birth-Ian Thomas, rocker
07/23/1950 - Birth-Kaity Tong, news anchor (WABC-TV NYC)
07/23/1951 - Birth-Edie McClurg, Kansas City MO, actress (Cinderella-1985, Hogan Family)
07/23/1951 - Birth-Terry Davis, NYC, actress (Stacey Winthrop-Another World)
07/23/1951 - Henri Philippe P‚tain, French marshal (Verdun/Vichy regime), dies
07/23/1951 - Robert Joseph Flaherty, documentary film maker, dies
07/23/1952 - Birth-Janis Siegel, NYC, jazz singer (Manhattan Transfer-Tuxedo Junction)
07/23/1952 - Birth-Paul Hibbert, cricketer (one Test Aust v India 1977, scored 13 & 2)
07/23/1952 - General Neguib seizes power, Monarchy overthrown in Egypt (Natl Day)
07/23/1953 - Birth-Graham Gooch, cricketer (prolific England opener & captain)
07/23/1955 - Betsy van Es, Flemish actress (Un soir de joie), dies at 55
07/23/1955 - Birth-Marisa DeFranco, rocker (DeFranco Family)
07/23/1955 - Cordell Hull, statesman, dies
07/23/1955 - Harry Haden, actor (Harry-Stu Erwin Show), dies at 73
07/23/1955 - NY Yankees Bob Cerv & E Howard are 1st to hit consecutive pinch HRs
07/23/1956 - Bell X-2 rocket plane sets world aircraft speed record of 3,050 kph
07/23/1956 - Joe Cronin & Hank Greenberg inducted into Hall of Fame
07/23/1957 - Birth-Harry Stefanki, Mento Park Cal, tennis star
07/23/1957 - G Tomasi di Lampedusa, writer, dies at 61
07/23/1958 - 1st 4 women named to peerage in House of Lords
07/23/1958 - Birth-Kenneth J Green, Danbury CT, PGA golfer (1985 Buick Open)
07/23/1958 - Birth-Lydia Cornell, El Paso Tx, actress (Sara Rush-Too Close for Comfort)
07/23/1959 - VP Richard Nixon begins visit on USSR
07/23/1960 - 15th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Betsy Rawls
07/23/1961 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Cosmopolitan Golf Open
07/23/1961 - Birth-Antoine Carr, NBA forward/center (Utah Jazz)
07/23/1961 - Birth-Martin Gore, rocker (Depeche Mode-Just Can't Get Enough)
07/23/1961 - Birth-Woody Harrelson, Midland Tx, actor (Woody Boyd-Cheers)
07/23/1961 - Bricusse & Newley's musical "Stop the world I want to ...," premieres
07/23/1961 - Esther Dale, actress (Birdie-Ma & Pa Kettle), dies after surgery at 75
07/23/1962 - Birth-Eriq La Salle, Hartford CT, actor (Dr Peter Benton-ER)
07/23/1962 - Birth-Terry-Jo Myers, Ft Myers FL, LPGA golfer (1988 Mayflower Classic)
07/23/1963 - Birth-Siobodan Zivojinovic, Yugoslavia, tennis star
07/23/1964 - A's Bert Campaneris HRs on 1st pitch, hits a 2nd HR on 2nd at bat
07/23/1964 - Birth-Greg Best, Lynchburg VA, Equestrian athlete (Olympic-silver-88, 92)
07/23/1964 - Egyptian munition ship "Star of Alexandria" explodes at dockside in Bone, Algeria. 100 die, 160 injured, $20 million damage
07/23/1964 - Jan PML de Vries, Dutch germanist/folklorist, dies at 74
07/23/1965 - Beatles "Help" is released in UK
07/23/1965 - Birth-Brett Faryniarz, NFL linebacker (Carolina Panthers)
07/23/1965 - Birth-Slash, [Saul Hudson], England, guitarist (Guns & Roses-Sweet Child)
07/23/1965 - Dick Stuart homers in a major league-record 23rd different park
07/23/1966 - Birth-Micheal Williams, NBA guard (Minnesota Timberwolves)
07/23/1966 - Cavern Club in Liverpool reopens
07/23/1966 - Donald Novis, singer/actor (Pajama Game), dies at 60
07/23/1966 - Douglass Montgomery, actor (Forbidden, Daybreak), dies at 56
07/23/1966 - John Pennel pole vaults record (5.34 m)
07/23/1966 - Napoleon XIV releases "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha! Ha!"
07/23/1966 - [Edward] Montgomery Clift, actor (From Here to Eternity), dies at 45
07/23/1967 - -27] 43 die in race riot in Detroit (2,000 injured, 442 fires)
07/23/1967 - Birth-Nicole Jagerman, Netherlands, tennis star
07/23/1967 - Pirate Radio Swinging Scotland closes down for financial reasons
07/23/1968 - Birth-Amy Fruwirth, Cypress CA, LPGA golfer (1995 McCall's LPGA-4th)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Beth Ehlers, Queens NY, actress (Harley Cooper-Guiding Light, Hunger)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Christopher "Chris" Kerber, Collingswood NJ, rower (Olympics-1996)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Douglas Craft, CFL defensive back (Montreal Alouettes)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Elden Campbell, NBA forward/center (LA Lakers)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Gary Payton, NBA guard (Seattle Supersonics)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Stefan Figliuzzi, hockey forward (Team Italy 1998)
07/23/1968 - Birth-Stephane Seymour, model (Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover-1988)
07/23/1968 - Don Lillis, NFL president (NY Jets)
07/23/1968 - Fred Blasie wins 5th wrestling world championship belt
07/23/1968 - Henry Hallett Dale, physiologist, dies
07/23/1968 - PLO's 1st hijacking of an El Al plane
07/23/1968 - Race riot in Cleveland, 11 including 3 cops killed
07/23/1969 - 40th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 9-3 at RFK Memorial, Wash DC
07/23/1969 - All star MVP: Willie McCovey (SF Giants)
07/23/1969 - Birth-Andrew Cassels, Bramalea, NHL center (Hartford Whalers)
07/23/1969 - Birth-Dimitri Khristich, Kiev Ukr, NHL left wing (LA Kings)
07/23/1969 - Birth-Fernanda Ribeiro, Portugal, 10k runner (Olympics-gold-96)
07/23/1969 - Birth-Reyhan Agaoglu, WLAF safety (Amsterdam Admirals)
07/23/1969 - Deli Floyd, writer, dies
07/23/1969 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
07/23/1970 - Birth-Sam Waters, Camp Springs Md, singer (Color Me Badd-Want to Sex You Up)
07/23/1971 - Birth-Aimee Rinehart, Miss Missouri USA (1996)
07/23/1971 - Birth-Alison Krauss, Decatur Ill, country singer (2 Highways)
07/23/1971 - Van Heflin, actor (Great Adventure), dies at 60
07/23/1972 - 1st Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) is launched
07/23/1972 - Birth-Marlon Wayans, comedian (Wayans Bros, In Living Color)
07/23/1972 - Birth-Oscar McBride, NFL tight end (Arizona Cardinals)
07/23/1972 - Birth-Seth Dittman, NFL offensive tackle (Indianapolis Colt, London Monarchs)
07/23/1972 - Birth-Trisha Fallon, Australian basketball forward (Olympics-bronze-96)
07/23/1972 - Eddy Merckx (Belgium) wins his 4th consecutive Tour de France
07/23/1972 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Raleigh Golf Classic
07/23/1973 - Birth-Darvin Ham, NBA forward (Wash Wizards)
07/23/1973 - Birth-Kyle Walters, CFL defensive back (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
07/23/1973 - Eddie Rickenbacker, WW I fighter pilot, dies at 82
07/23/1973 - Marius-Fran‡ois Gaillard, composer, dies at 72
07/23/1973 - Ozark AL plane knocked out of air by lightning, St Louis-36 die
07/23/1973 - Pres Nixon refuses to release Watergate tapes of conversations in the White House relevant to the Watergate investigation
07/23/1973 - Qaboos bin Said Al Said, becomes Sultan & Prime Minister of Oman
07/23/1973 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
07/23/1974 - 45th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-2 at 3 Rivers Stadium, Pitts
07/23/1974 - All star MVP: Steve Garvey (LA Dodgers)
07/23/1974 - Birth-Maurice Greene, KC Kansas, 100m runner
07/23/1974 - Birth-Tara Williams, WNBA guard (Phoenix Mercury)
07/23/1974 - Greek military dictatorship collapses
07/23/1974 - Mary Forbes, actress (Nun-Les Miserables, Ivy), dies at 90
07/23/1975 - Alan Ayckbourn's "Absent Friends," premieres in London
07/23/1975 - LA Dodgers W Crawford & Lee Lacy are 5th to hit consecutive pinch HRs
07/23/1976 - 42nd NFL Chicago All Star Game: Pittsburgh 24, All Stars 0 (52,895)
07/23/1976 - Balt Oriole Reggie Jackson homers in 6th straight game
07/23/1976 - Birth-Inger Lise Ebeltoft, Miss Universe-Norway (1996)
07/23/1976 - France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island
07/23/1976 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
07/23/1976 - Wilhelmina Von Bremen, 4X100 relay sprinter (Oly-gold-32), dies at 64
07/23/1976 - Wings release "Let 'em In"
07/23/1977 - Ren‚ de Vos, Dutch actor/composer (Jij Bent Mijn Leven), dies at 79
07/23/1977 - Washington jury convicts 12 Hanafi Moslems on hostage charges
07/23/1978 - 33rd US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Hollis Stacy
07/23/1978 - Israeli govt rejects Sadat's call for return of 2 Sinai areas
07/23/1978 - Phillies Steve Carlton becomes 78th pitcher to win 200
07/23/1978 - Reggie Jackson returns & helps Yankees win their 5th straight
07/23/1979 - George Brett gets his 1,000th hit
07/23/1979 - Keith Godchaux, rocker (Grateful Dead), dies in a car accident at 31
07/23/1980 - Billy Carter admits to being paid by Libya
07/23/1980 - River of No Return Wilderness Area designated by Jimmy Carter
07/23/1980 - Soyuz 37 ferries 2 cosmonauts (1 Vietnamese) to Salyut 6
07/23/1982 - Birth-Schottzie Schott, dog mascot of Cincinnati Reds
07/23/1982 - FCC approves AM stereo radio, KTSA San Antonio goes stereo
07/23/1982 - Intl Whaling Comn votes for total ban on coml whaling (starting 1985)
07/23/1982 - Vic Morrow, actor (Cimmaron), killed during "Twilight Zone" at 53
07/23/1983 - Georges Auric, French composer (It Always Rains on Sunday), dies at 84
07/23/1984 - KC Royals Dan Quisenberry gets his 200th career save
07/23/1984 - Lloyd Gough, actor (Black Bart, Tolsa), dies of aortic aneurism at 77
07/23/1984 - Suzette Charles (NJ), 21, replaces Williams as 57th Miss America 1984
07/23/1984 - Vanessa Williams, 1st black Miss America, resigns due to posing nude
07/23/1985 - Kay Kyser, bandleader (Kay Kyser's Kollege), dies at 79
07/23/1986 - Britain's Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson
07/23/1986 - Jouko Paavo Kalervo Tolonen, composer, dies at 73
07/23/1986 - King Hassan II meets with Israeli premier Simon Peres
07/23/1987 - Petra Felke (E Ger) throws javelin 78.89 m (women's record)
07/23/1987 - RNI (Bkln NY pirate radio station) begins broadcasting on 1620 AM
07/23/1987 - Red Sox waive Bill Buckner, the goat of last years World Series
07/23/1987 - Said Aouita of Morocco runs world record 5,000 m (12:58.39)
07/23/1988 - Jahangir Khan, cricketer (4 Tests for India 1932-36), dies
07/23/1988 - Saskatchewan's Dave Ridgway kicks record 8 field goals vs Edmonton
07/23/1989 - 118th British Golf Open: Mark Calcavecchia shoots a 275 at Royal Troon
07/23/1989 - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic
07/23/1989 - FOX-TV tops ABC, NBC & CBS for 1st time (America's Most Wanted)
07/23/1989 - Winds gust to 85 MPH at Fort Smith Arkansas
07/23/1990 - Georges Flamant, actor (La Chienne), dies in Paris at 86
07/23/1990 - Joe Turner, jazz pianist, dies of cardiac arrest at 82
07/23/1990 - Robert Sommer, singer, dies of liver failure at 42
07/23/1990 - Rosie Jones, (St Louis), 26, crowned 22nd Miss Black America
07/23/1990 - South-Africa worker's union leader Billy Nair arrested
07/23/1991 - Billie Carlyle
07/23/1991 - James Farentino of Dynasty arrested in Canada for cocaine possession
07/23/1991 - Rob Dibble back from 3-game suspension, is ejected for throwing at & hitting Cubs baserunner Doug Dascenzo Cubs win, 8-5
07/23/1992 - Arletty, French actress (Hotel, Longest Day), dies at 94
07/23/1992 - Bruce Springsteen begins a world tour
07/23/1992 - Emperor Haile Selassie, [Ras Tafari Makonnen] of Ethiopia's, funeral
07/23/1992 - Maxine Audley, Brit actress (Vikings, Our Man in Havana), dies at 69
07/23/1993 - Boon completes 17th Test Cricket century, 107 at Headingley
07/23/1993 - British Aerospace 147 crash at Yinchuan, 55 killed
07/23/1993 - Chinese B737 crash at Yinchuan, at least 66 killed
07/23/1993 - Chris Boardman bicycles world record 1 hour distance (52,270 km)
07/23/1993 - Jordan, father of Michael Jordan, murdered
07/23/1993 - NY Yankee Mark Hutton is 1st Australian to be a starting pitcher, He beats Angels 5-2; Yanks, Red Sox, Blue Jays 3 way tie for 1st
07/23/1994 - Aad Ivens, Dutch checkers player, dies at 80
07/23/1994 - All 40,000 ceiling tiles in Kingdome must be replaced
07/23/1994 - Amy Osmond, of Utah, 17, crowned America's Junior Miss
07/23/1994 - Dancer Gene Kelly suffers a mild stroke
07/23/1994 - Don Mattingly becomes 6th NY Yankee to get 2,000 hits
07/23/1994 - Goodwill Games open in St Petersburg
07/23/1994 - Hans J Salter, Aust/US composer (Deanna-Durbin musicals), dies at 98
07/23/1994 - Henry William Collins, artist, dies at 84
07/23/1994 - Longest baseball rain delay (3:39) as Giants beat Mets 4-2 in NYC
07/23/1994 - Space shuttle STS-65: Columbia 17, lands after record 14 days 55 mins
07/23/1995 - "Hamlet" closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 121 performances
07/23/1995 - 124th British Golf Open: John Daly shoots a 282 at St Andrews Scotland
07/23/1995 - Bob Rundick, poet/DJ, dies at 52
07/23/1995 - Floyd McDaniel, blues singer/guitarist, dies at 80
07/23/1995 - Miguel Indur ins wins his 5th Tour de France
07/23/1995 - Tracy Kerdyk wins LPGA JAL Big Apple Golf Classic
07/23/1996 - Aliki Vougiouklaki, actress (Madalena), dies at 63
07/23/1996 - Jessica Lucy Mitford, author, dies at 78
07/23/1996 - John Corner, scientist, dies at 80
07/23/1997 - Andrew Cunanan, serial killer (Gianni Versage), commits suicide
07/23/1997 - Dallas TV Station KXAS settle with Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin & Erik Williams for reporting false sex assault allegations against them
07/23/2000 - 129th British Golf Open: at Royal Lytham
07/23/2000 - 55th US Women's Open Golf Championship

DOOM!
Ah yes, because of the prophecy of my birth, created by an old hag in 562 AD, many events have occurred preparing the way for my entrance into this world and its eventual doom, carried out by myself. Do you think it was any coincidence that Earl Lamoraal van Egmont beat France on the exact same day I was born, 424 years beforehand? Or that so many Jews died on my birthday? Or that Aleksei Mihailovitch Romanov succeeds his father Michael as Czar on the same day as my birth a man who shares my middle name as his first? Also on my birthday, Wolfgang Gentner was born; he was a German nuclear physicist: If it was not for him, I could not go into the nuclear industry (see above for the end of the world). Do you not think it odd that Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia ultimately leading to WW I on my birthday? Can you place any connection between these seemingly unrelated events? The end is near for my birth has been foretold and it has already happened.

Weekend and Week in Sentance Fragments (with a few complete ones)

2004-07-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Went to the beach last Saturday in Biloxi with Kristy. Went to a really good seafood restraunt in Biloxi; best shrimp I've ever had. The Friday before the Saturday Kristy invited our neighbors Shane and Heidi to go with us to one of the best seafood restraunts in Baton Rouge: Mike Anderson's. Damn that was good food. Really expensive though. This week in the plant, have been shadowing Ops (Operations). Been in some really hot areas like the diesel generators. Diesel generators: very painful; terrible combination of noise, heat, and dryness.

Currently waiting for Kristy to come home from a business dinner. In meantime, updated pc. Got Ad-Aware Professional, not personal version, now. Also updated WinZip and WinRar. Updated RealPlayer along with now having the Plus version of Real Player. Got rid of QuickTime, got QuickTime Alternative. Why? I despise QuickTime. QTAlternative is much better. How did I gain access to so many good things? Check this site out: 9down

1400 Miles Ago to the Present: A Story of My Independence Day / Barrett's Wedding

2004-07-08T09:42:00.001-05:00

I had a very good Independence Day weekend. It started off (Day 1 of 4) with morning coffee with Kristy at CC's, then the long grueling trip to Orlando. Speed was good and cops were few, for some reason, most were facing west-bound on I-10 and north-bound on I-75, the opposite directions I was going. stopped by a fireworks "factory" to pick up some "legal" fireworks (legal in the state of Alabama that is, legality in Florida is questionable).

Once I got home we had dinner and then set them off next to the lake behind our house. It's a really good thing we set them off there because two of them went up and then back down into the lake. If we had set them off not aiming across the lake, they would have exploded on the ground, which is bad for fireworks designed to go off in the air.

Day 2 of 4 was Barrett's wedding. I went to Circuit City the morning of his wedding to look at car audio receivers and radar detectors (since I knew my trip back was going to have a lot of cops, ref: paragraph 2). I got a radar detector there then went to a Super Target to get Barrett a toaster. My dad researched toasters with Consumer Reports so we could get him the best one. It was kind of awkward writing the two and from on the gift since I did not know Barrett's wife's name. So I just put "To Barrett and Wife" on a small firework and attached it onto the gift.

I met up with Phil, Cory, Josh, and Dave at Dave's house, hung out for a short time, then they all followed me to Barrett's place since even though they had all been there, I was the only one to remember how to get to his place. (For some reason I usually get really lost finding a place for the first time, but once I know where some place is, I never forget how to get there) When we were waiting outside for Dave at Dave's house, I decided to clean my car up, in which I found a chocolate bar, melted, but still contained in its wrapper, so Cory came up with the idea of giving that to Barrett. When we got there I hid the toaster with the rest of the presents. After Barrett got out of the shower and into his tux, I shook his hand with the Hershey's bar.

As everyone guessed before the wedding even started, Barrett was marrying a Japanese girl (he has this thing for all things Japanese :P) She was wearing [I forget the name but it is the traditional Japanese wedding dress]. I got pics of the wedding, but I did not get to see them since my camera's batteries died the moment I took the picture of Emma, Barrett's wife, throwing her bouquet to the rest of the girls there (mostly from the country club Barrett works at), so my camera died with the lens open. There were American and Japanese decorations all over. Dinner was kabobs, served with lots of rice dishes and beer, wine, whiskey, and sake. I went for the wine and sake. There were two bottles of sake there, a thin one and a big one. I went for the thin one since the bottle looked more Asian. I filled my glass with it. Man, it was some good sake. Found out from Barrett later that the bottle was 50 American dollars. Many others got into it, once 2/3 of the bottle was empty, someone put the bottle away. The el-cheapo sake wasn't the same. The music at the wedding was really good. Barrett hooked him Mac up to speakers all over his house; mp3's could be heard everywhere, really good mp3 music too. As the party died down, Cory, Phil, and I got involved in a game of Texas Hold 'Em. Since it's a boring game without bets, Phil and I betted about a dollar on each hand. When Cory would win, neither of us would take the money, just put more in for the next game. At times Phil had most of my money; at other times I had most of Phil's money. But in the end, Phil won, I lost 9 dollars. We got to talk to Barrett only occasionally since he was very busy with the wedding. We didn't get to talk to Emma at all until the end. She was really nice, cute too. Barrett has done well :P The wedding was a reenactment since they already got married in May for immigration purposes. They are going to do a third ceremony later this year in Tokyo for Emma's family. Only her mother and another relative were able to come to Orlando.

The next day (3 of 4) was relaxing during the morning. Since my birthday is near the end of July and this weekend was the only time I would be home this month, my dad was going to "kind of" celebrate my birthday now. I am guessing he has something else planned, but I was able to get one gift now. It's a car audio receiver. I have wanted one that could play mp3's for a while. It's a Pioneer 4600. It can handle audio CD's, mp3 CD's, plus AM/FM (of course). But the main thing I wanted was that it could play the ID3 tags for artist and song names. However, the people at Circuit City were confused by my car. They thought it would not have an amp so they gave us a one hour installation estimate. But my car did have an amp, so they then connected it to the amp. However, once they did, they could not understand why it would not work. They then decided to rewire my entire system to bypass the amp, this would decrease sound quality but it is the only thing they could think of. After 6 hours, they gave up and put the original receiver (factory made one) back onto my dash. We waited around Circuit City the entire time. Usually I like looking around electronic stores, but after 2 hours it got dull. I got my camera's shutter to close by borrowing one of Circuit City's batteries. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was also on several TV's there, so it wasn't all that bad. I hope I can still get it installed for free at a Circuit City here in Baton Rouge; the managers of the two stores will have to talk to one another. Then I went home for dinner and all was well.

The ride to Baton Rouge (Day 4 of 4) was worse than the ride to Orlando. Even though now I had radar detector, my air conditioning failed (it works randomly), and at lunch, a family in a red truck slammed their door into mine. They did not leave a note. Now there is a reddish dent in my car. I didn't see the dent until I got to Baton Rouge since it was on the passenger's side. I really wish I looked earlier, I could of stopped them and then ask for their info; that's what bothers me the most, I could of stopped them. The traffic was good until I got to I-12, when it became heavy. But my day became good again once I got to see Kristy. She made me some dinner and all became well. She went home to her parents for Independence Day, but got back a day before me.

*plots to get more "legal in Alabama" fireworks on the trip back in August*

Summary:
Day 1: Drove to Orlando, Fireworks
Day 2: Shopped, Barrett's Wedding
Day 3: Family Time, Car mp3 receiver
Day 4: Drove back to Baton Rouge