How I Cost Barack Obama The Presidency

Sorry Barack! :(

Let Me Get This Straight...

Recently got this in an email and thought I'd share it with the world.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic and different."

If you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, it’s the quintessential American story.

***************

If your name is Barack, you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

If you name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

***************

If you graduate from Harvard law School, you are unstable.

If you attend five different small colleges before graduating, you're well-grounded.

***************

If you:

spend three years as a community organizer,

become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review,

create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters,

spend twelve years as a Constitutional Law professor,

spend eight years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people,

become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee,

spend four years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people,

sponsor 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is:

local weather girl

four years on the city council of a town with less than 7,000 people,

six years as the mayor of the same small town,

twenty months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,

getting a passport two years ago,

never traveled outside the United States until last year except to go Mexico and Canada ,

then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

***************

If you have been married to the same woman for nineteen years while raising two beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife, who waited years for your return, with a rich heiress, then left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

***************

If you want to teach young children about sexual predators, you are irresponsible and eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system, you're very responsible.

***************

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.


If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that hates America and advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, it’s much clearer now.

New Ferret Pics

This post is ridiculously late, but here it is. Our fuzzies in all their mischievous but equally cute glory.

Say hi to Baby & Critter (aka "Churpa" & "Vlad").

Click to look at pictures on Flickr.

The Creator of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Thanks to "Bandit" for the video.

Dr. Horrible, The Dark Knight, and Watchmen Trailer

If you haven't already caught the latest from Joss Whedon, here it is.

Also, The Dark Knight really is an incredible movie and I plan on seeing it again this weekend to further absorb the movie in its entirety. I want to write a comprehensive review of the film, and I may yet do that, but the fact of the matter is that all of the build-up, all of the hype for the film, just doesn't do it justice. This is a great film that just happens to have Batman and The Joker in it. Kudos to everyone who worked on the film, because movies of this quality are increasingly rare these days. Even jaded sociology majors can and should enjoy this one. ;)

Finally, the Watchmen trailer was attached to The Dark Knight, and it looks pretty solid at this stage.

What a good weekend to be a geek!

Update: Another funny addition to the "I'm a Marvel I'm a DC" video series.

Slacker Races June 2008

This past Saturday, Indian Princess, sister of Indian Princess, and myself participated in the Slacker's Half Marathon and 4-mile races in Georgetown, CO. The slacker name is in reference to both races being downhill. The half marathon impressively entails a 2,000-mile descent from the beginning of the race at Loveland Ski Area, to the end of race in downtown Georgetown. The ladies happened to be the ones with the balls and ran the half marathon (approximately 13.1 miles). They were troopers and ran the whole way until they crossed the finish line. However, they did not leave unscathed.

Myself? I was the ultimate slacker and opted for the 4-mile race, which is still more than a 5k, thank you very much. Anywho, I also ran the whole way and managed to finish with a time of 34:28, which I thought was okay. Turns out, I placed first in my age group of 24-29 and at the award/prize ceremony during the post-race festivities, I was honored with a gold medal.

As the consummate humble individual, I made no attempts to call attention to myself, but a handful of people did ask to touch me. K, not quite, but they did ask to touch the medal. In all seriousness though I was surprised at my placing, but also honored to receive an award for my accomplishment. I hope to eventually put the medal and the bib in a frame.

In summation, the entire weekend was a blast! The three of us had a nice meal on Friday night that consisted of portabella-veggie burgers, baked potatoes, and grilled corn on the cob. The race day was especially a great experience, despite having to wake up at 5:00 AM on a Saturday to make it to the shuttles in Georgetown. The post-race festivities included some great food, drinks, and people. Plus, the t-shirts that we got in our packages were pretty sweet! It took us a while to notice the dude that the bear is chasing.

The rest of the pictures from the event can be viewed here. Here's to looking forward to the Firecracker 5k this 4th of July!

Review: The Incredible Hulk

I have stated numerous times that I was in the minority who enjoyed the first Hulk movie. With the exception of "hulk dogs", I found Ang Lee's take on the Hulk to be an intriguing examination of both the duality of the human condition and society's insistence on the suppression of the inner savage beast and the potential negative outcomes of that suppression. 

I never really followed the Hulk character that closely in the comics, as I never found the shallower version of the Jekyll/Hyde motif to be all that interesting. However, I did enjoy how the 2003 film added some meaty psychology to the characters and made an effort to offer more than just green monster action scene after green monster action scene. I found the respective "daddy issues" of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross to be a refreshing introduction that really explained why the characters were drawn to each other. With that said, I completely understand the common criticisms levied at the film. It was indeed a "slow" film, and it deviated from the source material in a multitude of ways. If I'm not mistaken, incredible or not, Hulk isn't able to run at mach 10 or cover many miles in a single jump. Although, I enjoyed the comic panel sequences, those also seemed to rub some people the wrong way. Ultimately, I think the main problem with Hulk was that it simply wasn't what people wanted. It offered a character study when people wanted "hulk smash." Which leads me to this year's film.

If you loathed Ang Lee's Hulk, you are likely going to enjoy The Incredible Hulk. Despite some alarming similarities in plot, the movies are simply different animals. The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, is pure popcorn, summer movie entertainment. That's not to say it is a shallow film by any means, and as someone who geeked out over Transformers last year, I see no problem in enjoying a movie that is clearly not even trying to be anything approaching deep. This movie obviously strove to be the antithesis of the earlier film and when judged on those merits, it succeeded. Throughout the 114 minute runtime of the film, the plot continued to move at a brisk pace. It's not that I was bothered by this, I just got the impression that a fair amount of "character" material was left on the cutting room floor, which is unfortunate, because most of the actors did a good job, they were just given only so much to work with. From what I have heard, Norton wasn't particularly happy with the final cut of the film, so it will be interesting to see if any scenes or alternative cuts appear on DVD in the future.

The effects of the movie were solid in my opinion. One of the criticisms of the CGI in the 2003 film was that the Hulk looked more like an angry Shrek than an unstoppable monster. Not the case here. Although the Hulk is still obviously computer generated, the level of detail in the skin and hair was very impressive. This is particularly apparent in a scene where the audience is actually able to observe Banner change to the Hulk and back again, no cutaways, you get to see the bones and joints popping, skin stretching, and the obvious pain that is involved in the process of "hulking out."

The movie's climax is likely going to be the icing on the cake for Hulk fans who have been craving a no-holds-barred action sequence. Seeing the Hulk go toe-to-toe with a villain that is at or beyond his level is a sight to behold, not to mention that there is something cathartic about cheering for the good guy as he leaves a trail of mayhem and destruction in his wake.

This leads me to why I think the Hulk character is popular with so many people. He represents a very real desire that many of us share, a desire to hulk out and smash things on occasion. Over the centuries, mankind has attempted to "evolve" and become more "civilized". In many ways we have, but when held under the microscope for further scrutiny it is quite clear that despite our attempts, we have yet to tame the beast within. Perhaps we never will? Perhaps that is okay? It is possible that this is why people are drawn to Mr. Green. He is a symbol of the rage inside us all, and a reminder of what can happen if we let it take control.

I give The Incredible Hulk a B-. It's not as good as Iron Man, but it sure as hell is above many other comic books films from the past few years. It won't make you ponder much, but it may show you how enjoyable smashing things can be.

Oh, for those who haven't seen it yet...

Dork Tower Comic

Even though I haven't seen The Incredible Hulk yet, I still enjoyed this comic. Even though I am essentially that fan boy that the comic is poking fun at.

A Man/Woman and His/Her Mac

After talking to various friends and colleagues of mine over the past year or so, it has become apparent that there are a few Mac owners/users out there. This has led me to ponder how people may use their Mac OS differently. Specifically, I am curious how other users customize their system preferences to suit their individual tastes. If you are a Mac user, please feel free to share your responses to the below queries (my answers are in italics). If you are not a Mac user, seek help, your mind is sick and you desperately need professional help. 

Query 1: How do you organize your files? Do they have a veritable catalogue of well-organized folders and sub-folders that you can easily navigate via the Finder? Or is your desktop littered with folders and files for "easy access". Everyone has a method to their madness, what's yours?

I try to keep a tidy desktop both in the real world and the virtual world. Hence, my desktop tends to be on the tidy side. I try to limit desktop clutter to 1–5 documents or folders on any given day. I find that this allows me a better view of my wallpaper in addition to providing a nice sense of virtual feng shui (see picture).

Query 2: Do the OS Leopard users utilize the stacks feature on the dock? If so, how do you like the documents and folders to be displayed? As a fan? Grid? Or list? 

Personally, I use stacks sparingly. I am so use to searching for files via the finder that I often forget that there are other ways to navigate through the Mac world.

Query 3: How have you customized your dock? Is it set to show or hide? Where is it positioned? Is your minimize effect set to "genie" or "scale"? Is magnification on or off?

At work, I have my dock set to auto-hide and positioned on the on the bottom of the left monitor at my workstation. However, at home, I tend to prefer to keep the dock visible at all times.

Query 4: What view mode is your finder window set to? Icons? List? Column? Or Cover flow? 

As visually impressive as cover flow may be, I still prefer to use the column view mode to navigate through files and folders. To me, this option just seems so intuitive, not to mention how quick it is to navigate back and forth from folder to folder without having to click "back" and "forward" buttons, although you can if you like. I also find it much easier to copy or click and drag files while in the column view mode (see picture).

Iron Man vs Batman

I already posted one of these earlier, but I thought I'd share the other two. Enjoy!

I promise to post something more substantial in the future; when life gets busy, posting takes a back seat.

Later!

Cricket, Cricket...

I know things have been quite around here lately; life has been busy, plus we have been without the internets at home since the move. However we have occasionally been able to "borrow" other people's wireless internets. Let's hear it for unsecured wireless networks!

I hope to have a post up in the near future about the 2008 Bolder Boulder, that Mustang, Indian Princess, and I participated in this past Memorial Day. In short, it was a blast!

In the meantime, I'll share the below story, which was emailed to me by a colleague of mine.

-------------------------

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from
Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant
standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed
distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the elephant's foot, and found a
large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently
as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the
elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the
man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for
several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but
being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and
walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his
teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the
creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron
were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its
front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that
several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if
this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over
the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to
the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again,
wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the
railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

**
**

**This is for all of my friends who send me those heart-warming bullshit
stories.**

G.I. What Now?

When the first shots of the 2009 film G.I. Joe were released, featuring the popular character Snake Eyes, things appeared to be promising for the adaptation of the popular 80's cartoon and toy-line. Any initial promise has now been thrown out the window, as other shots of various characters have recently been released. See the article at Superherohype and click on the various names to see the different pictures. 

With the exception of the females, the rest of the images are chuckle-inducing, and not in a good way. Apparently everyone just has variations of the same black leather suit that we have already seen in such stellar pieces of cinema as Batman & Robin, and the X-Men movies. I guess everyone has to sport the "team" look. LAME!

I am particularly disappointed in the released image of Storm Shadow; does this look like this? Or this? NO! It most assuredly does not! What is that suppose to be? Some sort of ninja/doctor hyrbrid? The man is wearing a lab coat for Jebus' sake! Oh wait, taking off the mask makes it SO much better. If by better, you mean an asian, emo, pretty boy-ninja. 

I should have expected this oncoming disaster, given that the director Stephen Sommers was at the helm of such venerable films as Deep Rising; The Mummy movies; The Scorpion King; and Van Helsing. 

I'm going to go console my childhood.

I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC: Iron Man and Batman

In the spirit of celebrating the recent release of Iron Man, I thought I would post this little argument between two heroes that may have more in common than they would like to admit.

Tis the Season for Fixin' de Autos

"Indian Princess" and I recently replaced the windshield on our Dodge Dakota, aka "Juno". It was a much put off, much needed repair job, as there were a handful of cracks streaking their way across the glass. Unfortunately, the cost of the repair was below our deductible, so we had to pay for the repairs out-of-pocket. However, looking at the shiny new windshield makes me think it was a worthwhile expenditure. 

Apparently, we are not the only ones tending to our automobile, as HSBP is in the midst of taking the pope mobile in for a much needed front-end repair job.

In other news, as of this post, Iron Man is currently sitting at 94% on the Tomatometer. Must temper excitement.... must keep inner geek at bay... ah, who am I kidding? I'm probably going to get an action figure.

Mac vs. PC: The Ultimate Lab Test for New Desktops & Laptops

Interesting article, regardless of which side of the "Mac vs. PC" debate you are on. With that said, OS X Leopard is to Windows Vista, as Iron Man is to Aquaman. That is to say, SUPERIOR IN EVERY F%@KING WAY!

Quick Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth

At the recommendation of G-Fresh and Fleur, Indian Princess and I rented Pan's Labyrinth on Saturday, and after having seen it, I have to say it is one of the most visually engaging movies I have seen in quite a while. There were some violent scenes that were pretty graphic and difficult to watch; noses being beat in and mouths being cut open come to mind. However, apart from those scenes, I found myself completely engaged in the film's story, and totally immersed in this little universe brought to us by Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro. 

I can see why the film garnered so much praise--96% on RottenTomatoes--it was truly a unique film. Original movies such as this one--no book served as the basis for this yarn--are so rare these days, especially in American cinema. The imaginative screenplay, combined with gripping acting and the seamless integration of both puppetry and cgi make Pan's Labyrinth a must see in my opinion. Some of the violence may keep people from wanting to see the movie a second time and that is completely understandable, but for the non-squeamish, treat yourself to this adult fairy tale, you will not be disappointed.

I Have My Candidate

It has taken me a while to make a final decision on who I will support in 2008. I now have my candidate.

On a related note, because of the box office success of Transformers last year, a live-action G.I. Joe movie received the green light and is currently in production for an August 7, 2009 release date. The first two photos of the popular character "Snake Eyes" (played by Ray Park of Darth Maul fame) were released recently, and I have to say, seeing them brought back some serious nostalgia from my days as wee lad, watching the show and collecting the toys. I remember really enjoying the ninja characters, especially Storm Shadow.

Fans of the TV show Doctor Who may recognize the actor who will be playing Destro. To view the rest of the cast, visit the movie's IMDB web page.

*Note: This post was suppose to go up on April 1st, but I didn't get around to it due to last week being somewhat busy.

The Geekster Handbook

I came across this page while thumbing through an issue of Wired magazine, and I just had to share it with my fellow geeks. Click here to view the on-line version of the article and identify which species of geek you are.

Obviously, I fall into "The Fanboy" group, as I had purchased that same Green Lantern shirt a mere two weeks before coming across this page. I also share that time-tested fanboy turn-on of slave Leia in a bantha-skin bikini. Furthermore, yes, The Force certainly does exist, midi-chlorians are indeed bullshit, and DAMN-STRAIGHT HAN SHOT FIRST! However, I am a little conflicted about who I think would win in a fight between the Fett man and Batman. Both are examples of superlative badassness. 

As an aside, I think Flynn may have the unique honor of falling into three categories of geek. I see a bit of "gamer", "gadget guy", and "hacker" in him. Congrats for the trifecta Flynn! We also may have an Otaku in the group.

Lastly, WTF is "I33t" fluency anway?

Catching Up

1. A couple Friday's ago Fleur, Indian Princess, and I attended an Obama rally here in Laramie. The event was well-attended and certainly worth going to. Obama delivered many of the same talking points from earlier rallies and speeches, but he did manage to throw in a few Wyoming references that were appreciated. I must say, regardless of whether or not you are pulling for the guy at this point, one cannot deny his mad orator skills. Myself? I think he is the more desirable candidate compared to the wicked witch of the...ahem...Clinton, or "Iran is aiding Al Qaeda" and I've been a prisoner of war and am a grumpy old man McCain. With that said, whose leg do I have to hump to get an "Obama Boy" shirt? Why should girls have all of the fun with supporting the guy?
   
2. Last Friday, Indian Princess, Mustang, and I ran another 5k. This one was in Ft. Collins and was called the "Sharin' O' the Green". Our team, "The Pink Fluffy Monsters" finished 45th out of a registered 55 teams, with times of 30:14 (yours truly); 42:03 (Mustang); and Indian Princess (42:04). This was Mustang's first race ever and she was a real trooper. In future races we hope to go by the team name "Killer Tofu," well at least I do. After the race, we enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day parade and then ate some brunch at Beau Joe's pizza, where I had an exquisite tofu pie. *drool*
   
3. Otherwise, life is moving along. I was able to spend some time with my sister during the past week while she was in town for her 21st birthday. It is an unsettling experience to witness your younger sister pound down so much alcohol and still not look that worse for wear.
   
4. Indian Princess and I also recently subscribed to NETFLIX, and we are looking forward to trying it out for a while. 
   
5. Finally, if you haven't yet visited the IRON MAN website, do yourself a favor and give it a quick browse. If you cannot at least get SOMEWHAT excited for this flick, you are SO dead inside!
   

The Incredible Hulk Trailer

Just finished watching this a few times and I have to say, it didn't tickle my inner geek. I have never been terribly intrigued by the Hulk character, despite it's obvious parallels to the Jekyll/Hyde motif. I was in the minority of people who enjoyed the first Hulk movie. What I enjoyed about the first one was how director Ang Lee managed to add some depth to a mythos that sorely needed it. 

After seeing the trailer for this next rendition, and assuming that the film makers are returning to the traditional "Hulk Smash" basics that apparently resonates with more fans, I'm left feeling somewhat underwhelmed. However, I suppose "Hulk Smash" could be mildly entertaining, and it could be interesting to see Edward Norton's take on the Bruce Banner/Hulk character. 

Update: Click here if you don't want to feel dirty for having to go to MTV's web site to watch the trailer.

Picture Debuts for Five Watchmen Characters

Being somewhat of a comic book connoisseur, having an appreciation for Watchmen pretty much comes with the territory. The book, written by the venerable Alan Moore, has seen several attempts to translate it from panel to film, but it is now finally on its way to the big screen with a planned March, 2009 release date. 

300 director Zack Snyder is helming the film, and from what I have read so far, seems to be doing an honest job in trying to be as faithful to the source material as possible. No easy task, given the size and complexity of the yarn that is Watchmen.

Snyder has released a couple snapshots of the film's production over the past several months, but he recently released shots of five of the major characters from the story. I think Nite Owl, Rorschach, Silk Spectre, and the Comedian are looking pretty solid at this stage, but that pic of Ozymandias makes me recall the abomination of all comic book films. Have you learned nothing Hollywood? Nipples=crap! If it's not too much to ask, please drop the nipples, they look OH-so-silly.

Full Iron Man Trailer

Click here to give yourself a geekgasm. Myself, I need a new pair of pants as I am officially PSYCHED for this flick! May 2nd can't come fast enough! I may be developing a man-crush on Downey Jr., or at least his portrayal of Tony Stark.

Nader,Data Backup, the Significance of Leap Year, and Juno

So Nader recently threw his name into the presidential sweepstakes. Despite the fact that I voted for him in 2000--by writing his name on the ballot no less--I have to say I am disappointed to see him continue to gum up the works. Ralph, you have contributed enough, please don't attempt to contribute anything else.

Now, onto other items:

-Flynn recently made me feel guilty about not backing up my data more often. I do a faithful job of this at work, but I now realize that I will have to take this issue seriously at home as well. Ugh! 

-February 29th is just around the corner. The day holds a special place in my heart, as it is the day that Indian Princess and I started "seeing each other." Whatever that means. 

-If you haven't seen Juno yet, do. It's one of the more charming movies I have seen in a while. It will make a nice addition to the "legally archived collection." If you're concerned whether or not you will enjoy it, I can definitely say that it is better than both Jumper and The Chronicles of Riddick combined. I saw the later on tv the other day, what a silly, silly movie.

Woe is February

Over the past few years I have witnessed family, friends and loved ones get rather down in the dumps during the second month of the year. Whether it was the harsh weather or the lesser amount of sunlight bringing everyone down, I do not know. But each year, I watched as the behavior of people around me noticeably changed. Most times, for the worse.

Yet in February of 2008, it is I who find myself wallowing in a depression-like state. There are times when I feel like I am breaking out of this potentially self-induced funk only to find myself feeling like I have a tremendous weight on my chest that cannot be removed.

It is not the temperature outside that has been bothering me. No, it is the tides of change that are swirling about me, threatening to engulf my static state of being. 

As lost as I may feel, I continue to grasp for the warmth and compassion that is being extended either knowingly or unknowingly by friends and family. Lately, it has only been in these moments of "connectedness" in which I have felt centered. When one is so use to relying on their own intuition to decipher the complexities of life, it is humbling to go through a stretch where the only answers to be found are from the mouths of others.

Chances are that if you are reading this, you are deserving of my gratitude.  Whether you are near or far, know that in your own way, you have touched my life in some capacity, and for that I thank you. This is a shout-out to my acquaintances, friends, and family. Domo! Domo, very much!

I'm a Big Kid Now

This evening I "made my first legal back-up copy of a DVD." ;) 

I am enjoying the perks of "archiving my previously purchased DVDs." It's important to back-up one's data, don't you think?

To Game or Not to Game

Senor Flynn recently helped me with some software for my iMac. From what I can tell, I should be able to hack into people's bank accounts, as well as send air strikes to bomb other countries. Who knew that one could access the missile silos outside of Cheyenne by pressing "command+fn+^"? I surely didn't. ;)

In addition to some handy software, Flynn also installed the RPG game Fallout 2. Apparently, it's a game from a popular series amongst "the gamers." I have tried to get into the game, but I can't seem to grasp the controls, and the prospects of spending tons of spare time on the journey seems daunting. I remember me having somewhat of an aversion towards RPGs when I was in high school and in college. My roommates--who were consummate gamers--seemed to not be able to get enough of them. I remember them putting countless hours of their time--which should have been spent studying or doing the damn dishes or taking out the trash--into these types of games. Now I admit, the idea of creating a character and going on an open-ended journey sounds cool, but I just seem to be struggling to allow myself to become fully absorbed in the gaming experience. Does this mean I am old? Or does it just mean I am getting some? Still trying to figure that one out, but I digress...

Maybe I will be able to find some time on the odd weeknight or a few hours on the weekend to devote to gaming again. Getting in touch with your inner geek...I mean child, is healthy after all. Here's to gaming, may it do nothing for my career, but give me much escapist entertainment.

Finally, just last night I was able to successfully install a secure wireless network at the pad, and I did it all by myself! Actually, I can't take too much credit, most of the work was covered by the fact that our wireless router was an Apple product, and they just work. Setting everything up was quite easy.

P.S. Flynn and I have a "man-date" on Friday evening, and he will be helping me "install some more software." ;)

En Memoriam

No matter how at peace one may be with the concept of death, one cannot help but be impacted by it when it hits home. When a loved one passes on, we are left to grieve for their absence. However, we soon come around to focusing on the wonderful memories and experiences that we shared with them, and we realize that they never actually left. That in fact they are still here.

Our loved ones live on, forever, in our memories, in our stories, and in our hearts and souls. All we have to do is close our eyes and there they are, always waiting, always willing to bring a smile to our faces.

If you have any pets, give them an extra sign of affection and let them know how treasured they really are. Let them know how much happiness and joy they bring to your life.

“Ode to Beastie”

You were taken much to soon
Taken before we could be ready
But could we ever be prepared for this?
When you brought so much to our lives
When you touched our souls so deeply
All of the times when you would dance and play
All of the times when you would brighten up our day
Make no mistake, you will be missed
Your scurrying feet, and your thievish ways
But you should also know how loved you were
And how cherished you will always be

The house is more quite now
Your cage, more empty
But you are in a better place
No pain, no suffering, only peace
We still feel you, if only we could still hold you
We hear you, telling us to be strong
We want to thank you Mr. Beastie
For being so kind, so carefree, and so fearless and brave
You are in a better place now
Play on little buddy, play on
Dance away little Beastie, dance away

Less Than One Year Left

As I write this post, there are 362 days, 12 hours, 3 minutes, and 38.5 seconds left in the cluster-f%#k that has been the Bush/Cheney administration. Even when they are gone, much damage will remain. Many problems will be left neglected and unattended to. According to recent news, the economy is in the shitter, and I am sure that has nothing to do with the incompetence of the administration or the misallocation of the countries' resources.

Bush and Congress are presently trying to come up with a "stimulus package" in order to combat the notion that there was a bit of "sleeping behind the wheel" going on. I am sure we can trust whatever solution they come up with. I mean, they've shown how worthy they are of our trust in the past, right?

Here is to looking forward to January 20th, 2009. Let's hope the presidential election DOES NOT come down to these two.

Finally, and on a completely unrelated note, "Indian Princess" and I caught this last night on Attack of the Show on G4. It made me laugh, a lot.

Kick @$$ Song: Number 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16

"Indian Princess" introduced me to Ray LaMontagne over the x-mas break, and I have been enjoying his music since. Below are some of his songs that I could find on YouTube. Hope you enjoy!

Three More Days



Empty



Jolene



Forever My Friend



Trouble

Back in 2008

Hope everyone had a happy holiday season. It's crazy what can happen during a 3+ week absence from posting or plugging in to world events.

- The Hellboy 2 trailer looks awesome!

- The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are back on the air. Still don't know how I feel about that. I'm happy to have the shows back on, but I do agree that the strike has gotten a bit ridiculous on both sides. With that said, it will be interesting to watch these shows as the strike goes on. At least they are back so I can pretend this isn't on the air.

- Hillary and Obama are slugging it out for the Democratic nomination. I am keeping an eye on the race, and I have to say, Obama is quite the orator. Whether that translates into winning the nomination is yet to be determined. I suppose in some aspects it's inspiring to think about the increasing likelihood that we may have either a woman or an African American in the White House in 2009. It will be interesting to see how the race develops over the next month or so.

- Wyoming gave most of its delegates to Mitt Romney. Way to go Wyo! Here's to hoping that Trauner can get the Congressional seat this year.

- Oh, and Britney Spears is still insane.