Life, The Internet and Everything

Mike Brown vs Urijah Fabre

2009-06-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go out on a limb on this one and predict that Brown repeats and knocks Fabre out again.

It's not that I don't like Fabre, because I do. He actually got me watching the WEC for a while there and is an awesome athlete and is good for the sport. But I'm not sure he can handle Brown's power. I've met some guys in my life that defy logic and have punches that could put a bull down, it's just an unnatural talent.

Now Fabre has a chance if he tries to smother and grind out a G&P victory, but this would involve shooting a lot and Brown has fairly good take-down defense.

All in all I see Fabre thinking that he can trade blows with him and getting knocked out in the 2nd or 3rd.

Eminem vs Bruno

2009-05-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

I nearly died of laughter when I saw this. I like Eminem and everything, but karma comes back to you. And Sacha Baron Cohen punk'd him big time with this stunt.

What the Blip?

2009-04-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

So I've been getting into the micro-blogging, blogging, Facebook application stuff recently; signing up for pretty much everything just to check it out. There have been many useless apps that have fallen by the wayside, but I've really been getting into Blip.fm and have been giving it a serious workout.

If you're not familiar with Blip.fm it's a micro-blogging app related to music. You're the DJ and the public is your audience. When you sign up you fill out a few songs that you like and then you get assigned some DJ's that have similar musical interests, after that you choose songs that you like and they go into a public page where the entire Blip.fm sees them and listens. If they like your song they will give you props and start following you if they like your style.

Blip.fm does it right when it comes to props. You start out with 10 credits to give props, and you gain a credit every time someone gives you a prop. Smart idea because this prevents people from randomly giving out props to everyone, and since they have to post good music to get props it gives the system a bit more credibility.

It nice to have this kind of musical sharing and discussion and it's highly addictive. So try it out and make sure to follow me.

End of Days

2009-04-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

The Funniest Thing On Jimmy Fallon So Far

2009-04-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

This had me rolling! You have to give it up for them for the Lost cameo. If they keep making stuff like this then I will definitely become a fan.

Next Gen Texting

2009-04-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cliff Kushler, one of the pioneers of text inputing who was on the team that developed T9 now has a new offering called Swype. The new method is designed for touch screens and allows you to simply trace out a word and the logic will form the correct word for you. The video shows how fast one can get, and Kushler says he's not a fast typer but manages 50 wpm. Not bad.

Amazing 2009 National Geographic Photos

2009-04-04T18:00:00.001-07:00

There are some people that were put on this earth to take photos. And lucky enough National Geographic tends to find and hire nearly all of them. These pictures are my favorite of 2009 and goes to show what one can do when they see life as though it was meant to be seen, with wonder and awe.

Grow Your Own Air

2009-04-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Kamal Meattle has some intriguing ideas and great research to back it up. He has hypothesized that with three common houseplants once can create and filter oxygen. The country of India has backed him up and is putting extensive money into this project. I'm picking up some plants this weekend!

Parked Car Fail

2009-03-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

6 People to Avoid in Everyday Life

2009-03-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

People amuse me to no end. The ones that amuse me the most are the ones that I probably should avoid, and you too for that matter. Here is my attempt to try to classify the negative ones you should stay away from to save yourself the time and aggravation from making any sort of connection to them.

1. The Excessively Happy Smilebot

"Where are my Stepford knives?"

Stay far away from the EHS. These people suppress every natural emotion in to a big ball of crazy that is stored deep in the foundation of their being. Pray to God that you are not anywhere near them when they let it loose. These people are like nitroglycerin, unstable and explosive when given the slightest jolt, impact or friction at the wrong time. These people don’t make the best friend because they are completely blissed out and are so positive that they actually come full circle and become negative in substance. Friendships with vacuum cleaners are more fruitful.

Identifying Characteristics

Ferociously laughing at something mildly funny.
They laugh just a tad longer then everyone else.
Take a very insincere ultra happy tone when confronted or confrontation is in the vicinity.
When asked for advice they never give it a moment's thought and just give you the obligatory “It’ll be okay” because it shakes their world to think something could be negative.

2. The Life Sucker

"After all, what are birthdays? Here today and gone tomorrow."
Eeyore, The House at Pooh Corner

We’ve all seen these people and have connected with them at some point. They are the complete opposite of the EHS. When you approach them all the lights seem to get dimmer, the clouds start to roll over and your posture seems to slump just a little bit more than normal. Every positive thing said somehow gets turned into talk of money problems, drug problems, and every form of hideous disease known to man. These people cannot be cheered up and any attempt to will only have the opposite effect on you. Run as fast as you can.

Identifying Characteristics

You can’t get ten minutes into a conversation without hearing about the latest hardship.

When this person enters the room everyone flees like vampires to the light.

3. The Gossip Spinner

"Oh no you didn't!"

They welcome you with open arms, catalog every single sentence you utter waiting for the appropriate time to pounce on you like a lion on a gazelle. They love to share the latest gossip, but are careful not to share too much to still maintain your trust. They feed on the ego that is produced by knowing something that someone else does not, like who is sleeping with who or if the curtains match the carpet.

Identifying Characteristics

They use the lines “Oh, you haven’t heard? ” and “Oh, get out!”.

They look left and right before striking up a conversation.

4. The 1upper

"Oh, yeah? I wrote a book about rock and roll. Yeah, it was about the guy who invented rock and roll. Yeah, that's it! In fact, it was.. it was an autobiography! Yeah!"
Jon Lovitz, SNL

Looking back on your life you know that you have accomplished a lot. You’ve gone to many places, had lots of great experiences and met lots of great people. The 1upper has just done all of those with a slightly more interesting story. These people are cunning and listen to only keywords in what you say so they can fabricate a great memory. They make great politicians, actors, lawyers etc.

Identifying Characteristics

After you tell a story they start off with “That’s so great! And this one time…”
Their story details defy logic, physics and common sense.

5. The Hindenburg

"Partly cloudy with a chance of DOOM!"
Stewie Griffin, Family Guy

The one friend you still have from your wild and crazy days that can’t string more than a few good weeks together before it all comes crumbling down. This person tends to find themselves on your couch at the early hours of the morning with a crazy story and a plan on how they are going to get their car back. You go above and beyond for this person because they pointed you in the right direction of the toilet on several drunken occasions. But after doing the obligation math you realize that you broke even when they “borrowed” a few hundred dollars worth of DVD’s last time they were over.

Identifying Characteristics

This person has been in the local newspaper before.
Memories of this person are more up and down then a ride at Busch Gardens.

6. The David Blaine

“And for my next trick…”

They are the masters of disappearing and reappearing at the most convenient time for them. At first they want to be involved in every aspect of your life, you have great times, they meet your family, and then as fast as they came they disappear. Poof. Like freakin’ David Blaine. But wait a few months and you’ll get the call with them on the line acting like it was you that was the wanderer. Followed by the sob story characteristic of “The Hindenburg” and how they need money/shelter/favor.

Identifying Characteristics

Arrives at your door with a backpack on.
Habitually looks for all exits when entering a room.

Alec Baldwin: Wii Guys

2009-03-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

10 Things that make you go "WTF?"

2009-03-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Human/Computer Interaction

2009-03-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

It's been really exciting to see the shift in hardware in the past couple of years and I've noticed that there has been a great movement to change the way that we interact with hardware. With the overwhelming success of products that allow you to interact with computers in a different way like the iPhone and the Wii, there is now a new realization that we can take down the keyboard and controller barrier and start thinking about the future of this interaction in a more creative and symbiotic way. And it can be successful, and daresay profitable.

That's why I was really impressed with David Merrill and his Shiftables at the TED 2009 and the great possibility that these can have on everyone. But, as I am a doting father I can see the potential of these to be awesome learning tools for children, and I imagine that there could be a limitless number of applications of this technology as well.

Probably More Close to Reality

2009-02-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

Life on the Cloud

2009-01-27T18:33:00.001-08:00

It used to be that if you wanted killer apps then you'd have to fork out tons of money to buy proprietary software that you could only use on your own personal computer. And life was good. Then cloud computing came about and life was better.

Essentially you can live life pretty well on the cloud, as I am living proof. Here's a typical day in the life of someone cloud-surfing. (Oh yeah, give me credit on that one)

8:15am - Check email on Gmail. No outlook/outlook express(thank god)/no exchange server.

8:25am - Head over to Mint and check to see that there's at least a few pennies in the bank account, check my very high credit card balances and see how badly I'm following my budget.

8:30am - Check what everyone is up to on Flock, a great browser that is loaded with API's to follow those on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Digg and a host of others. Also has a great landing page where you can view feeds and get updates. (Psss.. it can use Firefox add-ons)

8:40am - Go to work and possibly make it on time.

9:01am - See 8:30am

10:30am - Talk to Mom on Skype and make excuses why she hasn't gotten any recent pics of the kids.

10:37am - Upload photo's and edit them with Photoshop Express, and export them to Facebook and Flickr. Loads of other places to export by the way.

10:45am - Go to Google Docs and get and quickly edit documents for a meeting. Which should have really been done the night before. Google Docs handles documents, spreadsheets and Powerpoint that are written using Microsoft Office or Open Office. And all can be easily exported into PDF. Sweeeeeet.

10:55am - Check Google Calendar to make sure meeting wasn't changed by any of the other twenty people in the office that share it.

11:00am - ~~Try to stay awake during meeting.~~ Attend meeting.

12:00pm - Lunch, and see 8:30am.

2:00pm - Punch out a few tweets on Twitter, write down brilliant idea for a blog post in Evernote.

2:30pm - Pick up an impromptu video chat with Uncle in Scotland using Windows Live Messenger.

3:00pm - Work Done! Life Begins.

All this was done without paying a dime in software costs. If you added up what this would have costed you several years ago then you'd be several hundreds of dollars poorer.

I'm really excited to see how far cloud computing will progress. Google is behind it and it's a huge part of their business model so that says something. With the advent and popularity of Netbooks like the ASUS Eee you can start to see the path of progress in this direction. Does that mean all pay software will go away? No. But if this is the way of the future then computer companies and software developers should definitely start looking in this direction to stay above the curve. I just hope we don't have an issue with net neutrality in this new field. But I'll save that rant for another post.

Music I'm Geeking Out To

2009-01-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

Panic at the Disco
Album: Pretty Odd
Buy it here!

I've had this album for the longest time and never really sat down and listened to it, and now that I have I've gained a new respect for the band. For one it's really catchy, and I'm not one for pop music but this is really really good. The change-overs and chord progressions really pop out at you and the vocals are top-notch.

It has a real experimental and childish quality to it, and not in a bad way. Very innocent and pure are the lyrics and the melodies which really create a very cool listening experience. The harmonies are not overdone and deepen the texture of the songs.

It really is a mashup of a lot of different styles, like they were trying to touch on certain time periods and musical styles. From vaudeville, country bluegrass and as deep as a harpsichord driven rebirth of classical.

This is a must have in any collection. Here are some gems from the album.

That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)

Northern Downpour

She Had the World

Obama Gets A Smart Phone

2009-01-23T18:07:00.001-08:00

After lengthy talks President Obama managed to score a sweet presidential PDA. The security issues seem to be resolved, or they realized that in the right hands the medium can be used securely.

President Obama will be sporting the Sectera Edge, a phone that can go from unclassified to military DoD Level 1 encryption with the click of a button. That goes for voice and data. Think of this as a James Bond phone in the hands of the most powerful man in the free world. You can check out the phone here, and the CNN coverage below.

P.S. CNN: Blackberry not a type of phone, it's a brand.

A Great Day For America

2009-01-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

I'm not one for political rabble-rousing, but I feed really good today now that someone that is competent, driven, and a born leader is now leading my country. We no longer have to be embarrassed with the leadership that we have, and I hope that he will inspire all to act with dignity and make tough decisions for what they believe is right. I do think this will be the beginning of something great, and wish him the best of luck on the job at hand.

Here's the inaugural address if you missed it.

Fleet Foxes on SNL

2009-01-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bands of 2008 is made history last Saturday when they become only the 6th Indie band to play Saturday Night Live. My prediction is that 2009 will be a great year for Indie music because people are getting fed up with the same old sound reproduced year after year.

If you haven't heard them before, the Fleet Foxes have a very unique sound and really break convention. You can preview the album below and as with all music it may turn out to not be your cup of tea, but if you like the album you can buy it here.

UFC 93: Rich Franklin vs Dan Henderson

2009-01-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

--Spoiler--

As much as I like Rich Franklin I think this is the beginning of the end for him since he just can't get it together since the Silva fight. You have to wonder how many more losses he has to go through until Dana White puts him out to pasture.

This was a good fight for Henderson because he showed that he still has some time left, and now earned a spot as the next coach on TUF. He is always really exciting to watch even if he wins or losses and should really mix things up in the division.

Jorge Santiago in the UFC?

2009-01-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Dana White made an statement that a fighter that left the UFC will be returning and will be announced at UFC 98. While there are tons of names being thrown around I would love to see Andrei Arlovski, Robbie Lawler, Vitor Belfort, Dan Severn or Royce Gracie return back to the octagon. But above all I'd like to see Jorge Santiago return.

Who's Jorge Santiago?

Santiago started his UFC career in 2006 and won his debut fight against Justin Levens, but then lost the next two against Chris Leban and Alan Belcher.

But since he left he has been on a roll and in the last year or so has won the Strikeforce title, the Sengoku MW GP, and Sengokus MW belt, with wins over Misaki, Nakamura, Trevor Prangley, Sean Salmon, Jeremy Horn and Andrei Semenov. He trains with American Top Team which is the best camp in my opinion so he's got a lot of good people behind him and a lot going for him.

This guy is absolutely tearing it up and the UFC would be glad to have him back. Here's the video of the Sengoku 2009 match against Kazuo Misaki.

Best Rock Songs of 2008

2009-01-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

If anyone knows anything about me, they know that my musical tastes are typically different than everyone else. I usually find myself on a quest to find the diamonds in the rough music industry soiled by mediocrity, and scour through albums testing myself musically trying to find some really unique songs.

This list is probably a lot different then the Billboard Charts but I think that if you like music, and keep an open mind, you'll find some really great songs here. Although I've included a lot of Indie bands there are also some mainstream bands so I'm not totally biased. It's a pretty big list so grab a comfy chair, a cocktail, and a great pair of headphones and let me know what you think.

Cell Phone Advice

2009-01-06T22:54:00.000-08:00

Thought this was hilarious and very pertinent, click the comic to zoom in. I guess sometimes our materialism hides our common sense.

CD and DVD Longevity in Question

2009-01-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

It been reported that the longevity of the life of writable CD's and DVD has been significantly over-rated. Previously the common idea was that the media would be good for at least a decade or perhaps even two, but now there has been disk failures reported as early as four years.

This puts those with particularly valuable information in danger of potentially losing all of their files, or in a position to have to verify all of their disks to make sure that they are not compromised. I was a very early adopter of backing data up on CD's and DVD's and I've noticed that many pieces of my media are now unreadable, and now I find myself looking for methods to try and recover the information.

The way CD's and DVD's work is that there is a layer of dye that is embedded in the disk that is sensitive to the laser that is in the burners. The laser burns tiny marks in the media and these marks are readable by the optical drive. The problem is that this dye degrades faster than originally estimated and now the marks left in the media are harder for the optical drive to distinguish. It's important to note that this only affects writable consumer media, the CD's and DVD's that are manufactured like movies and software applications use a different method that is much longer lasting and is not in question.

So what should you do?
The first step is verifying that your disks are still in working order. But before you do that you want to have another method of storing the data safely. While there are many ways to backup media, the best and most reliable are hard drives. Hard drives are so unbelievably cheap that you can pick up one with hundreds of gigabytes of storage for under $50. Here are some that I recommend.

Cavalry Storage CAUI Series 250 GB USB External Hard Drive CAUI37250

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDME3200TN (Midnight Black)

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 1 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive WDH1U10000N

As you go through these disks you'll get all the good data and back it up to the hard disk. You may come across data that is now not readable. In that case there are some methods to try and recover it.

Slow down the read speed.
In many cases the slower the read speed is set the more likelihood there is to read the botched data on the CD/DVD. On Nero there is a setting called DriveSpeed that can be set to a lower setting, but check to see if you have this option available.

Use a program designed for recovering damaged disks.
You can try CDRecoveryToolbox which is free and can help recover your important data.

Try reading them on another computer.
Optical drives are finicky things, some will read damaged media better than others. So before you junk them try using another computer in the house or a friend of family members computer to see if the data is readable in another machine.

If you are very attached to the data then you also want to have an off-site storage system so in the event that you have hard drive failure on the backup, or if you have a disaster like a fire or flood then you would have a safe backup at a remote host. You can use services like Carbonite, or Box and you won't have to worry about your data again.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T16:55:00.001-08:00

A new year, a new blog design and a new outlook. This year I'm going to be focusing on improving everything in my life, mind body and soul. I'll be putting all my success and failures, (hopefully more successes) on the blog along with all the other stuff I normally post.

So wish me luck in my endeavor and I'll keep you posted!

Web Design Worksheet

2009-01-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

Plug in the Right Way

2008-12-30T16:35:00.000-08:00

In the age of tiny ear buds, tinny laptop speakers, and mono muzak at work many people have lost that personal connection to music. It was in the early sixties that stereophonic sound started to hit the mainstream and bands went into the studio with a new platform to work with, catering the sound and moving in ways that were just not possible previously. Some attribute the whole psychedelic sound to stereo and the world changing music that came out of that decade. Just imagine listening to a Led Zeppelin album on a turntable for the first time in stereo, or Pink Floyd, or any of the fantastic artists of the era. Life changing to say the least.

I've been recently awakened after getting a really nice pair of headphones for Christmas this year and after listening to a huge playlist of my favorite songs was blown away. I haven't connected with music like that in a long time and it was awesome. There is something very liberating about pumping up the volume and hearing the every nuance of a song and discovering the ways the artist wants to direct you and little subtleties that are just lost on many listeners.

Here's a few headphones that I've checked out sorted by price.

High Range:
Sennheiser HD-595 Premier Headphone
These are very good headphones without getting rediculously overpriced. There are headsets out there that are for the devote audiophile and can run three times the price of these, but these are the upper crust for most listeners.

Mid Range:
Audio Technica ATH-M50 Professional Headphones
Great set for acurate reproduction of sound. They are designed for proffesionals so they are really comforatable and you can wear them at length. Good for when you have 7-12 music sessions.

Economical:
Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone
A much more economical set without a huge loss of quality. The diaphrams on these headphones go around the ear, canceling a lot of background noise and delivering a much richer sound. They're also rugged and can take a beating, which is a good thing since they aren't the cheapest ones on the market.

I hope that you get inspired by this and take time out to really listen to music, enjoy the experience and not to settle for convenient hardware.

Speed up Vista Browsing

2008-12-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

I've always wondered why when browsing on Windows Vista it was alway considerably slower then when I surf with Linux or even Windows XP.

Apparently there is a feature in Vista called Auto-Tuning that tends to cause time-outs and slower browsing. But as with all of Vista's great features they can be disabled to increase performance. Here's how.

In the start menu type in command.
The Command Prompt result will display.
Right click on command prompt and then select 'Run as Administrator"

In the command prompt type:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

It will prompt with an "OK" if it was successful. If it doesn't then make sure you're using Command Prompt as administrator.

If you ever want to revert back then in command prompt type:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal

There's a worm in my Facebook!

2008-12-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Koobface
Alert Level: High

Most of the attacks that have spread on Facebook have been relatively benign. Usually they would be made up of links that involved phishing for credentials to increase spamming efforts. But Koobface is a little different in that it's an actual worm that is downloaded on the system and acts a Trojan horse. This could be bad.

This is the deal. You get an email with a variety of different subjects. One has been reported as "LOL. You've been catched on hidden cam, yo:". At this point there is a long random hyperlink that directs you to a Youtube website, and if you click on the play button you'll be prompted to update your flash player because it's out of date. This is where the worm is downloaded, and once you're infected it will use your Facebook to send out the same messages to all of your friends.

How do you prevent this? Well, I always recommend that all links in emails are not to be clicked, ever. If there is a picture to be viewed then it should be embedded in the email. If there is a file(no .exe) to be viewed then it can be attached instead of linked. Now there may be times that you recognize the url, like a familiar blog that you frequent, or a well known website. As long as you understand where exactly the link goes then that's ok.

The second thing to do is let all your Facebook friends know about it so they know what to avoid. If you get an email from your Grandma that says "LOL. You've been catched on hidden cam,yo:" then you can be damn sure she's been infected. Message her right away to let her know that she's been infected and recommend that she change her password and run an antivirus program. I recommend ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus System - Windows DVD because it's very heavy duty and really gets the job done. A good free edition antivirus program is Avast and is one that I do recommend if you don't want to shell out cash on virus protection.

Click Jacking: The New Threat

2008-12-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

Click Jacking is a very sneaky way of hacking websites to gain access to your online web accounts and possible your sound and audio.

The basic theory is simple. By using CSS and iFrames, hackers can put an invisible layer over a web page, or a specific button that you need to navigate that website. By clicking on this invisible layer it's possible that your personal web accounts which have the user session still active will be compromised.

Here is a very real and scary example:

You log into your Gmail web account to check your mail, and afterward you click Stumble! and get directed to a random website. You like the site and click on a link to read more of an article that has been posted. The link you clicked had an invisible layer that sends your cookie information to him. He then can log into your Gmail account. He then can select the forgotten password information and then change your password. He now has your Gmail account.

This gets even scarier when we are talking about banking logins and very important sites like Ebay, Paypal and others.

There are some sites to be extra cautious with.

Gmail in particular because a well known Click Jack has happened recently and there may be a trend forming. As I'm writing this post Google has not addressed this issue and it's been going on for several months.

Any site that you can log into and not have to put a username after several minutes of non-use. Most banks require you to do this, but some do not and have fell victim to this attack. If you don't get a pop-up asking you to relog in after a while, then this is a site that you want to log off of after you are done.

How can you prevent this?

For Internet Explorer users.
After you are done with a website immediately log off of it. The thing with cookies is that every time you log in it generates a new very long cookie, and when you log out it terminates the current cookie and will generate a new unique cookie when you relog in. So the easy solution is to immediately log off of sites after you use them before a potential hacker can grab it.

For Firefox users.
The same as above and/or you can install the NoScript add-on that is available for Firefox. It disables all scripts on the pages that you view and all but eliminates 99% of the vulnerability. The javascript is the malicious code and will not be executed if you properly set up this add-on.

Be very conscience of this one, it can potentially be pretty dangerous since it is so transparent and many websites still have to protect against this enormous exploit.

Little Joy - With Strangers

2008-12-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

I caught this song on "All Songs Considered" and thought it was quite awesome. It's one of those songs that sticks in your head with an addictive old-school melody. You can get the album here.

Give a Banned Book for the Holidays

2008-12-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

It amazed me when I heard that book banning is still a common practice in schools in the United States. As forward as we think out thinking is, there comes a point when we realize that we haven't come as far as we thought.

For obvious reason there are some books that should be restricted in schools. Some of the more obvious are Fight Club, American Psycho, and anything written by Phillip K. Dick. But there are some books that I've read that have inspired me and which lessons I still remember to this day that are on the banned books list.

The practice I thought was obsolete until I found out that schools and other groups still vehemently try to ban great literature and I was surprised to see which books were on the list. The ALA(American Library Association) has compiled a list of my favorites on the top ten most challenged books from 2000-2005 and you may be surprised to see which one leads the pack.

Forever . . .

Not surprisingly the highly contested novel by Judy Blume comes in at the #10 spot. I read this book in junior high and didn't give it much thought. It really was targeted towards high school girls and was constantly challenged since it's inception. The novel follows three main characters and their ideas on sex during their junior year in high school. The main character Katherine thinks that by having sex it will solidify their relationship and bond them forever. They talk about it and get contraception from a planned parenthood clinic and have sex. But after they are separated for the summer she no longer has the same feelings for him and realizes that she's young and doesn't want a forever thing.

A lot of high school kids would actually learn a lot from this controversial book because the characters really talk about how sex will affect their relationship, if they are ready and doesn't promote any reckless nature. They way kids are going at it these days because they think it will make them popular or out of peer pressure then it would be good for them to realize that open communication and safe sex is an option rather then being reckless and getting a disease or becoming pregnant.

The New Captain Underpants Collection: Box Set (Books 1-5)

A silly set of 10 stories directed towards 4th grade kids. Apparently no one has a sense of humor and thinks that the books are inappropriate and promotes them to disobey authority.

Fallen Angels

This is a gritty depiction of life as a soldier in Vietnam and address issues such as race, the reality of war, and survival. This should be required reading for all the high school boy's that are ready to sign up when the military recruiters come by.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Poet laureate Maya Angelou and her brilliant autobiography/novel was the 5th most contested book. A story of struggling through racism, physical and sexual abuse at home, and high school pregnancy. It's a lot to take in, but is so well done and it recounts times in our country's history that many would like to forget, and address problems that one would not like to see. But these things have happened, and continue to happen because no one talks or reads about them.

Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)

Truly a classic, everyone must read this. It focuses on dreams, loneliness, and how people ignore cruelty when money is involved. Like The Pearl, Steinbeck really focuses on the notion that money isn't everything and puts true emotion into this novel. It was banned for a number of reasons including being anti-business, and vulgar language. It's a fast read and great for the collection.

The Chocolate War (Readers Circle)

A great story about a a boy who endures the brutality of bullies in catholic school for going against the grain. It was a great read and one that I loved as a kid. It was banned because it contained violence that was not resolved. Apparently all violence has to have a purpose, but unfortunately as in life that is not always the case.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)

Harry Potter of all books. Obviously these books inspired millions upon millions of kids to read by creating a wildly imaginative, highly addictive story with characters that are loved and hated world wide. A lot of school banned the books due to it's references to magic and the occult, and use of gratuitous violence. Gratuitous is a relative term apparently because everything in the novel is justified and resolved. Even though it's a children's book, it's become one of my favorite reads in a long time.

Expanding Broadband Access

2008-11-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not Broadband Internet Access has now become a utility for most Americans. But there is a large portion of the United States where citizens don't even have dial-up access.

These area's include the mid-west and low income families across America. Like it or not, to really progress you must have Internet access and a high speed one at that. Without you are cut off from valuable information, low cost college institutions and professional certification organizations. It's harder to find a job and stay in contact with personal friends and business contacts. Most companies and CEO's cannot run without it, so why would we assume anyone can.

Enter Susan Crawford and Kevin Werbach who have been appointed by Barack Obama to lead the FCC transition team. Susan Crawford has been outspoken on her views to broadband penetration and has made it publicly known that we need to get broadband access to much more of the United States then we current have. She compares out numbers to China and they pale in comparison. But also realizes that low cost laptops are needed in these areas to help serve the access. Perhaps with these two in charge we can start to get some more progress in getting access for low-income areas, poor schools and those off the grid.

Books Still Banned in Schools

2008-11-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

Way to Go Obama!

2008-11-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

After nearly eight years we have weathered the presidential storm and now have a president that we can talk about without shame.

Congratulations to all my fellow Americans for not fucking this one up. I was pleasantly surprised that all the new and young voters put down the bongs/beers/Facebook profiles/Xboxs and got out there and took charge. It just goes to show how far people will go to get a new party in the White House after how shockingly inept the current administration has been.

Kudos.

Yet Another Tool to Make You Feel Self Conscience

2008-11-07T18:56:00.000-08:00

97x The Next Big Thing 8

2008-11-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

The best concert series I've gone to has to be "The Next Big Thing" concerts here in Florida. It's an all day event with tons of awesome bands that are hand selected and are amazing. If you don't believe me check out the already announced bands.

Now out of all these band AV7X has to be my favorite. These guys are full blown rockstars in all their glory. Synester Gates has to be the best guitarist of my time, and arguably writes the most dyamic metal songs comparable to early Metallica. Man, I can't wait to see them live!

The only thing that sucks is that ticket prices have been going up every year since they moved the concert to the Ford Amphitheater. I remember paying something like $30 for the first few concerts, and now I think they start at $90. But honestly, for an all day concert, with the kind of talent listed it's amazing and well worth it. I'm just cheap.

About

2008-01-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

There is no real theme since everything is fair game. I spend far too much time scouring the internet and love to share the few golden nuggets that I discover. Once in a while I'll post some personal rants and raves and invite everyone to comment and share their views no matter how crazy they are.

It's all in good fun and I hope you really enjoy this blog and let everyone know about it.