AaronKCMO

The Church of Climate Change

2008-12-29T12:09:00.006-06:00

Or "The Church of Man-Made Global Warming (Reformed)"

I was reading an article this morning and it reminded me of how much I've been wanting to put up a post that looked at the global warming hype from an critical perspective. Liberals have been falling over themselves in the last couple years to get in your face with their MMGW opinions. I refer to it as a religion for 3 reasons. Firstly, it's not unusual for a global warming believer to turn directly to vicious personal attacks on anybody who dare take a skeptical look at their conclusions. This is a well developed tactic used by fundamentalists and zealots of all stripes, with the most high profile examples being large religions. It's easier to discredit somebody who questions your assumptions than it is to debate in the arena of ideas. Secondly, MMGW zealots are basing their drastic predictions on computer models, which even at their most complicated, are many times simpler than the actual complexities that exist in Earth's atmosphere. Anybody who's had computer training in their lives probably recognizes the term Garbage in, Garbage out. This term applies here because the folks who come up with these models are assuming that they know all of the variables and complexities that would go into such a prediction. Scientists can't even predict weather more than a few hours out, what makes them think they can predict global temperatures several years from now? We're supposed to take their conclusions on faith, a very religious assertion. My last argument for equating MMGW zealots to religious fundamentalists is that they're don't betray their real objectives until they are tricked. Just as Islamic fundamentalists support the Palestinian argument that the holy land is Muslim territory because of their occupation of the land prior to 1948 their argument hides the fact that want Judaism wiped from the face of the earth. The MMGW zealots want us to accept this 'crisis' as fact and give them money and support, not mentioning that their ultimate goal is the seizing of wealth/power and the destruction of the capitalist/free market economy. They do all this under the guise of saving cute little polar bears and the like.

I implore all readers to step back and carefully look at all sides in this debate. Remember, radicals need a 'crisis', self-made or otherwise, to get their agenda passed, otherwise their agenda wouldn't be radical.

Recommended read:
Christopher Booker
Roy Spencer
Lawrence Solomon
GlobalWarmingHype.com

Below is a comment on a thread that appears under the first article cited above. I thought it was appropriate.

The Sun is a 386 billion MegaWatt nuclear fusion reactor making life possible on Earth 93 million miles away. Changes in the Sun's radiation dwarfs any other source of warming/cooling, which includes variations in Earth's orbit and atmospheric gases. Each day, more energy reaches the Earth from the Sun than is consumed by all mankind in 27 years. A single solar flare can produce energy equivalent to 100 million 10 Megaton nuclear fusion warheads. The estimated average solar energy received at Earth's outer atmosphere is called TSI or Total Solar Irradiance. TSI is estimated on average to be 1,368 Watts per square meter, but varies based on cyclical Sun spot activity/radiation, among other variables. Only 70% of the Sun's energy received by Earth's atmosphere (TSI) is absorbed. TSI has increased 0.1% during the mere 25 years NASA has been measuring it, which explains warming. A TSI shift of 0.2% is equivalent to all energy consumed by all humans in one year.

Solar variation explains the warming and cooling cycles long before fossil fuel consumption, i.e., the "Little Ice Age" where Earth's temperature was estimated to be down 2 degrees F. However, knowing that non-human activity can swing temperature far more, Marxists blame only the tiny annual 3% human-generated portion of atmospheric CO2 emissions for an alleged 1.33 degree F temperature rise in the past 150 years in response to an alleged 150% increase in CO2. They predict a 2 to 11.5 degree F rise in the next 100 years in response to an alleged estimated 50% to 250% increase in CO2. The amount of gas in Earth's atmosphere is approximately 51 trillion cubic meters weighing 5,000 trillion metric tons. Of this, Nitrogen and Oxygen are approximately 99%, water vapor is approximately 1%, and CO2 is a mere trace gas at 0.038% or a mere 2 trillion metric tons. Plants absorb CO2 and release oxygen in the carbon cycle. Natural processes involving oceans, soil, plants, etc. emit (and absorb) 33 times more CO2 per year than do all human emissions. Humans contribute a mere 3% (6 billion metric tons) of the 186 billion metric tons of CO2 emitted annually. The other 97% of annual CO2 is naturally occurring, mostly from the oceans that cover 71% of the planet. The amount of CO2 consumed is approximately the same as that emitted, including by humans. Even the annual variations in emission/absorption of CO2 exceeds annual emissions by humans.

Humans can't even accurately predict short or long term local weather or mood swings of a solitary person, let alone 100+ years of global temperatures of an astronomically complex system with only a handful of years of accurate empirical measurements. Global warming lunatics consist only of socialists and communists seeking greater control of people and their property. Global warming is asserted as a crisis to try to force quick, uneducated decisions, as all salesmen do to consumers. When government and privateers like Al Gore propose regulation, rest assured there is at least one self-serving scam behind it. Redistribution of American wealth to non-productive Americans and foreigners, with people like Al Gore positioned as an Enron-type "carbon credit" trade middleman skimming money for nothing useful, obviously cannot control Earth's temperatures. It is not a "solution" to "man made" "global warming," but that's not what they are after. It is truly us against them and they already declared war on us.

PS Please direct global warming to me because I'm freezing my a$$ off.

--Sean from Mount Rushmore (USA)

Here's another one I liked. This guy agrees with me and makes some valid points:

It's way to early to claim victory in the great climate battle (debate it certainly is not). If experts, commentators and politicians can deny there was a credit bubble for as long as they did, then it will be years before the climate juggernaut grinds to a halt. Watch CNN tell us how the Artic sea ice has receded as never before in thousands of years all due to human activity or The Independent predict doom upon doom month after month, and you know this ain't over 'til it's over.
As I understand it the controversy comes down to the computer models used. They were constructed to explain warming and none could do so using naturally occuring data. So scientists decided to add in human factors and hey presto the models conformed to the currently known data.
This is the crux of the problem. Did they know and understand enough about natural causes before making the leap to human factors?
I suspect not. But the human guilt bandwagon was rolling, politicians were jumping on board, funding increased, so there was no going back and saying hey, maybe we ought to do some more research into how the climate functions.
Scientists became politicised defending their 'tithes' and turning their principles into beliefs and their judgments into prophecies.
It has become a religion in the same manner all religions are born, the attempt to answer the question 'is nature enough to explain the wonders of the Earth and all the creature upon it?'
In the absence of sufficient data the answer was no. The gap was filled by God and hey presto everything was explained and fitted the known facts.

--john walter

My Contract is Accepted!

2008-11-05T12:16:00.006-06:00

After the most time consuming and complicated process I've ever endured in making a purchase, I am happy to announce that my offer on my gem house has finally been accepted!

What a ride. The whole thing has left me feeling a bit shagged and fagged and fashed, it being an ordeal of no small expenditure. Since your humble narrator spoke with you last, many folds in the story have played out. Firstly, we decided that we had to get the house inspected. My agent was of the opinion that the $200 inspection was worth doing based on his assessment of the situation at the time, I agreed. As it turns out the condition of the gem house was as good as could be expected from a 50-75 year old house. By the way, it's weird that nobody knows exactly when houses were built, I digress. Problems were not critical, one hurdle overcome.

After the inspection I was excited, thinking I'm about to be a homeowner. Everything seemed like it was going to work out. That feeling was encouraged by word from the sellers lender that there were 'no red flags' in her short sell application. All I could do at this point was wait for her application to be approved.

Two long weeks later I get a call from my agent. He starts the conversation by saying 'I didn't want to call you until I fully understood what was going on' not 'your offer is approved'. Anyway, he goes on to explain that the sellers lender had come up with extra stipulations at the last freaking gasp. All of a sudden the lender required the seller to either come up with $5,700 cash or sign a $10,000 promissory note to recoup the losses from the short sell, or they would allow the property to go into foreclosure and my offer would be lost. The sellers agent came to my agent and asked if we could bear the extra cost. After laughing in the sellers agent's face, my agent sent a lengthy email to the sellers lender and agent explaining how strange and frustrating the process has been and how it would be in everybody's interest not to let this offer fall apart. As he spoke to me my mind raced all the way back to looking at houses again and I nearly threw the phone through the window.

Surprisingly, after apparently 'seeing the light,' the seller agreed to sign the $10,000 note. I was pretty surprised by that but my agent had the inside scoop. He explained to me that a foreclosure looks much worse on a credit report than a bankruptcy. He thinks that the seller is going to get rid of the house and then declare bankruptcy to try to get out of paying the note. Also, he said that they were going to go ahead and cash my earnest money check. Cash my earnest money check? Doesn't that mean that they accepted my offer? I wrote back. 'That's my understanding', he said.

...should I uncork the champagne?

It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but good news none the less. At this point all that's left is to hurry up and get the appraisal field work done and turned in, get the mortgage underwriting submitted and approved, get the appraisal approved, buy homeowners insurance, make sure there aren't any loose ends on the sellers side, and try to schedule a closing with the title company. Easy...right? Oh yeah, and get all that done by the end of next week.

Complications...

2008-10-10T11:44:00.004-05:00

Limbo.

That's where I find myself at the moment. Although it doesn't sound like a good place to be, it's an improvement over my former status of worrying about whether or not I would make it to limbo. Now I'll try to outline the most complicated part about buying my house.

The house was listed on the MLS like a normal real estate listing. The only thing unusual about the listing was that in the description it read 'short sell - sellers lender must approve offer'. I didn't think much of it until I talked to my agent about what it meant. My agent did some digging and found that it was indeed a short sale - which means that they were asking less than what the borrower owed on the house. Also, he talked to the sellers agent about the process that they used for short sales.

This was the most convoluted process I'd ever heard of.

According to the sellers agent, they first had to submit their application to the bank to get the short sell approved - which takes 4-6 weeks. Only then would they start accumulating bids. After they arbitrarily decided it was time to stop taking bids, they would just pick the best one and proceed with the sale. These steps would've added an unknown amount of time to the process.

I was very discouraged after hearing about this and continued to look at other houses. However, the more houses I looked at, the more I wanted my gem house. I expressed to my agent that I really wanted this house. He explained to me that his broker handles short sales much differently. First they entertain legitimate offers and then accept one contingent on bank approval of short sale. Then they submit the accepted offer with the short sale application to the bank for approval. This cuts out an unknown amount of waiting time on the back end of the process and gets me a yes or no answer much sooner. I asked my agent to do what we needed to do to get the house.

He suggested that we offer $3000 more than the asking price and ask them to put that towards closing - so they'd end up with their full asking price. Also, my agent said he'd put pressure on the sellers agent to do the process our way so I wasn't left hanging in an even worse limbo - not even knowing if my offer was going to be accepted. I went with it.

The sellers agent did end up seeing the light. They agreed to our process and accepted our offer contingent on bank approval of short sale. So, I now have a contract on the house contingent on bank approval. My financials have been run, but we haven't yet submitted for final underwriting because we don't yet have bank approval. Once we get approval we can set a closing date, lock in a rate and submit every little detail about my financial situation to my lender for final underwriting. My agent is confident that I'll get the house.

The main thing that I don't understand is how the house could even be listed if they were using the sellers process. In their method, the house wasn't even on the market until the bank approved the short sale because they weren't even entertaining offers until that point. I'm pretty sure that the sellers agent is a rookie.

I'm very excited! I can't wait to move! I'll definitely let everybody know when I get the final decision and then the remaining schedule before the big housewarming party!

Bailout

2008-10-09T09:09:00.005-05:00

Where's my bailout? When is the all-knowing government going to step in and give me an unbelievable amount of money for free?

They're not?!?

Why?

Is it because I've made responsible financial decisions? Is it because I have chosen not to get in over my head when it comes to debt? Is it because I have managed my finances prudently?

Does this seem silly? I'm being absurd to demonstrate absurdity. Of course the fed is not going to write a check to me. They're only interested in writing enormous checks to companies who have made poor decisions, are too far in debt to be solvent, and have not prudently managed their finances; or to folks who have made poor decisions regarding their own lives or property.

This is endemic of the way our society operates. We no longer celebrate achievement because it may make somebody 'feel bad'. We would rather blame somebody else for our shortcomings, cry racism/sexism/whatever kind of 'ism' you want to throw out, reward bad behavior and not set standards for decency and prudence. This Katrina mentality of relying on the federal government to bail you out of whatever situation you have put yourself in is extremely detrimental to the fabric of our culture. Personal responsibility is required from people who choose to live in a 'democratic' form of government - it's the price you have to pay to have Freedom and Liberty. Without sacrificing anything for those timeless values and pillars of our society they become valueless and therefore easily discarded; or worse - legislated out of existence.

The idea that 'the economy will fail' if the fed doesn't hand out $700,000,000,000.00 to companies that have made very poor decisions is ludicrous. Every time you hear the word 'economy' in the news, replace it with 'spending'; and when you hear 'federal government', replace it with 'American taxpayer'. Consumer spending is a larger percentage of the economy than water is a percentage of the earth's surface. Is your spending down? Do you see your spending decreasing in the future? The whole 'bad economy' idea is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If all you hear on the news is that the economy is bad, you might think twice about making that extra purchase - which leads to less economic activity, which leads to fewer purchases... Also, when the fed prints money and hands it out like that, it devalues ALL money. So, thanks to congress your dollar buys a little less of everything now.

What is the real purpose of this boondoggle if not to nationalize more of our resources and production? Our GDP is still up. Our economy hasn't had two quarters of decreased activity (the definition of recession) in 7 years. We are at full employment (5% unemployment is considered full employment). People are working more, producing more and making more money. Why is this needed? Could it be because the leftists are making a play to take over a large portion of the banking market claiming that it's 'needed' it's an 'emergency' and that there 'should be no debate'? Sounds a lot like their fallacious man-made global warming arguments to me. Oh, and take a look at the pork in the 'bailout' bill.

The real solution for this 'crisis' is to let these companies fail! They're the ones who made the bad decisions, not the American taxpayer. Why is it all of a sudden our responsibility to make sure these corporate execs get every bit of the golden parachute they were dreaming of? Just because one bank or one insurance company fails doesn't mean that the free market economy is a house of cards. Like all companies that have failed in the past, other firms will step in and buy up the vacated resources and provide for the displaced market share. These are basic principles of business. Basic principles that have apparently been lost.

What have we learned from this? Make all the bad decisions you want. You can even do it on a grand scale. What about paying the piper? Eh... we'll let the American taxpayer take care of that bill.

Buying a House

2008-09-24T14:50:00.012-05:00

I'm entering a new stage in my life. It has finally become time for me to establish roots and start building wealth. It's time for me to buy a house (or at least to become house-poor)!

I started out being very excited. I had been anticipating the large purchase for quite some time and when September rolled around I was falling over myself to get out and inspect some houses. I spent a day or two looking at listings and came up with a handful of houses I wanted to look at more thoroughly. The very first day of looking at actual houses I came across a real gem. This house had everything I wanted, nothing I didn't want and some things I didn't even know that I wanted.

The list of things I wanted in my future house was a garage, a basement, at least two bedrooms, central HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and a flat backyard for my future horseshoe pit. The garage was easy enough to find, but when I looked at other places I realized that there are some major differences in the garages in my price range. Some of them were detached, which I did not like. Some of them had weird doors which are not capable of having a garage door opener. Some others needed work. The garage in my gem house is attached, with a new door and opener.

The basements were about as varied as the garages. There are basically 3 different styles of basement I looked at (not including crawlspaces); stone, block and concrete. Stone basements make you feel like you're in a really old building (or dungeon) and they usually have a dirt floor - not an option. Block basements offer a little more structure and open space, but fall short of concrete when it comes to waterproofing. Concrete basements are made completely from poured concrete, and are obviously preferable. Gem house has full concrete basement.

The bedrooms aspect of my house hunt wasn't as important as the other qualifications, and it wasn't a problem to find houses that met my requirements. I didn't even look at any houses with less than 2 bedrooms. Also, I only looked at houses that had central HVAC.

Backyards were another story. They were as wide and varied as garages and basements put together. No two backyards were the same, and very few of them were similar at all. Some of the backyards I looked at included features such as a chicken coop, fire barrels, junk piles, rotten decks and questionable outbuildings. Many of the backyards were either not big enough for a horseshoe pit or had such a dramatic slope that building a pit was not feasible (both deal-breakers). My gem house has a vastly expansive backyard that is mostly level and includes an old concrete walkway of questionable origin, but of value to a future athletic field (horseshoe pit).

The more I looked at houses, the more I became singular of purpose. I had to have my gem house. My decision had been made. That's when things got complicated - which will be the subject of an upcoming post...

Witch's Hat - Last Huzzah

2008-08-13T16:47:00.003-05:00

I'm still having a hard time accepting the fact that the greatest Epic Rock band to ever take any stage is just.... gone. I just don't understand how you could release one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year and then just decide to call it quits. Did the vampire in Glodyany give up after his vampire friends had met their ends, hunted down by angry mobs? Did the fastest nun in the west give up after she knocked a drink into ol' scratch's lap, to start a fight, to bruise his pride? Did our hero give up after the wizard filled with dread; this was the fiercest dragon, many men had fought and died, and at the caverns entrance still could be heard their cries?

NO!

In each of these stories they all made it, and were elated. They looked down on their accomplishments, looked down upon the world. They could make it on their own! It appears as if the mountain is crumbling beneath our feet. I feel as if I'm eating my tentacles one at a time and vomiting comets. It's hard to accept that Witch's Hat will no longer be everywhere, forever.

There's a band on my player, they don't seem like quitters. There's an album in my hand, it doesn't seem like the last. There are figures on the stage with lights in their eyes, oh wait...

Balloon Launch

2008-08-05T09:55:00.004-05:00

Recently I was invited to take part in a weather balloon launch with Near Space Ventures - a KCMO based non-profit organization. The launch took place at the Mabee Center on the William Jewell campus. Payload for the Near Space balloon included a radio capsule with HAM radio equipment, a GPS transmitter and camera equipment. The NSV launch was part of a bigger event – GPSL (Great Plains Super Launch), an Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning event. The event included no less than 10 balloons which were launched that morning.

It was a pretty neat little deal. We were set up with a computer to monitor the position and track the progress of the balloon. The balloon flew southeast then turned west reaching speeds of up to 45mph and an altitude of 99,000 feet before bursting. After the balloon burst, the payload fell southeast and ended up about 30 miles almost directly south from the launch site.

Recovery of the payload was another story. The capsule came down in a remote area of the James A. Reed Wildlife Refuge and we could only get within about half a mile by car. This was about what I was expecting. Before we could go get the capsule, we had to let the dogs have a go. One of the systems undergoing testing was a canine rescue/recovery team. The dogs ended up failing badly and extended the recovery time by at least an hour - in the middle of the day, in early August. Long story short, I ended up finding the payload after a mile hike through some of the nastiest terrain the JARWR had to offer. The payload was, of course, suspended about 20 feet up in a tree. One of the other searchers and I were able to get the rig down and carry it back to the road. By that time I had totally sweat through every piece of clothing I was wearing.

All together, it was a fun experience. It's something that I would do again.

I'm not Dead

2008-07-25T15:02:00.004-05:00

Much to the chagrin of some folks, to the delight of others and to the indifference of the masses, I decide to post again for the first time in 15 months. While it is true that I have not been posting on AaronKCMO.com for that time, I have been keeping myself quite busy when it comes to websites. I invite you to check out the sites that I currently maintain:
http://www.mllfpc.com
http://www.mokantitle.com

Some of you might have seen some of the other things I have posted in the main content section between blog posts - videos and such. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jason and Jade on their recent engagement and wish them a lifetime of happiness. I won't be getting married anytime soon, so I'm glad at least somebody is.

Nothing much has changed with me since my last post. I'm still playing tennis and softball, bowling and golf. I still live in the same apartment in Happy Rock. I still work for the same company. Still drive the same car, still put my pants on one leg at a time.

Anyway, it's good to be back. I promise it won't be another 15 months until my next post.

Airport Insecurity

2007-04-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

Last week I was fortunate enough to travel across the state for work. I left MCI Thursday afternoon for STL. Through what I thought was careful planning I thought I would have no problem sliding through security, little did I know I was packing a 'deadly weapon'. After a confusing search for economy parking and a bag check mess I finally made it to the security terminal. As luck would have it I got singled out for 'further inspection' and was brought over to the time warp table. The security 'official' went through my stuff VERY meticulously because I apparently tripped their keen nose for bad things with my 'deadly weapon'. After about 10 minutes of waiting the lady finally came back to me and said that I can't take my cigarette case on the plane because it has a lighter attached and is considered a 'deadly weapon' - even though it was completely inoperable. She told me that I could leave the gate area and mail it back to myself, but by that time the plane was leaving in 10 minutes and I sure as heck wasn't going to miss the flight. Goodbye vintage Ronson Mastercase (deadly weapon).

I left STL for MCI Friday evening after working all day. I got a ride to the airport (stopping at White Castle, of course), checked my bag, and waited in the most ridiculous security line - one security checkpoint for an ENTIRE terminal. Only when I'd already waited 30 minutes in line and finally gotten to the metal detectors did I realize that I'd left my Leatherman on my belt. I stood there for a minute mumbling curse words to myself before I decided to try to sneak it in. I took the Leatherman out of it's case and put it in a pocket in the laptop bag, took the laptop out and set it on top of the bag, put all my other stuff in the tub and sent it through. When I'd gotten through I kinda sat there for a minute waiting for sirens to go off and some big guy to grab my arm and escort me away. What really happened? Not a damn thing. It took me a minute to realize that I had actually snuck a Leatherman through security and was about to take it on the plane with me. I quickly picked up my stuff and made the flight back to MCI.

I was thankful that I wouldn't have to spend $80+ for a new Leatherman, but was still upset that they took my other 'deadly weapon'. The most silly part was that the cigarette case was completely harmless, but I could've taken over the plane with that Leatherman. I should've done it anyway just so I could chalk it up on the long list of things you can do with only a Leatherman.

ESPN 8 - The 'Ocho'

2007-04-23T17:37:00.000-05:00

From the 'Is this news?' department.

A thirteen year old girl from Pennsylvania was recently crowned the US Text Messaging Champion after winning the final competetion last Saturday. So, apparently you really can make money doing anything. The grand prize was $25,000, but apparently the winner made a $15,000 typo in the lyrics to the song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in the final round.Check out the story on Yahoo.

In other news worthy of national broadcast, a man from New Hampshire has recently won his states' title in the national Rock, Paper, Scissors League - or whatever. That has qualified him to move on to the national tournament held in (where else) Las Vegas, NV and televised on ESPN. The grand prize at that national event is $50,000. Apparently I'm involved in the wrong sports. Click here for the Yahoo article

A - B = Disgruntled Taxpayer

2007-04-17T17:24:00.000-05:00

When A = the amount of my federal tax return and B = the sales tax on my car, and A-B = less than zero, a disgruntled taxpayer must be the result.

The sales tax on my car was $80 more than I received back from the fed this year. This makes me upset for two reasons. Firstly the sales tax for automobile purchases is calculated differently than sales tax for everything else. Usually it ends up being a lower rate than the rate you would pay on non food or clothing retail items. The retail tax rate in Gladstone (last time I checked) was 7.25%. The rate I ended up paying for my automobile purchase was about 7.5%. I was completely surprised by the number the lady read to me because it was half again as much as I was expecting to pay, which is the other reason I was upset.

I went to the DMV website to try to find out what my tax rate would be. After an easy search I calculated a rate around 5.5% that would be applicable to me. Apparently that information was not reliable because both of the rates it listed were well below the 'real' rates. The part that frosts me the most is that there is no real recourse for getting gouged at every turn. All I can do is roll over and hope Uncle Same uses some lube.

A New Chapter of Shenanigans

2007-04-13T13:25:00.000-05:00

Let me be the first to publicly congratulate my friends Donny and Heather. A young one is on the way.

I must say that I was quite surprised to hear the news. I didn't expect the second generation of the (crooked road) posse to come along so suddenly. I knew that one day we would all likely have children, but it didn't really sink in to me that it could happen any day until Donny called me last week with the news. Of the guys I grew up with on that street - Jason, Sean, Dan and Donny - Donny will be the first one to pass on the 'seed'. It's weird because Donny was the youngest of the group, but now his kid will be the oldest of the second generation group.

Although most of us have left Crooked Road behind, we still keep the tradition alive by meeting once a week to reminisce about previous and promote future shenanigans.

Caliber + 1000 Miles

2007-04-10T17:49:00.000-05:00

Or 'How I Love My CVT'.

So I've driven my Caliber 1000 miles. Overall I'm satisfied with the experience. What I really appreciate most about it is the peace of mind it gives me knowing that it is under warranty. I was constantly worried about the skylark blowing a head gasket, throwing a rod or losing the torque converter. Caliber is tight, strong like bull.

The feature of the car that I am most impressed with is the transmission. As I have mentioned before, it’s not a standard manual or automatic, it’s a completely different animal. The CVT allows ‘fire and forget’ capability for cruise control. What I mean is that you can set the cruise for a certain speed and the transmission will find the best fuel/RPM/torque for any driving condition. You may be confused and say ‘My car does that.’ Cars with conventional transmissions will maintain speed by regulating fuel, but the only changes in RPM or torque come from shifting gears. This causes periods of inefficiency as driving conditions change. I used to have to change in and out of overdrive on the skylark while I was driving down the highway – trying to maintain a higher level of efficiency. Now all I have to do is poke the button and forget about it. No lugging on hills or explosive downshifts on steep grades.

One downside I've found with Caliber is that you have to lay the back seat down to accomodate a set of golf clubs.

Audacity

2007-04-05T22:11:00.000-05:00

When one looks up the definition of audacity they must come across a photo of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. No other leader in the history of the modern world, with the exception of Hitler and Stalin, has shown so much contempt and hatred for the Western world, been so blatantly defiant for no good reason, and has had so much support from the anti-American elements within Western countries. Everybody in the world knows that Ahmadinejad's Iran is giving material, financial and personnel support to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Everybody in the world knows that Ahmadinejad's Iran is enriching Uranium for the purpose of building a fission weapon. Everybody in the world also knows that there is a national event in Iran every Friday evening where people get out in the street to chant 'death to America' while burning American flags and effigies of GWB. This is also the guy who has been quoted as saying that Israel should be 'wiped off the map' and describing the Holocaust as a 'myth'.

I'm sure that most of you are familiar with the recent kidnapping of British troops by the Iranian navy. Is anybody surprised by the fact that fifteen British Sailors and Marines were held captive by the fascist country for 13 days and forced to give 'confessions' of 'guilt' over Iranian television? Has it become an procedural instrument of Iran to use 'hostage diplomacy'? Is terrorism a state policy of Iran?

This is one of the most serious humiliations of the British Navy and Marines in the modern era. It represents a slap in the face to Tony Blair and George Bush by Ahmadinejad. The very worst part of it is that Ahmadinejad will get away with kidnapping, weapons enrichment and terrorism. He will also get what he secretly bargained for in backroom talks for the release of the hostages. It has been the unofficial policy of the Western countries to bargain with Iran in order to free hostages or POW's from detention/humiliation/torture. What are we going to do in a few months when he builds a bomb? What are we going to do in a few years when he's building bombs and selling them to Al Qaeda? When will it finally be time to act?

I'm scared to death that it will take a devastating event with a horrific loss of life to open Western eyes to the immediate threat posed by Ahmadinejad's Iran. It's a good thing for Ahmadinejad that Ross Perot isn't President.

The Fall of Radio

2007-03-27T07:05:00.001-05:00

Am I the only one who is disgusted by the music that gets played on the radio today?

Free radio in Kansas City has become a shameless advertisement for music that is being pushed on us by outsiders from New York and Los Angeles. Not only do record companies have the capacity to tell you what you can and can't buy at a record store (and for how much), they also have the power to tell you what you should and shouldn't like by what they force radio stations to play in order to sell advertising. So, by going to your local record store and buying something you heard on the radio you're contributing to a stagnating fascist enterprise run by executives at 'Big Record'. How far will free radio's market share drop before they realize that it doesn't pay to have 3-7 radio stations in the same market that have the same programming.

I know that, unlike your humble narrator, many of the readers of this blog are not big fans of country music. I still have to comment on a recent passing in our area. We used to have a country radio station in town (WDAF 610 AM - 61 Country) that played music based on quality rather than what sells commercial time. Of course they had to play the new stuff that was in the record stores, but they mixed it with good amounts of classic country. A couple years ago they 'moved' to FM trying to increase market share. In the process of doing this they got rid of many of their existing on-air personalities and really cut down on the quality music they played. A couple weeks ago that station had a 'format change' in which it dropped all connection with the old quality radio station and changed into a corporate pawn like the other country radio stations in town. Disappointing.

The silver lining in this cloud is the rise of pay radio and alternative music formats as well as small market radio that continues to strive for quality rather than advertising money. Aside from talk radio (980 KMBZ) there are only two radio stations I listen to anymore - 106.9 KTPK in Topeka, and 92.9 KOMG in the Ozarks.

Huh?

2007-03-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

Caliber!?! What are you doing!?!

Check out MySpace.com/AnythingButCute for more Caliber antics with Pig and Bear.

Caliber

2007-03-19T23:07:00.000-05:00

Great Success!!!!

Yours truly is now the proud owner of a new* 2007 Dodge Caliber SE. I have finally freed myself from the money pit known as 'skylark' and join the ranks of people with cars that are covered under a thing called a 'factory warranty'. This is a new thing for me and I'm rather excited about it.

My Caliber is 'stone white' like the one in the photo, but doesn't have the 17" wheels or the fog lights. It's got a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transaxle). Having the CVT means that the acceleration is more smooth, there is no 'shifting' because there are no 'gears'. Instead a metal belt is driven by two adjustable pulleys which give optimum torque at any given throttle position or RPM. This increases fuel economy over the automatic transmission by 6-8%. Here's the best explaination for it I've found.

I bought it on saturday and picked it up monday afternoon. I've been giddy like a school girl for the past couple days. I've shown it around a little and everybody likes it. It's got neat little things like a 'Chill Zone' beverage cooler which holds 4 20oz bottles/24oz cans, an auxilary audio input, a console mp3/phone caddy and illluminated cup holders.

*New means that it's a program/rental car. I bought it with 27,048 miles on it. It's a model year 2007 but has been 'in service' since May of 2006. They sold me on the extended warranty by selling it for $1900 but lowering my rate from 6.9 to 5.9. Those finance guys at the auto dealers sure do wheald a lot of power. I am now covered until 85,000 miles though - 'bumper to bumper'.

Contrary to what most of you might be thinking, the skylark Did Not catch the fast train to scrapsville, it was saved in the final hour by a unfortunate gentlemen from the Porn Stars who plans on using the reliable car. Interestingly the skylark was worth the same in trade in value as it was in resale, a phat $100. Little did either one of them know I would've paid them a hundred dollars to take it away.

Taxman

2007-03-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I'll try to maintain my composure as I write this post. I filed my federal and state tax returns the other day. I never get so disgusted about money as when I am reminded of how much the federal government extorts from me every year.

In the year 2006, federal and state governments stole around $5,800 from me without my ever really paying them a dime. What I mean is that they've taken that money from me without my choosing to give it to them. I've also chosen to give them an average of 7% of the amount of money I've spent in retail outlets over the year - on top of whatever taxes are already embedded in the price of an item.

The biggest joke of all is that I am going to need the $900 that the federal government saw fit to GIVE BACK to me to pay MORE TAXES on the vehicle I am about to buy just so I can have ANOTHER BIG TAX BILL at the end of next year. Wonderful!

Is anybody happy with the amount of money they pay in taxes? I bet if you had to write a check to the IRS every month people would notice. Does anybody really think that taxes are too low?

Peck's Plaza

2007-03-02T15:38:00.000-06:00

One unique thing about where I work is the actual building. MLL&F/Mokan world headquarters is located in a building called Peck's Plaza. Built in 1910, Peck's Plaza was originally a large downtown department store with a prime location at 11th and Main streets in Kansas City. MLL&F and Mokan occupy floors 6 through 9 of this 10 story building. The building is one of the very few buildings in KC that feature Beaux-Arts (Bozart) architecture.

In the photo at left you can see the intricate designs of the Beaux-Arts (Bozart) style. The windows pictured are of the 8th, 9th and 10th floors on the SE corner of the building.
Here's the view facing south from the eighth floor window. Although my cube doesn't have any windows, I can see this view when I walk around. This photo features the new H&R Block world headquarters building, the KC Reperatory Theater, One KC Place (tallest building in the city), City Center Square, and the Town Pavillion.

Here's the ugly side of Pecks Plaza. Also pictured are City Center Square (at right), and the Town Pavillion. Notice the building across the street from Peck's, it's also done in Beaux-Arts (Bozart) style.

Oscars

2007-02-25T09:20:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend a 'special event' put on by AMC Theaters. They showed all of the movies nominated for 'best picture' in one marathon session beginning at 11:00 and ending at 23:30. It was $30 for all 5 movies and unlimited Coke and popcorn - a pretty good deal if you can stand the marathon. So, here's a quick review of all the movies we saw - in Top 5 format.

5 - Letters from Iwo Jima - Grade: F
I could give a s*** less how those f****** nips FEEL about shooting US Marines. I felt physically ill at points during this movie and actually wanted to walk out. I can see now why I'd never heard of this movie and also why it is nominated for an oscar. I don't buy the 'showing both sides' argument for this movie - this movie is an advocacy for the Japanese cause in WWII. Puke!

4 - The Queen - Grade: B-
Helen Mirren. It's pretty hard for me to get interested in a movie about the eccentricities of the British monarchy in 1997 - which is exactly what that movie is about. Michael Sheen did an excellent job playing Tony Blair.

3 - Babel - Grade: B-
Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett. It was pretty hard to follow and to understand why so much attention was paid to things that has so little to do with the story. It also had a little too much America bashing - even for a hollywood movie.

2 - Little Miss Sunshine - Grade: A-
Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin. I was impressed by originality of this movie, although I was really distracted by the touchy-feely 'Huckabee-ness' of the characters. Alan Arkin stole the show even though he was only in half of the movie.

1 - The Departed - Grade: A
Matt Damon, Leo DiCaprio, Mark Walhberg and Jack Nicholson - enough said. This Martin Scorsese joint was exactly that, with trademark blood, gore, and shocking moments. The only complaint I had about this movie was the amount of gunshot wounds to the head - even I was kinda grossed out towards the end.

The award goes to 'The Departed'. It's a classic Scorsese mobster movie with a great cast. I guarantee it will leave you shocked and amazed.

Busy

2007-02-24T09:19:00.000-06:00

As anybody who reads this blog can tell, I haven't been posting as often as I used to. I guess it's because I don't seem to have any extra time now. I'm very busy at work, so I don't have time to do any posting there. I only have a few minutes now, so I thought I'd put up a little post just to let everybody know I haven't given up. I've recently spent a lot of my time doing work on these two sites
MLLFPC.com
MoKanTitle.com

Here's a quote from one of the cut scenes on Call of Duty, it sums up my feeling about what's been going on in congress lately;

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
-John Stuart Mill

Kickin' A

2007-02-11T23:53:00.000-06:00

Played softball this weekend, it's good to be back in the saddle again.

I always say that tennis is my most loved sport, but baseball was my first love. This incarnation of old and slow baseball - called softball - has really taken my fancy in the last few years. I'm really excited to get the season started, especially with the way the team did on Saturday.

I'm proud to announce that Ed's Lawn Service Softball has already become victorious in our first attempt this year. We went 4 and 1 last Saturday, outscoring our opponents 74 to 46. The tournament was rather small with only 6 teams entered, but it was still a legitimate win because the teams that participated were the serious enough about playing to play in February when it was below freezing.

I did really well. I hit 3 home runs and drove in 14 RBI's. I played fairly well at second base with only a couple balls getting past me. The rest of the team played really well considering less than half of the team were returning players. Our success in this tournament is very reassuring for our hopes to take State and beyond this year.

Our team has a blog too - Ed's Lawn Softball

Ode to Jethro Tull

2007-01-30T23:34:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been feeling the urge to write another ode.

I have been listening to my collection of music... over and over. I have found many new interests to keep my collection updated, but there are some of the old standards that continue to surprise me. Of all the many genres of music, I would have to say that 'classic rock' is one of my least favorite. I just want to shoot myself when I'm forced to listen to a 'classic rock' station. Of the VERY FEW exceptions to this rule, there is one band that is not only a tolerable 'classic rock' group, but has become one of my top 3 favorite groups of all time. Of course I'm speaking of the group of wacky Brits known as Jethro Tull.

I'm sure that many of the readers of this blog are completely (helpless without their spectacles) unfamiliar with the sound of Jethro Tull. It's not easy to describe Tull because their music is so varied. They have been making music since the 60's, so that means a lot of variation. The greatest creation they've ever had is a 45 minute odyssey called 'A Passion Play'. It always seems like I notice something new every time I listen to it. It seems like they really took time to develop every little detail in their music and chose many different instruments to transmit feelings and moods.

I'd like to make that track available for download, but it's huge so it presents problems. If anybody wants it they can email me to get it.

Smartphone

2007-01-26T16:24:00.000-06:00

I feel the need to tell everybody about my new phone. I have recently acquired, what is in my opinion the worlds best smart phone, the Cingular 8525. Why is it the worlds best smart phone? First of all, it runs Windows. This is a major step up from embedded systems - even Linux. Windows Mobile 5 is (obviously) a scaled down version of the mama OS, but is still packed with features. The neatest feature would have to be a program called ActiveSync. ActiveSync is a tool used to download MS Exchange email and it is constantly checking the exchange server for new mail messages. I also have the ability to download my own personal POP mail account (I picked gmail). The phone also features a 2.8" touch-screen; a full QWERTY keyboard that slides away; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Infrared capability; MS Office Mobile (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); Windows Media Player for local files and streaming media over the Internet; a 2 megapixel camera that takes movies with sound; and an expansion slot for a microSD card. Windows Mobile also has a terminal services client which means I can set up VPN's and terminal (Remote Desktop) to any computer on the LAN at work - I could use my computer at work, from wherever, as if I were sitting at the console. On top of all of that it makes telephone calls too!

Of course I got this phone from work, but it's still the only phone I have. Bryan and I split more phone minutes than we could ever use. We also have an unlimited data plan which allows us to pla... uh work on the Internet whenever and wherever we like. I also have a hand-me-down Bluetooth headset - ya, I'm that guy.

Gun Show

2007-01-20T11:28:00.000-06:00

Who is this guy who posts every other week? Anyway, last week Sean and I went to a gun show at the KCI Expo Center. Although I was really temped to buy one of the several Automatic Kalashnikov-47 carbines for around $300-400, I decided to wait (for now). I did, however, find a selection of shotguns that I was not able to resist. I purchased a Charles Daly 12 guage semi-auto shotgun that is all black with composite stock and handle. It is a used gun, but appears to be well worth the $250 price tag - especially considering other semi-automatics were going for $400+. It was nice to buy a shotgun at the show because you could walk out the door with it. Another good thing about buying at the show is that it doesn't necessarily have to conform with local gun laws. My gun holds 5 shells in the magazine and one in the chamber, and I'm pretty sure it's only legal to have 3 in the magazine.

We took it out and shot it last Sunday. It did jam a lot, but I blame that on the rain. I can't wait to get out to Mancamp and put the new gun through a field test.

First Week at MLLF

2007-01-09T16:15:00.000-06:00

Well folks, I've been at MLLF for a week now. Overall, I'd have to say that I'm happy with the change. Most things are going as I expected them to. There haven't been many surprises. It didn't really take long for me to settle back into the 40 hour week routine. I revisit many of the thoughts and feelings I remember having at the last 8-5 job I had.

One thing that I didn't expect was the amount of work. I expected that at the end of the first week we'd have less work to do. In truth, we have uncovered many non-normalized parts of the overall information system which have created a great deal of new work. I could definitely see us working for months just on projects we've come up with in the last week.

One exciting bit of news is that I have been named 'chairman' of the newly formed website committee. The purpose of the committee is to direct and administer the website on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Currently the website is hosted by a local provider, but the eventual plan is to move the site completely in house.

Thanks to everybody who wished me well with the transition. It's going smoothly, and I'm happy about the change, so far...

Last Day at NC

2006-12-29T08:03:00.000-06:00

Well folks, today is the last day I will be employed by Network Communications. As of next Tuesday I will start with MLLF. I'm lucky because my benefits from MLLF will start immediately, so I don't have to use Cobra or go uninsured. The retirement benefits won't start for 6 months, but that doesn't really bother me considering I'm almost 29 and haven't had any retirement benefits up to this point.

I'm apprehensive about the move. I didn't like the way it went down, but thinking about it now I'm not sure what could've made it better. I'm excited about working for a single company and being able to concentrate on them, but I'm definitely going to miss all of the other clients I've been working with over the last 15 months. I'm going to miss everybody at MRS&B with whom I've spent most of my working hours in the past months. I really liked working there, and I learned a great deal about this business from them.

It's going to take me a while to get comfortable at MLLF. I haven't worked at a regular 8-5 job since my days at Horsepower Control, which was more than 3 years ago. I'm sure everything will be OK, but that doesn't keep me from stressing out. Anyway...

Happy New Year! I hope everybody has a good weekend!

Mancamp 07

2006-12-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

It was brought to my attention that it will be January/February soon. What does that mean? It means that it is once again time to start planning for the wilderness survival adventure that will become Mancamp 07.

Being that this is my first Mancamp blog post of the new era I'm sure that some of you are unfamiliar with Mancamp. There are basically two rules at Mancamp. Number one is that there are no women allowed, duh. Number two is that it takes place in the winter. Mancamp usually involves floating down a river, and has been known to include firearms and other weaponry.

We're always open to ideas and locations for future Mancamps, and we haven't even really started planning for 07, so let me know if you have any ideas. Also, being that this will be the sixth annual Mancamp, I felt compelled to make a Top 5 list of previous Mancamps.

Top 5 Mancamps EVER!

5: Mancamp 04 - second Grand River float, heavy rain.
4: Mancamp 05 - First James River float, dumped canoe, light rain.
3: Mancamp 03 - ATF Mancamp
2: Mancamp 02 - First Grand River float - First Mancamp, priceless.
1: Mancamp 06 - Second James River float, first all-kayak mancamp, spirit world Mancamp

Enter My Domain

2006-12-15T12:34:00.000-06:00

Howdy folks. I have some happy news to bring from the 'site stuff' file. I'm happy to announce that I have recently purchased a domain name. What does this mean? It now means that I own http://www.aaronkcmo.com (for 2 years) and I can make that URL point to whatever I want. I have also chosen to mask the real URL of the blog site, so if you go to AaronKCMO.com it will show up as that address in the address bar. I can also choose to create a completely new site, find somewhere to host it, and have a true website rather than a blog. I also currently get one email address @AaronKCMO.com... AaronKCMO@AaronKCMO.com

I went with GoDaddy.com for the purchase mainly because they were cheaper than Register.com and NetworkSolutions.com. For a few bucks more they have a lot of good features such as hosting and enhanced email.

I'm going to have to create a logo.... and a slogan. I need some registered trademarks.

P.S. This is another innovation originated by LocoMocos.

Big Changes

2006-12-11T15:08:00.000-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I have accepted an offer for employment from Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen P.C. Attorneys. Effective January 1, 2007 my tenure with Network Communications L.L.C. will cease and I will move on to my new position 'in-house' at MLLF.

As some of you know I have been working with MLLF for the last year in a contract capacity; being employed by NC, and doing work for MLLF and others. Recent developments have drastically changed the status quo of our work environment and I was forced to make a tough decision that would set my course for the forseeable future. One of the reasons I haven't posted in a while is because I was too busy stressing out about this decision.

I am looking forward to the change. I'm excited about being able to concentrate on one set of information systems rather than just take glances at a bunch. We will probably move the website in-house soon, so I'll get to do some actual coding on a real professional website. On top of all this I will be receiving a pay increase and wonderful benefits.

Let it Snow!

2006-12-01T11:00:00.000-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen. Who ever said that it doesn't snow much in Missouri. These photos were taken by our softball team leader Larry at his house this morning. Notice in this photo how the trampoline is sagging under the weight of the snow but the snow is still even on top.

It doesn't look like these cars are going anywhere today.

Wash that car! ...when the snow melts.

Ode to Dr. Marten

2006-11-28T12:20:00.000-06:00

It occurred to me the other day that I should write a post about the virtues of my favorite brand of footwear - Dr. Martens. I have circulating at least one pair of 'Docs' for at least 10 years. I currently wear Docs almost every day. I have a pair of black 5-eye and a pair of brown 4-eye shoes that I wear exclusively for work (both in 'classic unisex' style). I've had my black pair for the entirety of this century, and they have become my most comfortable pair of shoes. The outside leather is durable but still soft, and the sole has retained most of it's tread even though the shoes have about a million miles on them. The characteristic yellow stitching has remained as bright as ever through assaults by dirt and shoe polish. I've only had my brown pair for about 3 years, so they're just getting to the really comfortable stage.

Before I had these shoes I was known to be seen in a pair of 10-eye navy blue Docs with steel toes. Although impractical in a professional environment the boots were quite at home at the grounds in which I used to stomp. I, too, have also owned a pair of the ubiquitous 8-eye black boots which hold the honor of being the only Docs I've ever grown out of.

Bottom line; Docs are durable, comfortable footwear and are a good choice regardless of social connotations associated with them.

Mr. & Mrs. Sean Johnson

2006-11-21T14:00:00.000-06:00

My buddy Sean got married this weekend to the lovely and gracious Heather (Fuge). The wedding was held at Gashland Presbyterian Church and the reception was held at KCI Expo Center. The ceremony was nice - short and sweet. The reception was a really good time.

As some of you know, I participated in the festivities as Best Man. It was an honor to perform such duties as helping to organize the bachelor party, standing up at the wedding, and making the first toast to the newly married couple. Everything went well, and a good time was had by all.

I'm not sure how Sean was feeling, but I was a nervous wreck - and I wasn't even getting married. When I was standing behind Sean in the ceremony my heart was beating out of my chest and it felt like I was going to pass out. Later I got some major butterflies before it was time to give the toast. I guess I didn't do too bad though, I got a good laugh, a few heckles, and an 'ahhh' or two.

So, Congratulations to Sean and Heather. It's about time Sean stepped up to the plate.

Sporting News

2006-11-14T11:57:00.000-06:00

I decided to do a post about updates on my sporting endeavours. I don't usually post much about stuff like this because it doesn't garner as much attention as other things, but anyway.

Two weekends ago our tournament softball team won the 'Last Chance' tournament held at Clifton Park in Independence, MO. Our team is going through a reorganizational period right now. We are using these post-season tournaments to strategize for next year's team. I played well in the tournament with only one error in the field and a .500+ batting average. We beat the Boulevard Brewing team twice in that tournament which was especially sweet because the Porn Stars have lost to that team in every meeting - and there have been several. It appears that my primary defensive position for next year will be second base. My legs will appreciate getting out of the outfield.

Our tennis team received our first 'L' in the team match last weekend. Although my partner Jeff Thimgan and I won our individual match, it wasn't enough. This is actually the first time our team hasn't been in first place since I started at the end of 2005. I'm not worried though, I'm sure we'll come out on top at the end of the season. You can view my historic stats here.

Bowling has really been looking up for me. I've finally gotten rid of the shanks and am bowling above average again. My average over the last two weeks is 173.2, which is about 17 points above my overall (379 game) average of 156.42. I'm also winning back the money I've lost over the last few weeks - I was up $1.50 last Sunday. The updated bowling spreadsheet is available for download in the downloadable content section.

Indians on the Moon

2006-11-08T22:17:00.000-06:00

The world's largest Democracy, India, has announced plans to land a man on the Moon by the year 2020. Are they doing this to expand Indian technology? Are they doing this to earn international prestige? Are they doing this because they've run out of space to build call centers on Earth, and are looking to expand to our only natural satellite?

Apparently the Indian government plans on spending tens of thousands of crore on research and development of systems and training for a moonshot. They also plan on re-inventing many of the tested systems that have been used in previous Moon landings by other countries - manned and unmanned. Indian technology has already produced the launch vehicle (a rocket system with the capability of sending a payload into orbit) and has successfully launched satellites. They are also planning to launch an unmanned lunar orbiter/impactor as soon as December. Much R&D needs to be done in the interim such as the actual creation of the lunar modules, and development of systems and practices needed to actually make the trip survivable for the occupant(s).

The whole idea is amusing. I like Kiwikid's opinion on the subject. Let's just hope that they put more effort into imitating the Apollo program than they do into imitating Michael Jackson.

Hindustan Times
India Today

Is This It?

2006-11-06T11:36:00.000-06:00

Have I arrived? Is this what it's supposed to be like? Why am I asking these questions?

Last Thursday I did something for the first time that most people are accostomed to doing regularly. I actually paid somebody else to change the oil in my car. It may seem like it's not a big deal to you, but it was for me. I've been driving for 12 years, had many cars, and have done the vast majority or maintenance and repairs myself. My main arguments for not having my oil changed was the price difference and that I wanted to be sure it was done right. Changing it myself would only cost $7-10, but having somebody else do it costs at least $30. I've never had a lot of money to throw around for unnecessary things like that. I still don't have the money, but lately I haven't had the time to get dirty nor the patience to do the job.

This time the want was born from necessity. I'm not sure I'll have somebody else do it next time. I'm still going to change my own brakes and do whatever other repairs are within my realm of expertise, but I may be tempted to let them change my oil again - it felt pretty good.

Neat Little Toy

2006-11-01T20:24:00.000-06:00

Fellow Bloggers. I feel the need to post about a little known blogging toy called Site Meter. I have recently discovered this nerdy little tool by looking at the little icon hidden at the bottom of the blog of LocoMocos. Site Meter is basically a counter for your blog, but it does so much more. I can go to the Site Meter website and view exactly who has visited my blog, when they visited, where they came from, and how long they stayed. On top of all these stats you can also view a world map with marks on it corresponding to where your visitors came from. It's not exactly 100% correct about that (it shows one of our clients offices as if it were in Plano, TX), but most of the locations are correct. So, thanks to Site Meter I have recently found that my blog has been visited by people from Canada, India, France, Spain, UK, and Argentina, as well as many of the United States. I have also discovered that if you search Google for 'Greg Graffin myspace comment graphics' my blog is listed on the first page of results. Also, if you Google 'Yahoo radio 810 WHB' I am listed on the fourth page of results.

This is a neat little blog utility that LocoMocos has been keeping secret, but that I felt needed to be exposed. This is also one of the reasons I put up a post mentioning stem cells and those national politicians - to try to see if I could get more search results and page views from all over the country. It worked pretty well.

Even if you already have a counter on your site (like me), I still suggest adding this little gem to your blog. Did I mention that it's free? Scroll all the way down on this page to find the link to my stats on Site Meter.

Clear the Air - Stem Cells

2006-10-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

Nobody is against stem cell research - not even the most fundamental christian, muslim, jew, or whatever. Is that hard for you to believe? It probably is considering the amount of misinformation and propaganda being dispensed to skulls full of mush who proudly drink the kool-aid and spit it back in your face. George Bush is not against stem cell research, Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) is not against stem cell research, MO Governor Matt Blunt is not against stem cell research - in spite of what you may have heard about these people. Nobody is against stem cell research. The only thing some people don't like is FEDERAL FUNDING for NEW EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINES, which could be construed as creating human life for the purpose of destroying it in the name of research. They don't see any reason to create new embryo 'lines' when there are inexhaustable stem cell resources that don't involve 'creating babies to kill them for research'. Lots of people are also afraid that stem cell research will be a gateway to human cloning - which actually is a contentious issue.

You may ask 'If that's true, why is this such a contraversial topic?' Let me tell you. The political left in this country has made a standard operating procedure out of building (and knocking down) straw men in debates with people on the right. In our 'sound-byte society' mush-skulls can be tricked into believing radical ideas with strategicly placed 'quotes' that are completely out of context and assertions that the 'quotes' mean something very different. Then they make commercials like the one featuring Fox where he 'forgot' to take his medication and all but accuses conservatives of making him sick and wanting him to die. This is a new low, even for Hollywood types.

It is quaint to talk about honesty in the middle of the most heated campaign for midterm elections in the last few decades, but I felt like the air needed to be cleared around this topic.

Call Him Drunken Ira Hayes

2006-10-24T09:14:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I've decided to do a movie review.

Last weekend I went to the theater (for the first time in months) to see a movie. We decided to see the new Clint Eastwood joint 'Flags of our Fathers'. Truthfully I didn't know what to expect from this movie. I knew it was about the battle for Iwo Jima, and the Marines who raised the flag over Mt. Suribachi. I did not, however, know that the movie would focus just as much on a political campaign to raise money for the war effort. At least half of the movie was set in the US and followed the surviving flag raisers as they toured the country trying to sell war bonds. While I do agree that the financial situation of the US and allies in early 1945 was of historical signifigance, I do not agree that it makes a good movie. The stunts that the surviving Marines were asked to do were strange - such as climbing a pretend 'mountain' and planting a flag for a fund raiser at Soldier Field in Chicago - and it was not what I expected to take from the movie.

The actual battle scenes were graphic and realistic, but only a small part of the movie. The battle for Iwo Jima was a month-long struggle which DID NOT culminate in the flag raising on Suribachi - in fact, that took place on day 5 of the 30 day battle. This movie was most certainly not about the fight for Iwo Jima, but about the social signifigance of the picture taken of the Marines on Suribachi. Also, the parts of the movie which were set in the US focussed mainly on how Ira Hayes was constantly drunk. I guess Eastwood wanted to tell the story of the Pima Indian who fought for the US and was then not even given equal status in his home country. It was a sad movie.

As far as war movies go, this one ranks poorly on my list. It was better than 'Saving Private Ryan', but not as good as 'Glory', 'Gods and Generals', or 'The Thin Red Line'.

Declaration of Best Posts

2006-10-15T09:55:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen. When, in the course of blogging events, it becomes necessary for one blogger to recognize acheivements made by other bloggers, so that the greater than equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the recognition.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all blog posts are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable qualities, such as logic, reason, and a quest for truth. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, I pledge to my fellow bloggers my opinion, my comment, and my sacred honor.

Top 5 blog posts of all time:

5: NYC = ME ME ME
I chose this post because it was really the first time that people had disagreements that they felt needed to be aired for the world to see. Although the debate was diminished by personal attacks, this post opened the door for better posts with more civilized debate.

4: And Now for Something Completely Different...
I decided to choose this post because of the opinions stated in the post as well as the opinions stated in the comments. Everything was well thought out and there weren't any personal attacks.

3: The number 3 post of all time was actually 2 posts. They were posted by Amber on BlackPetunia sometime early this year. The posts and comment debate focused on homelessness - causes and cures. The debate was very heated and everybody was passionate about their opinions - this resulted in a record setting number of comments. The biggest tragedy is that the posts are lost forever.

2: Happy Birthday
This post is by far the best and most fitting tribute, or 'ode' to somebody in blogging history. The thoughts are well organized, and the feelings expressed could be described as nothing but completely honest.

1: I haven't forgotten 9/11...
This post is the most relevant blog post in history - for everybody. As I said in my comment on this post; I'm glad you remember 9/11 [Spoony]. I'm glad that you've been able to maintian composure through a very emotional time for all of us and deliver us an objective portrayal of events. Congratulations on #1 Spoony.

Honorable mentions go to: Memories, like fingerprints..., Graphic artist..., I'm gonna make it..., Ramdom unrelated sketches, and Meet the Baxters

Turning Over

2006-10-12T23:14:00.000-05:00

My car has defied all predictions. Earlier this week it turned over 100,000 miles. I feel the need to tell it's story.

Over two and less than 3 years ago I was not driving my Buick. I was actually driving a Cadillac, which I loved very much. Long story short, the Caddy started leaking coolant from around the head so I decided I needed a new car rather that putting a new engine in the Caddy. I look around online for a few days and happen upon this 8 year old Buick Skylark with only 35,000 miles on it. Better than the low miles, the price was only $3,000. I went to look at the car and found pretty much what I expected. It was in fair to poor shape on the exterior (hail damage, scratches, faded paint), and good to fair condition on the interior (burn holes, missing trim, faded cloth). I immediately thought that this was a car for me. I [haggled] the guy down to $2,850 and drove away in a purple Buick.

I'm not saying that the car has been great. In fact, I've had some serious problems with it. I'd be willing to bet that the problems I've had with my car would have turned any reader of this blog away from it. I, however, was not going to be dismayed by problems you might expect from a car that has sat still for an undetermined period, had 'flood' damage, been broken into, and generally treated like it was not loved. I've stayed with the car through think and thin, and she has finally rewarded my perseverance with a big milestone.

Now I can't wait to get rid of it. Hopefully I'll be able to do that next summer.

Greg Graffin, Gospel Singer

2006-10-02T23:22:00.000-05:00

Oh what do my wondering ears did appear? Gospel music from THE MOST unlikely source. Greg Graffin, best known as the lead singer of Bad Religion, has released an album of 'folk' songs with a strong religious overtone. This is the very same guy who, for over 20 years, sang songs like 'Don't Pray on Me', 'The Voice of God is Government', and 'Flat Earth Society' to name a few. In a recent album titled 'The Empire Strikes First' the songs 'Athiest Peace' and 'God's Love' are most certainly not singing praises to the 'Lord'. Yet now he's singing songs that praise Jesus Christ. Here's an excerpt from the Bad Religion song 'Don't Pray on Me':

Now I don't know what stopped
Jesus Christ from turning
every hungry stone into bread
and I don't remember hearing how Moses
reacted when the innocent first born sons lay dead
well I guess God was a lot more demonstrative back when
he flamboyantly parted the sea,
now everybody's praying,
don't pray on me

Now, here are the lyrics for the song 'Talk About Suffering' from the Greg Graffin album 'Cold as the Clay':

Talk about sufferin' here below and let's keep a'lovin' Jesus
Talk about sufferin' here below and let's keep a'followin' Jesus

Oh can't you hear it brothers and don't you want to go?
And leave this world of sorrow and trouble here below

The gospel train is coming, now don't you want to go?
And leave this world of sorrow and trouble here below

I've given the new album one listen. I like most of the songs. It's wierd to hear him sing that way though. If you're interested you can listen to two of the songs on his myspace page.

Role Reversal

2006-09-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

I saw this at Slashdot.

Apparently the anti-competitive actions of the RIAA have finally upset people who have enough money to sue them. Lime Wire LLC has filed counter-petitions in the active lawsuit between the two organizations alleging anti-competitive practices. The claim alleges:

[RIAA's] goal was simple: to destroy any online music distribution service they did not own or control, or force such services to do business with them on exclusive and/or other anticompetitive terms so as to limit and ultimately control the distribution and pricing of digital music, all to the detriment of consumers. (Counterclaim, paragraph 26, page 18).

Here's the link to the Slashdot story.
Here's a link to a neat blog.
Here's the link to the answer and counter claim filed by Lime Wire LLC.

Why I don't carry a gun

2006-09-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

Normally I'm a very calm person, just like the chef in the cingular commercial. I like to stay that way until I experience something beyond the pale.

Yesterday morning we were having a crisis at one of our clients offices. At about 08:30 they started experiencing network difficulties. At first it was just a few users that couldn't access their email, but it very quickly exploded into all users not being able to access any network resources. I tried to remote into their servers to fix the problem but found that everything on their network was inaccessible. I immediately drove to their location to begin troubleshooting the problem on site. With the help of my boss we soon eliminated everything but actual physical network problems. I ran around to check all the network devices and found them all to be in order except for two switches. Why couldn't I eliminate those two switches? Because they were in a closet with a locked f-ing door and nobody had a key to it. I called my boss and he said to call the building manager. I had one of the girls call him and try to convey the urgency of the situation - we had 3 floors and 4 locations COMPLETELY DOWN and we needed him up there YESTERDAY.

I waited next to the elevators for him. About 10 minutes later he finally drags his happy ass up there. I was getting very annoyed just because it took him so long to come, but what he said next made me irate. When I saw him in the elevator I started walking over to the closet while he took his sweet time. When we got to the closet door he said 'Looks like somebody had too much coffee this morning'. At this point, if I were carrying a gun, I would have shot that smug bastard right in his filthy sewer and let him bleed to death. Instead, I asked him if anyone had told him how urgent this was. He said *blah blah blah* and finally opened the door.

As we suspected, the two switches in the closet were without power. I quickly unplugged them from the failing UPS and plugged them into the wall. I asked the guy why the door was locked and why nobody had a key. He said that we weren't 'allowed' into that room whenever we wanted. I asked him if he really meant that we couldn't get into a room we were renting to service the equipment we owned, he said 'yes'. I held myself back from beating him to death with the failed UPS and told him that if it happens again I'd just kick the door in. He gave a 'humph' and left. I can't remember the last time I was so pissed at somebody. It's a good thing that client is moving at the end of the month and we're getting new proper server rooms.

World Series

2006-09-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

Last weekend the 123dough.com team and I appeared at the NSA Regional World Series tournament held in Bridgeton (St. Louis), MO. We went 1 and 2 and were eliminated on Saturday.

Overall, it was a pretty embarassing weekend for the team on the ball diamond. We were scheduled to play at 8pm on Friday, so I had to leave work early to make it there on time. We started out hot, scoring 7 runs in the top of the first inning. We went on to lose that game by a few runs, but we were contenders throughout the game. The second game was scheduled for 11:15 Saturday morning. As luck would have it, the team we were supposed to play never showed up. That forfeit accounted for our only win. In the second game on Saturday we were beaten by two runs - and were eliminated from the tournament and any berth we might have received for the Super World Series in Vegas. The most embarassing part was that in the two games we lost we played teams that fielded only 9 players. Upsetting - but understandable because all of those teams were there because they had been tournament winners this year.

I finally found my swing at World. I missed hitting for the cycle on Friday by a home run. I went 4 for 4 hitting two triples, a double, and a single. I could've stretched one of the triples into a home run too. I went 2 for 3 on Saturday with two singles and a walk. So, I did pretty well considering I only made one out in eight plate appearances.

After we were eliminated we went out and partied in STL at the 'West Port Plaza'. We drank beer at Ozzie Smith's bar, watched college football and generally tried to forget about softball. I can't believe how obsessed they are out there with Don Denkinger and 'the call' in the 6th game of the 1985 MLB World Series. It's really sad to see them whine and pout about it 21 years later.

We had a good old time out there. The neatest thing I saw out there was Kevin Nealon walking by. He was walking out the door of some comedy club. I was the only one in our group (or on the street for that matter) to recognize him. I guess I was the only hardcore SNL fan.

Evolution of a Title Image

2006-09-11T01:14:00.000-05:00

Sponsorship

2006-09-07T08:52:00.000-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to announce that my first sponsorship deal has come to an end. AaronKCMO and NAPA Auto Parts have suspended relations based on mutually acceptable terms. As some of you may have noticed, the ads for the NAPA Fanniversary and the legal disclaimer have been removed from the main page of this blog. My contract was fulfilled with payment consisting of a NAPA thermal coffee mug and a NAPA Filters Fanniversary t-shirt.

All in all I'd have to say that I'm happy with my first corporate sponsorship. Everyone got what they wanted and I didn't feel like I was selling out. Even though the t-shirt is a 2XL, I feel like I reveived adequate payment for my services. I am now available to other sponsorship offers.

Favorite Winter Pasttime

2006-09-07T08:26:00.000-05:00

The winter tennis session started this week. Last night I played with my Dad and a couple other guys in the first Wed. night session. It's nice to get back into it. Before last night I hadn't played in close to a month. August is usually a slow time in the tennis year because the leagues are over and the winter session hasn't started yet. August is slow unless you make the national tournament... anyway...

I have been playing 2 of every 3 Wednesdays with my Dad for the past 2 years. Even though he and I usually wipe the court with our opponents, it's nice to get out and play. I will also be playing 9 out of the next 18 Mondays. The Monday thing is more competitive and I only win about half the time. It's important to play people who are better than you, I'm lucky to have that on Monday. The USTA leagues will start up again soon too. I'm still rated 3.5 this year so maybe I can improve on last years performance.

Lately I have joined a pool (billiards) league. I was asked to play by some guys I work with. I've been out for a couple practice sessions and have found that practice is exactly what I need. Getting out and playing reminded me of why I quit playing before. That game can be very frustrating. That league meets on Tuesdays. I'm going to be busy busy this winter with unofficial bowling league on Sunday, tennis on Monday and Wednesday, and Pool on Tuesday. I guess that's the way I like it.

Food Stamp Ads

2006-08-30T12:21:00.000-05:00

Oh my brothers, what has this country come to? I've recently been hearing ads on the radio for FOOD STAMPS. That's right. Our government is spending our money to put ads on the air for government 'safety net' entitlement programs. The purpose of these ads is to tell people that they probably qualify for the program when they think they don't, or shouldn't. I couldn't think of anything more ridiculous. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?!? Whatever happened to 'if I can't get it on my own, maybe I don't need it' - or 'maybe I can ask my family and friends for temporary help before I ask the federal government'.

Ok, let's examine what is behind such radical socialism in America today. What agency is responsible for distribution of food stamps? That's right - the US Department of Agriculture. The USDA is normally a standard government bureaucracy with a standard amount of waste - which is an extreme amount of waste for any private organization. Everybody should know that for every dollar in taxes that is extorted from you, at least fifty cents is wasted and gone forever. So, how do government bureaucracies grow? They grow by pleading with congress to give them more money, using misleading stats and emotional appeals such as calling a decrease in growth a cut. NO GOVERNMENT ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM HAS EVER BEEN GIVEN LESS MONEY FROM ONE FISCAL YEAR TO THE NEXT. Like other entitlement programs, the food stamp program grows based on how many citizens it services. Check out the graph at left - shouldn't the amount of money being spent on this program decreased in those years? Let's pretend we're a bunch of hot-shot 'managers' that work for the USDA and we want to show our bosses that we're doing a good job. What would we do? Cutting waste is not acceptable because it would show that your agency does not need the resources it already has allocated - which means 'less money' next year. Of course 'less money' means a decrease in the amount of growth. Therefore, the only way to show the higher-ups that you're doing a good job is to sign as many people on to the program as possible - which translates to a greater amount of growth in the budget. What better way to do this than to advertise. Yes, ADVERTISE for entitlement programs.Maybe the family at right could miss a few meals so we don't have to pay for their diabetes and hypertension later on.

Where do America's best and brightest work? They sure as hell don't work for our federal government. Who could live with themselves when they know that half of the money they're stealing from citizens is being wasted. Who likes the fact that accomplishing the main objectives of the bureau would result in a socialist welfare state. Success is not rewarded and failure is not punished in public employment. Do you know how hard it is to fire somebody who works for the federal government? If they're a minority you might as well forget about it.

This is all part of Katrina mentality. No matter what hole I put myself into, it is the responsibility of the federal government to bail me out of it - especially if I'm poor. What if all those people who lived BELOW SEA LEVEL in New Orleans moved to the top of Mt. Ranier, there was an eruption, and all of their homes were lost. How is it the responsiblity of the federal government to build them new houses and provide for their every need in the interim?

America is the greates nation in the history of the world. That is all being jeopardized by the idea that people aren't responsible for their own decisions, and that it's the job of the federal government to provide cradle to grave support in every aspect of life. Why am I so upset about this? Because TAXES ARE MY NUMBER ONE EXPENSE. Above anything else, I pay more money to the federal government. To me, that is too disgusting for words.

Fantasy Draft

2006-08-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlmen, let the fantasy football season begin. Tonight I'm attending a draft for a fantasy league I joined. This is the first time I've ever done this, so I don't really know what to expect. I have the third overall pick, so I'll probably end up with LaDainian Tomlinson or Peyton Manning as my first pick. The number one and two pickers have already told me they were going to take Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson. I should probably pick a RB in the first round because it seems like they are the most sought-after players.

For those of you not familiar... Fantasy football is when a group of people get together, 'draft' current NFL players, and 'compete' with each other every week to see whose players stack up more stats. You have to draft a bunch of starting offensive players, a kicker, and a defense. Each week you have to 'start' your draft picks against another fantasy players draft picks.

We're doing our draft tonight at Hooters at 100-what-the-f***-ever and Metcalf. Apparently we're getting free wings while we're drafting. I'm not sure how Larry swung that one, but I'm not going to complain - even if Hooters does have the worst wings on the planet.

Good News

2006-08-15T08:27:00.000-05:00

Finally some good stuff to write about. Folks, my long hard search for a replacement mp3 player has come to an end. Yesterday I received my brand new Creative Zen Touch 20gb mp3 player. My fruitless journey has come to a satisfying conclusion. After what happened with the used players on ebay I just decided to bite the bullet and get a new one. I bought my player from B&H Photo Video.com. I recommend them because of the low prices and the expediency of shipping. I ordered my zen last Thursday and received it Monday - priority mail.

All told, I'm down about $40 resulting from the ebay fiasco. It cost me $15 to ship the second player back. I'm still owed $25 from the first seller, who was a fraud. Paypal is still working on that, so I may get that back too. The third refund is being processed and I'm sure will go through. Other things it cost me were the time (about a month), and credibility with paypal - I've initiated two disputes in a month.

In other good news, today marks the beginning of my vacation. Although I have not yet been employed here for a year, my boss saw fit to allow me 3 days vacation. Tonight Sean and I are leaving for his family's place on Table Rock Lake. I'm really looking forward to 6 days of not stressing about whiney lawyers, not waking up early, and not fighting traffic all day. I see a lot of boating, tubing, swimming, fishing, kayaking, paddleboating, skipping rocks, sleeping in, xbox, and relaxing in my future. I'll be thinking about you guys at about 10 am tomorrow morning when I'm gently floating in the lake getting some sun, and at 3 pm when I'm swinging from the rope swing, and at the party cove....

See y'all Sunday.

Boxes, Belts, and Birthdays

2006-08-10T17:16:00.000-05:00

Oh my brothers, your humble narrator was forced to endure some hardship yesterday. It all started when I found a note on my door. It said that I had a package to pick up at the post office. This was good because I was expecting my zen to be in at any time. I go up to the post office just before they close. I hand the guy my ticket and he goes back to look for my box. When he comes back he's got this funny look on his face. I look down at the box, and it's got one whole side of it opened up. He was shaking it to show me that there was nothing inside the box. I felt like I wanted to go postal. They said that the package opened up somewhere between the Canadian border and Gladstone (it was shipped from Toronto), and the contents were 'lost'. So, some lucky (evil) postal employee is walking around with the third zen I've bought in the last month. The good news is that the shipper insured the package, and I should be able to get a full refund through paypal. The freaking idiot didn't even put tape on the side of the box that 'came open'. Above are pictures of the offending box. Aggrivating.

As I was leaving the post office in disgust thinking 'why did god have to sh*t in my cheerios again today', I was confronted with a more immediate problem. I was driving home and I noticed that the A/C wasn't working. At the same time I noticed that the battery light was on. I knew immediately that the serpentine belt had either come loose or had broke. When I got home I pulled the broken belt out and called my dad to give me a ride to the parts store. He took me up there, we got the belt, got back and tried to put it on. Because the other one was broken it took us a half hour to try putting it on the wrong way before we figured out the right way. It still took another 15 minutes to do. Here's a picture of the offending belt.

As I was getting dirty in the parking lot changing my belt, our tennis team was practicing. I needed to be there because I need to get some hits in before the tournament match tomorrow. Needless to say I missed the practice. Our coach hooked me up with a guy to hit with tonight, but that brought on another problem. My granddad (my only surviving grandparent) is having a birthday dinner tonight at 6:30 and I'm supposed to hit with this guy at 7:00. I haven't been able to get a hold of this guy to try to push it back. Hopefully I can. Whoever out there is wishing me bad luck, I wish they'd stop.

The 2006 USTA Missouri Valley Mens

2006-08-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

Sectional tournament starts this Friday, and guess who's going to be representing the HOA District and the Borders/Baldwin team in the #1 singles position at the first match of the tournament... Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen, this Friday morning I will be playing singles in a sectional tournament match at the 3.5 level, just like I did at the 3.0 level last year. Last year when I played in the mens Sectional in Des Moines I went 4 and 1 with my only loss going to the tournament champion team, namely Steve Stoner.

I feel confident this year that the opponents aren't going to be pushovers. I am also confident that I will be able to defeat any punks from NE, KS, IA, OK, or STL - with NE being first in line.

God speed the Borders/Baldwin team! It's Nationals or Bust!

SETI

2006-08-01T22:57:00.000-05:00

G'day folks. I'm writing this post to signify my achievement of 100,000 BOINC credits. I have also put a copy of my BOINC stats at the top of the main section to highlight the milestone. This is my first BOINC/SETI post of Parte Dos, and it represents a continuation of my long running support of SETI. For any newcomers, SETI is an acronym for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. They 'listen to stars' in search of intelligent radio signals eminating from outside of our solar system. I have been running the SETI@home client for almost 3 years on as many as 5 machines at any given time. I now have 3 computers running BOINC constantly. Here are some interesting stats (to me anyway):

Account Created:.....December 20th, 2003
Total Credit:.....98,304.81749
Recent Average Credit:.....300.80507
SETI@home classic workunits:.....3,102
SETI@home classic CPU time:.....23,827 hours
Contribution to BOINC total credit:.....0.00070%
Accumulated more credit than % of all BOINC users:.....96.63%
Highest World position ever:.....25262 at 2006-08-01
Click Here to view my SETI@home user profile.
Click Here to view info on the resources I have donated.

Ongoing Device Saga

2006-07-27T21:02:00.000-05:00

Here's an update on the mp3 player situation (reference 1, 2). I won the Zen Sleek mentioned in the reference post. It arrived in a reasonable time. I opened it and tested it immediately. At first I had trouble connecting it to the computer. Apparently there are two different versions of the 'same' player, and I used the other software first. After I figured that out I transferred my music to it, plugged it in, and found out that it only put audio through one channel. Since the auction warranted the item to be functional I was able to receive a RMA number and sent it back. Those guys were nazis about their procedure though, and I ended up having to send the package '2 day' priority mail just to get it there before the deadline. Since then I have bid and won another auction for a player, a zen touch this time. Bottom line, I ended up having to spend roughly $50 before I ever bid on the player I will end up with, hopefully.

Missouri State Tournament

2006-07-27T20:44:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I'm proud to announce that the 123dough.com team will be making an appearance at the NSA Missouri state tournament this weekend in Jefferson City, MO. It's a 1-2 day, double elimination style tournament. There are currently 21 teams entered in our division, so it's likely that we'll be forced to play on both Saturday and Sunday. We currently hold third place in MO for points accumulated over the regular season. All teams who enter the state tournament get 10 points, plus a point for each team that you beat in the overall standings. Just by entering this tournament we clinch third place for the season with the possibility of second or first. The top three teams who qualify for Super-World in Vegas get travelling money from the NSA. In order for us to qualify for Super-World we need to get first or second in the state or world (regional) tournaments. Wish us luck.

Go Dough!!!

Pirate Radio

2006-07-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

Well, after much ado with ebay/paypal and some worthless seller named platypusposse, I have finally purchased an mp3 player that I'm confident I will receive. For those of you unfamiliar with my dilemma I will point you to this post for some background.

So, I decided to bid on a player on ebay that was being offered by a shady character (66.7% positive feedback out of 6 total) knowing that I may not ever receive the item, and that I may never contact the seller. The only reason I did this was because the item would auction for a lot less than others. I did end up paying a lot less, but the seller never responded to my emails. I have since filed a claim with paypal, and should get my money back minus a $25 fee for paypal. Frustrating.

Since then I have won another player on ebay, which I spent substantially more money on. This player is a Creative Zen Sleek rather than a Zen Touch like my previous model. The only real - not cosmetic - difference between the two players is that the Sleek will have about 60% of the battery life of the Touch. That's kinda misleading because the Touch lasted FOREVER on a charge.

Long story short; I should be back to broadcasting Pirate Radio in no time. Grin.

HOA Champs

2006-07-11T11:56:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce that our team has won the USTA Heart of America district tournament this weekend. We beat team Bicknell five matches to zero in the semis, and won 3-2 over Malarky in the final. From here our next USTA match will be at the Missouri Valley sectional tournament to be held in Kansas City August 11-13. Although I wasn't able to play in the district tournament, I'm going to make sure and get enough rest to play in the sectional. I feel confident that, by that time, my elbow will be in shape enough to wipe the court with some chump from OK, NE, IA, STL, and/or Topeka.

To follow the action on the web just click on the links below:
Team Winter Session Stats 2006
Team Summer Session Stats 2006
My Individual Stats for 2006
2006 HOA 3.5 Mens District Championship Bracket

District Championships

2006-07-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

This weekend our tennis team heads into the USTA Heart of America (Kansas City) district tournament. For winning the winter session of the league we received an automatic birth to the semifinal round of the tournament. We are currently a heavy favorite in our semifinal match against Bicknell.

I, however, will probably not be playing. Although our leaders want me to play, I don't think I'll be able to. My arm, specifically my elbow, has been feeling like hamburger since the last time I played. This is the same elbow that was injured in the debauchery at PhilWax's pool. Actually, this elbow has a storied history of mishaps dating back to before I broke the two forearm bones in an accident involving a dog house and a basketball goal. But I digress.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to see a doctor. I'm really afraid that they're going to tell me that they want to cut on me. I guess I should go ahead and have them do the shoulder too, I'm sure I have some rotator cuff issues as well. I'm not a big fan of doctors.

Bad Times

2006-06-29T23:19:00.000-05:00

Oh my brothers and only friends. I have had a very upsetting few days.

I woke up this morning to find that somebody had gotten into my car and stole my mp3 player. I guess I had left my door unlocked, so I made it easy for them. They stole my Zen, my transmitter, all my change (excluding pennies), 3 cigarettes sitting on my seat, and a bottle of cologne. I think it was probably one of the kids that ride their skateboard outside my place. Next time I see one I'm going to offer a reward. Upsetting.

I have also become aware in the last week or so that I have apparently been the victim of identity theft. It seems as if somebody who lives in Florida has used my SSN to get themselves a cellular phone. Looks like somebody got a phone using my info and never paid the bill. Apparently T-Mobile thinks that I owe them about $600. The think that I've owed it to them since December of 2004. They have since turned the matter over to a collection agency, and have thus marred my credit rating. I have my sister on the case, so I'm sure the matter will be resolved quickly and in my favor. Still upsetting.

Oh well, I still haven't given up on my 'don't F with karma' ideology.

Gone Floating

2006-06-22T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yes indeed folks, the time has come for the first summer float trip of the year. It's been a long time coming (since it's already the third week of June), and I can't wait to get out on the river. This is also the first big float trip in which I've had the honor of being leader/organizer. We're going down with 10 people, renting a 10 person campsite and 5 boats - which meant reservations had to be made and money had to be paid up front. Selling seats was not a problem. The first day of the official announcement I had 8 seats bought and paid for.

This is not the first float trip I've done this year. Although the historical account of my first float trip this year (ManCamp 06) has been lost. The photographic proof of the expedition is downloadable from this site (at least what has been declassified).

We're doing an 8 mile float down the Elk River that ends at the campsite. Those floats are best because you can take your sweet time getting down the river. We'll be staying at River Ranch Resort. The weather channel has been calling for a sunny 85 degrees on Saturday. Looks like it should be a good time, too bad the rest of you couldn't make it.

I now pronounce you...

2006-06-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to my cousin Stephanie and her new husband Garrett. I hope you have a long and fruitful marriage.

Yes, folks, this weekend I attended the wedding of my cousin Stephanie Petry and Garrett Lehman in Hillsboro MO. They went all out for the ceremony and the reception, every little detail was taken care of. Everything went smoothly and a good time was had by all. Even though there were at least 150 people in attendance, the logistics and timliness of the schedule were kept intact - which is a tribute to the bride and her mother (my aunt Beth).

This marked my second trip to STL in as many weeks. Although I didn't have to drive my car down there, I did end up driving my granddad home. It was a relatively painless trip not counting the extensive amount of construction in between Wentzville and I-55 on US-40 and I-270. That crap added an hour to our trip down there.

So, Stephanie is the first of the grandchildren I grew up with to get married. She's almost 4 years younger than me. I know it's time for me to move on with my life. I want marriage and children, but that stuff seems like it's a million miles away right now. I am, however, accepting applications for the Wife position.

ALSO - Don't forget to check out the new 'Tagboard' I have at the bottom of the right sidebar. Always adding new features - That's AaronKCMO!

Hallelujah

2006-06-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

I finally went and got the air conditioner in my car fixed yesterday. It works great. It's been so long since I've had a car with A/C, I just don't know what to do. It makes me want to go out and drive in the middle of the day.

I have tried to fix this problem before. I took the car to a place in riverside and they wanted to change the high-pressure line as well as the evaporator. They said it would cost $550, and that they wouldn't guarantee it would work after they did that. As you could imagine, I wasn't in the mood to spend $550 on that stuff just to find out that I'd have to spend another $1000 on a compressor. This time I took my car to a place I've never been, but was recommended by one of my bosses. They called me in the middle of the day and said that there was a hole in the line, but that they were confident with the rest of the system. They replaced the $150 hose and I got out of there spending only $350. I will go back to Northtown Alignment and Radiator for all my repair needs from now on.

Even though I'm much more happy with my car now, I'm still looking forward to getting rid of it. I should be able to buy a new car next summer after my Lasik note is paid off.

Results

2006-06-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

I have a couple things to write about. Firstly, I'd like to announce that I have successfully disabled the passlock system on my car. When it did it to me again after I'd had the remote start system taken out, I was finally motivated to exhaust the web in search of an answer. I found the answer on a bbs somewhere on the web. The solution consisted of starting the car and unplugging a wire. No cutting of wires or connecting of wires to make the job more complicated. Thanks to Denny for researching this problem for me, his solution was right on the money.

Next I'll report on our trip to STL to play softball. We all got up early last Saturday to meet at the Price Chopper in Blue Springs at 6am. We all made it, and were on the road by 6:05. Our first game was at 11, and we arrived about 90 mins early. We spread the first team, and won the second game by 3. That's where our luck ran out. The third and fourth games were lost by 1 and 2 runs respectively - the third game going 10 innings. The fifth game was a complete embarassment. One of our guys got mad for some reason and cussed out the umpire - leaving us with only 9 guys to play. In his defense, we were getting horrible calls all day, and it's hard to play against another team AND and umpire. BUT, you have to keep control of yourself if you want to win. We ended up getting spread early in that game, and because of the jackass who couldn't control himself, the team left STL with a bad taste in it's mouth.

Lastly I need to rave about this device I've recently had the chance to use extensively. It's a Palm Treo 700. It's a phone and a PDA which has the ability to 'sync' with an Exchange server so it's owner can send and receive emails from wherever they get a cell signal. It's got a 330 mhz processor, it runs Windows Mobile OS, it's built on the sturdy PocketPC platform, it's got outstanding battery life, and it's totally expandable and customizable. I whole-heartedly recommend the Palm Treo 700 to anybody who's in the PDA market. With the new Windows OS, it's a joy to use.

Asleep at the Wheel

2006-06-09T12:42:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I wish I could say that I had been working on a really good post, but no. I've just been so busy in the last week that I haven't made any time to blog.

Speaking of being busy, my summer weekends are filling up fast. I will have played in 3 softball tournaments in June, and 3 more in July - including the State tournament. I have a lot of hope for this tournament team, we have a really good chance of winning State AND coming in first in points - which means up to $1800 - $2400 of travel money for us to go to Las Vegas for the NSA Super World Series tournament.

I'm also planning on floating once in June, and again in July. Along with the district tennis tournament in August, and the Sectional tennis tournament in September.

I've been insanely busy this week. I billed about 24 hours from Monday to Wednesday. Yesterday and today weren't as busy, but I'm still billing lots of time.

Last weekend I was able to make it out to Columbia to visit my brother PhilWax and help him celebrate his thirty-first birthday. A good old time was had by all, even though we won't mention any bowling scores. I got messed up. I blame it on playing softball immediately before and after the trip.

Anyway, let's raise our glasses in tribute to being busy and travelling around the sun one more time.

Here's to us.
Who's like us?
Damn few.
And they're ALL dead.

NHRA Summer Nationals

2006-05-31T11:00:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I went to Heartland Park in Topeka to see the NHRA Summer Nationals drag race. It was incredible! I've never witnessed anything so powerful. When the cars go by, everything shakes, your eyeballs shake inside your head. The noise is deafening when seated in the stands, my ears were ringing all day.

We got there just in time for the final elimination rounds to start. While walking from the car to the gate we could hear the cars going down the track. This was wierd because you'd hear them really loud at the start, then all of a sudden you'd hear them really loud - but from a long way away.

We sat and watched a few rounds, then went back to the car and grilled some brats. We came back in and walked through the pit area where you could see the crews working on the dragsters. We walked around, drank beer, and got some free stuff.

If you're a racing fan, I whole heartedly recommend attending an NHRA event. It's a very powerful thing to witness. So powerful, in fact, it has moved me to make the first top 5 list of the new era.

Top 5 sporting events I've attended:

5: IRL race at Kansas
4: KC Explorers w/ Anna Kournikova
3: NHRA Summer Nationals
2: Chiefs Playoff Games
1: World Series Games - Go Royals!

Honerable mentions go to: KC Explorers with Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, and Michael Chang; Royals game in Anaheim; and Platte County Demolition Derby.

Remote Start Resolution

2006-05-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got rid of a problem that has been the source of so much frustration for me. I finally got some resolution in the matter of the remote start system. I can't remember if I've done a post about this or not, so here's a little background.

A year ago February, I took my car to a local car stereo shop to have them install a keyless entry/remote start system. It was more expensive to go there rather than best buy, or something like that, but I was less concerned with price than I was quality of work. They put it in, and it worked really well for about 6 months.

One day last summer I went out to my car to go somewhere. I started the car and put it in gear, then it just died. I tried to start it back up, and it did, and promptly died. At this point I noticed a flashing idiot light that read 'THEFT SYSTEM'. I came to understand that I couldn't start the car when the light was blinking. Sometimes it would come on after trying to start the car and would stay on for 10-15 minutes - which made me late for lots of things.

I took the car back to the shop to have it fixed several times. Each time it would work for a week to a month, then I would have to disable it because it would mess with the 'THEFT SYSTEM'. When it did it to me Monday night, for the first time in a couple months, it was the last straw. It had made me miss tennis and I felt like I wanted to shoot somebody.

What did I do? I called upon the services of my lovely and gracious sister LauraKCMO to assist me with my dilemma. Not only did she help me drop my car off, pick me up, and let me borrow her car the next day, but she talked to the mechanics for me too. Get this - she got them to take the system out for free and write me a refund check for the full purchase price. Thank you Laura! You're the best at what you do!

Ode to Dr. Rice

2006-05-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

I'm writing this post to honor a much maligned member of the Bush administration who has been an integral part of our countries recent security transformation and the ongoing war against islamofascism.

Dr Condoleezza Rice, before coming to Washington, was a member of the board of several Fortune 500 companies; was an accomplished author; was a PhD with several honorary degrees; was an expert in foreign policy, national security, and intelligence specifically related to the Soviet Union.

As National Security Advisor for President Bush Dr. Rice oversaw the creation of a new bureaucracy - the Homeland Security Department - as well as sweeping changes to policies and procedures throughout government and government regulated industry that were rolled out relatively smoothly.

Currently serving as Secretary of State, Dr. Rice holds a position equivalent to the British foreign minister and the Queen of England rolled into one. Dr. Rice serves as the eyes, ears, and voice of the President when she travels abroad to fulfill her duties, and represents the US when meeting with foreign leaders.

Did you know that Dr. Rice is the highest ranking black woman in US government history? I bet you didn't. The two reasons for this are that she is not liberal, like most all-black organizations are, and she doesn't define herself by her skin color. She's humble and reserved while also being intelligent and eclectic.

Click here to view a quick Dr. Rice biography.

Click here to unofficially support Rice in 2008!

New Stuff

2006-05-17T09:07:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. I'm writing this post to highlight some new things on my blog.

Firstly you'll notice the new title picture. The lighter-than-air craft pictured is Airship One and, although it is the flagship, is only a small part of the AaronKCMO fleet which includes all manner of transportation. You may have seen this craft, or one of it's sisters, loitering above a stadium or race track near you.

Another new feature to point out is my new 'Guess my Number' game located at the bottom of the footer. AaronKCMO has always been a leader in interactive games on blogs, and we've now taken it a step further with this intriguing puzzle game. Enjoy.

Don't forget to check out the Music Video Du Jour. This time it's 'As Good as I Once Was' by Toby Keith. Don't forget to vote!

For the future I'm working on adapting some code to act like a magic 8-ball. I'll be sure to let you all know when it's finished.

Waterbed Sinks, Leaves Aaron Bedless

2006-05-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm proud to announce that I am no longer bedless. Last night my mom and I drove to her house in Chillicothe to pick up one of her beds for me to use.

The story begins a couple weeks ago when I decided I was finally going to get rid of my old fashioned waterbed. I was just tired of it, and mom had offered one of her beds, so I was in a hurry to give/throw it away.

So, two weeks ago I dismantled the waterbed and threw it in the dumpster fully expecting to drive to Chillicothe the next day and pick up the new bed. As luck would have it, it rained all weekend. I didn't really have a chance to go there between then and last night, so for the last two weeks I've been relegated to sleeping on the futon.

Don't get me wrong, the futon is a nice place to sleep in an emergency - just ask a couple members of the Pentarchy, but I'm ready to sleep in a nice bed for the first time in a long time.

AaronKCMO Parte Dos

2006-05-10T08:21:00.000-05:00

Well folks, it looks like the effort to restore my lost blog posts will fail. I have sent several messages to blogger with no response. They won't even tell me what happened. I guess they're too 'busy' to answer. I would be happy to hear that the blog was deleted and I can't get any of my posts back - that would be better than hearing nothing. For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about I'll refer you to this post.

I still like blogger best though. I will continue the proud AaronKCMO-Blogger tradition of being the flagship of the AaronKCMO movement. I will also continue to try to be innovative with my template and with my posts. Thanks to everybody who commented on my old blog, and I invite you to help me make Parte Dos bigger and better.

Champions!

2006-05-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

We've done it folks!

The 123 Dough team and I have won our first tournament today.

The tournament started off well for us. We won both of our pool games - one against another E team, and one against a D team. After a 3 hour break it was time for the single elimination part of the tournament. In the first game of single elim we played another E team. At one point in that game we were down 12-1, but rallied back for the victory. Our final tournament game was against a D team, so we were given a 4 run advantage at the start of the game. That game ended up being a defensive struggle, and we won by one run.

This was the third tournament I've played in with the 123 Dough team. The first two were less than spectacular. I did better this time though - 4 for 12 with a few RBI's and runs scored. I love my new bat.

Cinco De Mayo Tourney
Age: Adult | Class: D, E | Division: Men
May 06, 2006 - May 07, 2006
Class..Place...Team Name....State....Won...Lost...Berths
E..........1.......123dough.com...MO........4.......0........0
D..........2.......Balls Out............MO.........3.......1........1
D..........3.......Rockhounds......KS..........2.......2........1
E..........3.......K.C. Lowballs.....MO........2.......2........1
E..........5.......Shockers............MO........0.......3........0
E..........5.......Gamecocks........MO........0.......3........0

Click here to download the statewide rankings. (excel spreadsheet, 187k) Be sure to notice 123dough.com at first place in the E division.

Brown Post

2006-05-02T19:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, lets talk politics.

I made the comparison today that the steroid users have done to baseball what slick Willie did to the presidency. I will back up that assertion thusly.

The steroid users in baseball appear to only be more concerned about appearance, and less concerned about the truth. Jason Giambi recently held a press conference in which he profusely apologized for something, but didn't admit using drugs - maybe he's actually got a conscience. Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire flat out deny any use of any controlled substance. This flies in the face of the sworn testimony of people involved, namely Jose Canseco. As long as they keep denying it, and even if they admit to it, there will be a large contingent of people who will either deny that there was ever any illegal activity, or not care if there was.

Bill Clinton was also more concerned with appearance and less concerned about truth. This philosophy was embodied best by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In the face of sworn testimony and physical evidence that confirmed sexual activity, Willie denied everything - and even looked upset that he was being questioned. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." Clinton carried on his sharade to the grand jury and perjured himself. All the way through the ordeal millions of people had themselves convinced that the scandal was an evil republican witch-hunt.

Most Clinton supporters don't get it. The argument against slick Willie was not about sex. Not until he was impeached and convicted did he admit to any wrongdoing, and only because he copped a plea to not be prosecuted when he left office.

The whole baseball thing could've been avoided by doing drug tests. Major League Baseball is just as weak today as the republican congress was from 1994-2000. Neither group is willing to hold 'one of it's own' to the fire, and I have a lower opinion of them for it.

Lasik Time L + 1 year

2006-04-27T17:12:00.000-05:00

Well folks, it's been practically one full year since I underwent lasik surgery. Bottom line: I couldn't be happier with the results.

May 5, 2005 is a day that will be highly regarded in the annals of AaronKCMO history. This was the day when a leap of faith was taken, and my vision was handed over to Dr. Steckshulte. After a very brief procedure and a very short recovery, my prescription went from -4.75/-5.25 to -.25 in both eyes. Side effects at this point are so minimal that they're not even worth mentioning. The only thing left is to finish paying off the note.

I will always celebrate cinco de mayo not as Mexican independence day, but as my very own independence day - independence from corrective lenses.

Lemonade

2006-04-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

Well, the recovery effort from the Great Flush is still ongoing. I have been able to recover all of the most important data and apps from my burnt HDD. I should say that I have been able to replace the important data. Everything I pulled off of the corrupt drive ended up being garbage. I lost all of my music videos, comedy specials, misc videos and pics, most of my pirated games. Over the weekend I gave up hope on restoring the files from the disk. I wrote down a list of the files I couldn't restore and formatted the drive.

The recovery effort on the boot drive is nearly complete. The best thing about this part of the problem is that I now have a legitimate installation of Windows on my main computer. Thankfully the file system on the boot drive was not damaged beyond repair. Although I had a very recent backup of all the sensitive data from that drive, it wasn't necessary for me to use it.

The blog issue is still up in the air. I haven't heard back from blogger. I'm going to write them again today in hopes of somebody actually reading my message. I'm not holding my breath.

Contact Blogger

2006-04-21T09:18:00.000-05:00

I finally found a way to contact blogger about my missing blog. I wrote them a nice message asking if they could tell me what happened to my blog. I also asked if it was possible for them to restore my posts, but I'm not holding my breath.

It was an absolute bitch trying to find a way to contact somebody about my problem. I had looked all over the blogger site, as well as the google site, but couldn't find anything. I had the idea to google the words 'contact blogger' last night The first page was a link to a contact message form. I filled out the form and sent it off. I received a confirmation email about my message being sent, so I'm optimistic about receiving a reply.

I will keep y'all posted, so to speak, about my progress.

Here's the link to contact blogger

Return of AaronKCMO

2006-04-19T13:03:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my supreme pleasure to announce that AaronKCMO is back! After a 48 hour blackout the flagship of the AaronKCMO network is online and functioning.

The cause of the outage is still under investigation. The outage was first noticed at around noon on Monday. All of a sudden the URL came back as a 404 error - which means the URL is not found on the server. This was scary because I hadn't backed up my template in quite some time. I first noticed it when I was at work. As luck would have it the only window I had the blog open in I had just refreshed to get the 404 error. I was afraid that it was all lost.

One thing I learned from this experience is that you can't count on blogger for support. I looked everywhere on blogger and google and couldn't find a way to contact anybody there about my situation. I sat there all monday afternoon sweating about whether or not I still had the site up on a browser at home.

I get home and am greatly releived to find my blog open in one instance on SATA150. I quickly saved the source code into a text file and saved the entire site locally. At this point I hadn't given up on the blog unexpectedly returning just as it undexpectedly went away. As hope for this dwindled over the day on Tuesday I became more practical and thought of creating a surrogate blog in the meantime.

This morning when I created Pirate Radio I decided to check the availability of AaronKCMO, and it showed to be available. I immediately created it and pasted my template over, and Voila! After approximately 48 hours of downtime I was able to recover my template and my URL - at least for now. All my posts are gone, but that's just more incentive to make 110 new ones.

May it be written that on April 16, 2006 my planes filled the skies. The triumphant return of AaronKCMO is at hand!