Get out and Vote!

If you can legally vote please do so! Our way of life and democracy depends on people getting out and voting.

Just remember, you have no right to complain about the government if you don't get out and vote. No matter what you're opinion get out and voice it through voting.

Btw early voting is often the best route due to no lines :). So really there's no excuse for not voting.

To love a cat ...

They purr,
they paw,
they snub,
and they rub ...
in the end they are your friends,
a good listener,
a soft companion,
the quiet headlight eyes in night.

That rustling noise in the window,
the mysterious force that bends the blinds,
but we love them.

When they pass,
on they go,
to kitty heaven,
to run,
and jump,
and paw,
and rub,
as if they were young kittens again.

To my dearest Patches may your rest in kitty heaven be well! Keep my dad company.


~Z~

How to best describe camping at the Texas Ren Fest

http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2004-11-11/news/feature_1.html

Since this article pretty much sums up the experience and friendliness I figured I'd just include as it's a wealth of information.

We'll possibly be going back to camp more at the festival in a few weeks. If you haven't gone you should!

Z

DOD Loses funding for Robot race ....

The Pentagon's research arm, which has twice hosted the high-tech contests since 2004, blames an obscure section in a defense spending law signed by President Bush this week. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency believes the law prevents the agency from awarding the $2.7 million prize money.

Ok here's some irony. This arm of the DOD is charged with trying to reduce fatalities out on the battlefield. What's the best way to induce progress in army grade robotics? Host a Contest with a LARGE prize .. like the X prize etc. For a few years now this has been very successful and lucrative for the Universities who partake in this challenge. Not to mention I love seeing the documentaries they do about the months leading up to the challenge and seeing what Universities came out on top :P But I digress.

Question is who is really behind this cut and was President Bush aware when he signed it into law. Obviously, no politician can read every page of these laws they're far too long. You'd think someone would have brought this up though :(

Honestly, I can't wait to see the outcome of the Elections this year... I forsee a wind of change. Will it get any better .. I think not sadly. Our country is heading down a very dangerous path. God bless you all and reaffirm your faith in what is grounded and does not waiver.

~Z~

If you blog and there's no one there to read it ...

Soo just like if a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear it does it really make a noise :P

Of course it does due to the compression of air waves and the sound traveling outwards.

If you write a blog and no one reads it does it really exist? :P Surely it does.. but the writer clearly has to asses is it worth putting the effort into.

~~~~~~~

On another note ... one of these days I'm eventually going to start working on my inventions I keep thinking up or at least publish the ideas so that someone who knows how to make them happen can make em :P

~Z~

Mystery Box ... hmm

http://www.midnightbox.com/

So my friend Martin showed me this site... interesting. Seems like fun if you have some $$ and time to burn :).

Too fun to not pass on.

Z

Texas Ren Fest 2006 - Camping

I've waited a few days to collect my thoughts of this years camping at the Texas Ren Fest. Lessee no running water, no electricty, poor planning and drunk people make for an interesting mix of sex, drugs and celtic drum circles.

I've never seen so much public drug use, sex and craziness. I'm not much into the drug scene considering I've never touched drugs and don't plan to start. I highly value daily showers :P so I really don't see myself doing this again until we either get or rent a camper.

As far as the faire goes there are some new things. We didn't stay long enough to really explore it much. The weather was very hot and oppressive, why I let our friend talk us into going opening weekend I'll never know. Usually, we wait until the last weekend not to mention there's some good item discounts the last weekend.

Met some nice people at least and had some good games of cards. Realized we really need to get a new tent. We've not used our tent in so long some of the sealant is gone on the roof so all night long you had "drip, drip drip" on your head :P I somehow messed up the mantles on the lantern so when we turned it off the mantles went .. boom :P.

Overall I'd rate the weekend as a 6 out of 10. I'm still not sure if we'll ever do that again. The people are great but the setting just sucks much!

At least the costumes I slaved over were a hit.. so not all is lost.

~Z~

Kudos to 7-Eleven, bye bye Mr. Chavez

7-Eleven ousts Citgo

Finally, a US company has decided to stand up for our country and our government. We may not always agree with what our government does but there's a lot to be said for patriotism.

1. If you don't like what's going on in your country ... change it. Our government is made up of elected officials. If you don't like the candidates .. run yourself.

2. We need to be a cohesive country right now due to the nature of the world. So many fractured countries, wars and other country dividing issues.

3. We need to stand up for what we believe in. What does America believe in collectively? We should have some kind of goal, core values etc. Right now we are quite divided as a nation and when bad things happen it only fractures us more ... instead it should bring us together.

So like 7-Eleven who has vowed to end its longtime relationship with Citgo (a subsidiary of the State owned Venezuelan oil company). We too should stand up for our country, it's way of life and even our government. So I vote to ban Citgo gas. I personally will NEVER (yes, I'm serious Mr. Chavez) NEVER buy Citgo gasoline again. Even if it meant I ran out of gas on the freeway, it's a matter of principle.

Sure some will argue that this hurts the US workers of Citgo. Well to them I say ... go to another company. Houston (Citgo is based out of Houston) has TONS of jobs in the energy sector you don't have to work for Citgo you CHOOSE to work for Citgo. Personally, I couldn't work for a company that is even remotely related to Hugo Chavez and his ill begotten government. Teach Mr. Chavez a lesson that we the Americans deserve BETTER than him. We don't need his oil and we don't need his company.

We stop buying his oil, we stop working for his company and his country goes back to the stone ages. Obviously he wants to oppress his people into oblivion (he's passed a law where no one in Venezuela is allowed to speak out against the President/speak ill of him) yet it's ok for him to verbally abuse other heads of state.

Mr. Chavez, YOU sir are the Devil or maybe even the dreaded Chupacabra. No God fearing man with love in his heart could possibly talk of another human this way. Pray for Mr. Bush if you don't like what he's doing. Open a diplomatic dialogue ... offer some respect and you might be surprised. Keep up what you're doing and you're in for a RUDE awakening. The detention of one of your diplomats from the UN is just a start.

Z .. out

Art teacher fired for doing her job ...

Wonders never cease. This school Frisco ISD in Texas has a School Board that have completely lost their collective minds.

The following article http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4214639.html describes how the woman took the kids to the Dallas Art Museum

School board members have voted to not renew the contract of a veteran art teacher who was reprimanded after one of her fifth-grade students saw a nude sculpture during a school trip to a museum.

Mind you she took them there at the request of the Principal.

This woman has been teaching for years and for them to do this to her is ridiculous. So instead of the parents being PARENTS they are going to require that their beliefs be taught by the educators even though almost every set of parents have a different rule set. ART is ART .. The human body is and can be ART that's why it is an ART Museum.

To the Retarded Parents of this "said" child (yes I said retarded ... they must have mental difficulties to be acting this way), if you're concerned with WHAT your kid may see at an ART museum how about you DON'T sign the permission slip. It's not like they surreptitiously took your kid along with 88 other students to the Art Museum without your knowledge and consent. Every child MUST have a permission slip signed by the parents to attend such activities.

If you don't know what an Art Museum is perhaps you should actually VISIT one before allowing your kid to go to one. Wait.. that would require them to no longer live in their ostritch hole and be close minded anymore.

Ohh and to the "doo to doo" (said in the Mind of Mencia way) parents you better not go to Europe because they truly believe in the Human nude form as ART and advertising. You might have a heart attack seeing all the half/completely naked ads just out and about in the street for ALL to see regardless of age. Ohh wait their not hung up on their naked bodies.

Also, I'm curious in this family have none of the kids ever seen a one of their parents naked? (I find this hard to believe). Not to mention .. does the kid ever undress to say take a bath or shower lol.

Grow up! Take an art appreciation class, stop stifling your child's chance at a NORMAL/better future and quit ruining people's lives. BTW I'm going to assume they're religious freaks I hope they know they can go to HELL for ruining other people's lives. Just remember (parents) you'll have to answer to God some day for all that you do or THINK you are doing to better your kids lives, when in reality you're just causing misery for others.

Getting fired over artwork ... what's next getting killed for Free Speech in the US? .. wait it's probably happening as we speak. lol.

Just for the record I'm not a Democrat I've always been a Republican but it's people like the afore mentioned that are making me SERIOUSLY doubt their sanity and my choice :P.

Fun links for today!

Ok first up what could be better than the muppets + the matrix? The Muppetmatrix that's what : http://www.magicdonnie.com/themuppetmatrix.html

Ok next up for those who like a challenge - it's a fun line drawing thing that a guy sleds on the line when you're done drawing. Good luck I make the poor guy crash and burn every time I try it hehe.

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/40255643/

Enjoy!

Zel

Over Heard in New York Website

This site was too funny not to post a link here. I guarantee hours of fun. It's rare to find almost all content on a single website that will make you laugh. This one surely did. Perhaps it's becuase I grew up in NY state or becuase the things people say are just outrageous hehe. Either way I really enjoyed this site and wanted to share it with all my friends :)

Ciao

Z

Morgellon's Disease ... fact or fiction?

CBS news story on this disease

The above news story pretty much sums up what most of the official sites say. Doctors tell the patients they're mentally disturbed and other things because they refuse to believe this is a real problem.

The University of Oklahoma has one scientist that is looking into this mysterious disease. Personally, being someone that lives near where several of these people have contracted the disease is VERY worrisome.

I think we need to shout this from the roof tops because it's too scary to think what's going to happen if this starts spreading like wild fire.

Some more sits about this bizarre disease:

http://www.morgellons.org/index.html

http://www.morgellonsusa.com/morgellonsusa.html

My heart goes out to the people who are dealing with this disease. Just remember they didn't believe AIDS was real in the 70s early 80s either. The doctors say it isn't real because they don't have it in any of their medical books ... it's called evolution, something cooked up in our labs, bioterrorism or some other foreign thing we've just not found yet.

There are still millions of species on the Earth no one has discovered... maybe more (so studies say). I guess when half the US population comes down with this disease maybe then they'll start to listen.

For all you Mike and Ike Fans out there!

http://www.mikeandike.com/main.html

Click on Stock up
then click on take a spin link and try to win some free candy.

mmmm :)

~Z~

The US sellout our bridges and roads, bye bye taxpayer revenues

Foreign companies buy U.S. roads, bridges

I'm appalled at reading this. I was appalled when foreign companies started buying up our cities. I realize we're the ultimate in Capitalism but come on there has to be a limit. If my hard earned cash went to pay for that damn bridge or toll road then those revenues should go RIGHT back into my community where that damn road or bridge is. It should NOT go to some foreign country and their citizens, PERIOD. This is a very sad day in our history, not like the past few years haven't been bad but it's going bad to worse and QUICKLY.

Call your reps in Congress, vote appropriately come election day. Let them know this kind of crap is unacceptable!

Just do it ... like Zidane

This is too funny to pass up not posting :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js0vOgjBfD8&feature=Featured&page=1&t=t&f=b

Vive la France! and all your creative way to deal with "your mother comments"

~Z~

The New MMORPG Frontier?

CyberSex MMORPGs - Yahoo News Article

So I was reading the above post thinking to myself ... I'm amazed they didn't already have something like this out there. Considering porn has always been one of the top money makers in the internet.

On a different note. When does love for an MMORPG game become obsession. Even years after you have stopped playing the game and maybe some of your online friends still play. You still care about how they're doing, conducting the "guild" etc. Especially, when many of you have been gaming together through games for over 9+ years. If you see them doing "questionable" things.. do you say something or do you keep your mouth shut. Personally, the way I was raised we speak out! I ask them questions about what they're doing and why they are doing it.

I guess the bigger question is why do we as the human race hate dissenting opinions so much? Constructive criticism (when done well) can help make us all better people. I suppose a lot of it goes back to the fact we don't see ourselves are we truly are. People can say they're self-aware but truly that's not the case. We romanticize our being, our actions etc. Even those who have low self image truly don't see everything the way it really is. If we could really become fully self-actualized there would be little need (usually) for psychologists :P.

On a lighter note.. if anyone is looking for a good book to read: Prey by Michael Crichton.

Be good to each other :) ~Z~

The MP3 Debate

Considering that I personally have a large collection of MP3s many which I burned from my personal cd collection :) I feel pretty strongly on the subject. So France is going to pass some legislation that opens Apple's iTunes format up to other players. Of course the "music cartel" in the US is going to have a cow about this issue. I say music cartel because well, isn't that what they are? "We're going to enmass arrest Americans for sharing music becuase the greedy bastards we are want our millions". Well how about making songs affordable to download? Why should an mp3 that's not even .wav quality be 99 cents or more ! Paleeese. How much of that do you think really goes to the artist? Very little unless the artist owns their own recording company which is far and few between.

However, with new foreign MP3 sites popping up that (for the most part) seem legit Apple and the music cartel here in the US are really going to have to take a second look at how they're screwing us over. For example: http://www.allofmp3.com/ or http://www.mp3sugar.com/ .
Enough said, your days of over pricing MP3s are over!!!!
Who said globalization was bad? :P

~Z~