I'm finially going to build it

I apologize for not posting over spring break. Because I do not have that one hour buffer time from commuting to class I've slacked. However I'm not inactive... a lot of stuff has been going on that needs 'post'n'

First I want to mention that I'm finally going to build my *good* PC. It won't be the fastest on the market or the best one money can buy, but it'll be good.

here's the specs: (scroll down if you don't care to the next portion)

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 524 3.06ghz
Mother board: Asus p5n32-e sli
Memory: Rendition 1 gb (2x512) 667 DDR2
Video: eVGA 7300 GT 256m PCI x16
HD: Seagate 160gb 8m 7200 SATA II
PS: generic 400 w ATX
OS1: Windows XP Pro
OS2: Ubuntu linux

that's it.. if you care further it's in a nifty Antec Case made of steel (read heavy) with the PS on the bottom, weird. The case comes with 3 big ole 120mm fans and a little 80mm vent for the gpu I guess. it's all cool when it gets built... I just gotta do it now :) pics to come..

And.... we're back: (Que to tune in)

So get this! Yesterday I had to come in to work at 11am. Last time I left the house early (too early) and I got there with over a half hour to spare so... yesterday I thought I had plenty of time. Well I didn't! You see I take US26 west and yesterday there was a big landslide at around 9am that I didn't know about. So here I am cruising up I-5 to I-405 to take the US26 and what do I see but a blocked path! Whoa. "USE ALT ROUTE" it said. What alt route? I started flipping radio channels, but it was all talk talk talk. So no luck there I had to figure something out. So I called my Dad who is in Lake O working and he suggesting taking hwy 10 to 217 to 26 so I dropped in got a map, called work to tell 'em I'd be late and off I went.

Now Hwy 10 is an OLD highway. It used to be the road that went out the farmlands of Beaverton ;) (things have since changed). So as you drive down this old highway you get this sense of "whoa I didn't know that was there" feeling. Old businesses that relied on Hwy 10 drivers look kinda beat up. The traffic that used to go through there isn't there anymore and you get this CARS Movie effect like Radiator Springs. Another part of Portland was found! However, since US26 opened back up there's no need to use Hwy 10 again. Just a old road that if you have nothing to do and have some gas (hah!) you should drive it just to see it.

Otherwise I got in a little late and when I got off it was all cleared so getting home was fine (except for the I-5 parking lot).

I felt relieved that it all happened yesterday and not the day before when I took my girlfriend to the Oregon Zoo. I can't imagine trying to find a alt route through those twisty hilly back roads... yeesh!

Anywho.. today I got two goals... building my machine and getting new goggles (glasses)! Hope I can do it all!

~J

one rough night

Yesterday I was hit my a monster of a flu or sickness. I can't even describe it other then just being "bad." It wasn't like my Kamikaze, but it took it all outta me. Now I'm just in recovery mode.

One heck of a spring break beginning 'eh?

~J

March 18th, '07 Anti-war protest Pics

So I finally uploaded some pics from the protest that I'd like to share...

First the herb man



the peaceniks in white standing still were there...



Dad having a flashback to another time...



The march underway...



There's more pics if you go to my webalbum here

check it out! Like I said it was a pretty good turn out... lots of people ages 8-80! I hope this summer they try and organize another one.

~J out

New Machine

Right now I'm building a new computer that'll be all fast and stuff... Components are rolling in ... slowly... when it's all built I'll post from it... until then. Small posts will be made via my old slow machine.

~J

BTW pics have been processed for both the white flags and the protest I just need to put them up on my webalbum

Protest De-briefing

Pictures to come... I took a total of 147. Some from the mobs, some from the groups, pics of my Dad and I, and of the march.

So how was it? Peaceful. From the time we arrived (1:30pm) to the time we left (3:30) the march progressed peacefully. Men and Women of all Ages and races showed up to support the anti-war movement. My experience and my dad's (a Vietnam vet) experience was something on the order of "wow."

I would guess about 20-30,000 showed up to protest against the Iraq war. Everyone seemed to be with the bigger peace movement, but at the same time have their own agenda like: No war in Iran, Vets against the war, Moms against the war, __X__ for peace ("X" is your occupation), and other groups. The spot seemed good for the masses that turned up, the march was great and the weather was great.

During the march, you heard mantras like:

"Peace...Now!...Peace...Now!" "Buck Fush" and others... however...

Getting home and turning on the T.V. just aggravated me. Of course the News was reporting not on the protest, but on a faction group and the massive police response. Argg! Why? Well it's news I suppose, but from what I've said here please understand that this was completely clean, safe, and fun for all ages. The point was peaceful protesting and a couple of 'rebels' made a choice to dirty that image and for what cause? Rebellion? idiots.

Here's the whole point... it's been 4 years with a lot of people dead. Technically if you look at why we're in Iraq, it's because of the alleged "WMDs".... War atrocities are happening now. The small group of Marines who killed 28 or so Iraqi civilians because they 'thought' they were terrorists are being prosecuted, Guantanamo has happened, Falluja happened, there's been a lot of stuff that has happened and little progress is to be had on the whole matter. It is time to leave and let the people settle the dirt between them. Truth be told, there isn't many arguments for keeping a military presence there. That's what the group yesterday came out (in numbers) to say and now you've heard it from me.

~J out

Friday... What R U do'n this weekend?

Got any plans? Some green beer and Irish music? Well of course there's the Kells annual bash, but what about Sunday?

Why not protest the war in Iraq?

Buzz is happening all around campus about this march in March. If you like to come down and participate or even watch it here's the info.

And with that.. be safe this St. Patty's Day!

~J out

Whoa! Busy busy

Man it's been a long time (a day) since I posted better get busy...





Well it's bright and sunny for us but for this guy...

Things could be better... Now look at this photo... Why is it that when we catch the bad guy, we take the worst photo of him? Propaganda? I mean look at our history.. Saddam, Malawi, and others... All lame photos. Now this guy and the entire federal bureau claims that this guy is the 'master mind' behind all the attacks.... right. Don't ask me, but he looks more like a New York taxi driver.

Now for some better news... Chinese news. On the long commute home yesterday I heard a NPR report that I couldn't believe. It was genius, it was great, it was communistic capitalism.

from 'All Things Considered',

Chinese consumers are using the Internet to organize themselves into powerful bargaining groups that use their large numbers to negotiate discounts on products of all kinds.
For suppliers, the lure of group-buying is they can turn a profit, even while selling at 20 to 30 percent below retail prices. For shoppers wary of fakes and shoddy goods, group-shopping offers the comfort of buying en masse.

The report interviews shoppers and suppliers, but the whole thing is organized via the Internet. Online shoppers register in with a bigger group and dates, times, & locations are posted for consumers to show up and pick what they want. A majority of them are newly minted 'middle class earners' who redecorating their new condos.

The most ironic part of this is that the group leader says that group shopping is in line with the very ideals of Chairman Mao's communist agenda. Power resides in numbers and just like working and living as a group, group shopping just takes it to the next level.

Now what would Chairman Mao think if he knew that now his communal principals were being used in the capitalistic ways?

~J out

First I'd like to Wish Christina a very happy 22nd Birthday!

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Yesterday I watched an interesting story on poverty and healthcare. The Story revolved around an organization who helps cancer patients in poverish neiborhoods. Often people forget about these people and it's these people who, never in their lives, would go in for help because it would likely throw themselves into more debt. hmmm death or debt? Don't jump to conclusion so fast. Most of the poverty in these places (and likely the poor in your neiborhood) were once thriving middle class people.

• Construction workers who got a medical injury and couldn't work,
• A partner in a couple who got cancer and drained their lifesavings paying the costs,
• or family (three kids & a dog) whose father worked for a big company (HP or Bowing) and was laid off.

All these are very realistic and make up a large percentage of the poor. These 'working men & women' never have asked for a handout and plan never to in the future... so where does that leave us? Well a question needs to be ask'd... where would you be if you missed 2 paychecks? would you be poor?

~J

Covered in White Flags

Looking forward to a successful second week on the job, I was shocked to find Lewis and Clark covered in White flags. Little white flags cover the lawn with red ones in between. The Symbolism is to represent the Iraqi's that have fallen as compared to the Americans. To say the least, it's impressive.

What does this say on the Global War on Terror? The GWoT? Well I watched an interesting documentary on "our children's, children's war" last night on Discovery. A summary of the show can be seen here.

The part I got is this:

The GWoT is really %20 military fighting. A majority of it is seen in Iraq and the surrounding region, but the "terrorists" are more or less influential people who rally disgruntled citizens to let them stay and operate. What I mean is that people around the world follow what sounds right to them or what makes since. People want something solid that if they trust in it, it'll pay off. People don't want to get duped.

America (to Americans) is a different America to non-Americans. When we see 'getmo' or Guantanamo Bay be the site of heinous crimes, or when we see (more recently) Walter Reed be publicized for poor treatment of it's "clients" we shrug and let the politicians battle it out and try and forget the whole thing, or just turn off the t.v./radio. However, all of this junk is getting broadcasted to Iraq and the whole region. People are listening and when they read that America stands for "high moral values" and see this blatant act against that, what are they going to think? If a terrorist says, "see they're fakes" the people believe the terrorist and let them stay to protect them. Well if one is going to win this GWoT then it sounds like we're going to have shape up and respect the promises we made or change our message.

Double standards are not the historical American norm, some might differ and say it is. The truth is that we can't win the hearts and minds until we lead the example of "good morality and democracy" ourselves.

~j out

git'n ready for da weekend

Today is friday, but I work till 6pm.. whatever. I'm having fun! I'm not totally sure what i'll be doing this weekend only that part of it has to be some much needed shut-eye.

Most likely i'll be plugg'n away on my papers, doing research, and listening to music. I'm also working on building a computer so maybe i'll make some headway on that.

I just hope the weather doesn't stay drab all weekend~

~J out

Waiting for the world to change

On the way into school I heard a report on NPR about an artist who is singing about waiting for the world to change, rather then the popular "we gotta change the world" mantra. The artist's name is John Mayer and his philosophy is one that is likely more 'in tune' with the current generation. Here's a transcript from the NPR Interview:

John Mayer has spent 33 weeks on the music charts with what sounds like an anti-war song.

Now if we had the power to bring our neighbors home from war they would have never missed a Christmas no more ribbons on their door
But for the 29-year-old singer, "Waiting on the World to Change" turns into more of an explanation for why his generation seems so apathetic.
It's not that we don't care,We just know that the fight ain't fair So we keep on waiting Waiting on the world to change
Rather than urging people to change the world, he seems to say, there's nothing we can do.
"Look, demanding somebody do anything in this day and age is not going to fly," Mayer tells Steve Inskeep. "Kids don't even like being talked to like kids anymore, you know. 'Just give me the option and I'll think about it.'"
So instead of telling people what to do or how to think, he says, "All I want a song to do is just to kind of present an idea..."
On "Gravity," another song from his latest CD, Continuum, Mayer sings about remaining above the fray in a world of TV and blog gossip.
Gravity is working against me And gravity wants to bring me down
"I was very successful from a very early age, and I want to keep it," Mayer says.
"How do you live your life based on what you want as opposed to what you can have? I would love never having to go to rehab, love never to have to divorce, love never to — in a documentary of me — see a picture of myself spun around with a Ken Burns effect and then hear, like, 'And then things get out of control....'

Is this perhaps the 'new' face of the current "me" generation? Perhaps... As members, most of us hate being told what to do, or even worse, we hate to be spoon fed directions. When we get an iPod or PSP we figure it out before we look at the book. We don't need a 400 page manual to use Windows XP we already know how to use it. At work, you train us once how to use the software and we're off. So can this apply to anti-war protest? Sure! The previous generation asks us why we're not protesting the war, we say we are. Gen X & Y, however, uses: Blogs; forums; youtube to protest. We're not ignorant, nor do we not-care about the issues... We let John Stewart speak for us.

Personally, I agree with Mayer that new-age anti-war/non-protesters don't need to score a goal or drive home some point, or even lead some revolution single handily, they just need to take it to the 10 yard line and let us take it home.

Now run that through your (online) funken wagnal

To listen to John Mayer's songs "belief" and "gravity" just click on this link and scroll down to Live at NPR (real player or windows media req.)

~J out

"Morn'n"

"Ohaiyoo Gozaimasu"

Today is like a grey reminder that yesterday's sun was simply a tease. "ha ha ha" says the weather, "and you thought more was to come!" For me it's no biggie. I'm used to dampening the bottom of my tee-shirt with the rain that collects on glasses; I'm used to rolling up the bottom of my pants so as not to get them dirty and damp; I'm used to wearing a black fleece like it was a second skin; Ultimately, I'm used to drinking coffee like it's some Nor' westerner elixir... (well isn't it?)

By now everyone has heard that Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted and faces 25 yrs imprisonment. Well R. U. Surprised? I'm not. Who do you think was supposed to go down? Rove? Ha! What's important here anyway? How about the fact that NO ONE WAS CHARGED WITH LEAKING THE NAME?! Yeah... Oddly enough I thought the President said< "the one who done it is go'n 2 git it!" ... Well nobody is fooled. Even one juror came out and said most of 'em thought Scooter (btw what the hell is up with that nickname?) was a fall man for a bigger scheme. Perhaps so.

Well now that this boondoggle is over we can now get to the bigger and better stuff like Bush's eavesdropping on overseas phone calls! Oh... I guess we forgot about that 'eh?

~J out

What you should believe

In the past three days I've been exposed to very controversial stuff. We've learned as a generation (my generation) that to get what you want you need to convince others of why they too should believe this. The 'stuff' has been around for years and constantly recirculates in different forms. So I'd like to share with you just what (since Sunday) I've been asked to believe:

• The theory of Evolution and Natural Selection is very real (tue)
• Sperm is cheap (tue)
• Because we evolved from quadrupeds, we weren't meant to walk upright and especially weren't made to wear high-heels (tue)
• Noah was a rich Samaritan who survived off of drinking beer (sun)
• Noah was an outlaw after the flood (sun)
• Jesus' family tomb has been found (sun)
• Jesus & Mary we're married and had a son (sun)
• Gandhi was a short-tempered man (mon)
• Gandhi was an abusive husband (mon)
• We should become hermaphrodites to break down the Male-Female system (tue)
• We have sex because we're in an arms race (tue)
• Petco, Fedex, and Walmart are evil corporate empires (mon)
• Abortion is legal (mon)
• Abortion is illegal (mon)

Obviously there's a lot out there to believe in. No wonder we're all messed up!

~J out

PS. Liverpool lost to Barcelona... I think I'm going to cry ; (

tripping out

Today I saw on the Today show a report about adjustable rate mortgages that are "re-adjusting." In 2006, you saw a lot of mortgages readjust to rates that seem outrageous. Soon I'll be fighting to get into the game, but it's set me back as to what I should do.

Living from house to house trying to make a buck is rough. Yeah you get a payoff, but moving, taxes, and other things are always a factor. I'm 22 and I'm close to "prime" age for this risky business. There's other factors then just me... there's my close other too.

Things to think about.

The market in my area is still "booming," but it is one of the few. On the + side I'm young and I know that this whole bubble thing could re inflate in my lifetime.

Real Estate is with out a doubt the most exciting and scariest biz around. It scares me to think that soon I'll be getting my feet wet, maybe soaked, but hopefully I'll have a sense to rescue myself before I drown. The trick here to spot where stuff went right and where stuff went wrong. There's still more work to be done, but on my list of trends to watch.. I'm following all those people who bought cheap in 2001/02 with 5-6 year low interest rate loans who are now adjusting this year... hmmm. The fallout from this influx of foreclosures means that getting a loan will be harder and down-payments & payment on the principles could probably be required in the future. The times of open loop "fantasy financing" are slowly getting tied up.

Sounds to me like a "boondoggle."

~J out

Monday- A new beginning

Today is not a re-birth or anything spectacular. It's my first official day of work. After getting the job, it seems that they're ready for me today. I can only hope that whatever I got myself into, it's manageable.

Now... the first day is a weird day. It's the day that you "learn" the system and begin your training. It's the first day your employer sees what he/she just hired, it's the day you're the "new guy." The new guy... yep... where all the salty dogs lay some "wisdom" on you...

Or so they think.

I say chill out and pri 1 is learning how to do my job, pri 2 is keeping a friendly ora, pri 3 is to make sure I'm doing pri 1 & 2.

~Whoa~

~J out

Sunday Speaking Out: The Issue

This Sunday I'd like to shout out to bloggers across the world.

Little has been said over the arrest on Washington's birthday in Egypt where an Egyptian blogger Abdul Karim Suleiman was sentenced to four years in prison for messages posted on his personal website. Suleiman, who blogs under the name Kareem Amer, was a student at Cairo's al-Azhar University when he posted comments deemed by Egyptian authorities as blaspheming Islam, inciting sedition, and insulting President Hosni Mubarak. Here's his blog (in Arabic)

Now how many blogs out there criticize President G.W.Bush? A simple Google search lasting .10 seconds shows over a million sites have the words "anti-bush". Freedom of speech is more than a luxury, it's a privilege that other bloggers don't have. Blogging freely would seem like a benchmark for progress and a given among all democracies and republics... right?

Looking at the newly liberated and democratized Iraq, there are 241 blogs with 128 of them active according to Iraq Blog Count. That's awesome! According to the Suleiman article, Iran has more than 75,000 bloggers posting on the internet. So what's Egypt's hang-up? Why is Abdul being penalized in (last I checked) a republic based on English Common Law? Perhaps there is more to it then the media tells us.

What we know thus far is that the war on Terrorism is primarily ideological. A group of people who are acting under a self-serving religious authority want total control are fighting another group (that's us) who want Group A to fail. Who's left out? The people in the middle or "non-combatants". If it is true that the war is ideological, then it is a war of ideas, not of physical power or endurance. The fight should evolve to open up the public sphere and let all people express what themselves.

On the T.V. all I see is politicians tell me what the Terrorists are thinking and they're going to do if we pull out like they're the experts! I highly doubt they have interviewed and polled thousands of terrorists, or freedom fighters, or even citizens in Damascus (Syria), Tehran (Iran), Basra (S.Iraq), or Mosul (N.Iraq). In fact, where are these Iraqi's we hear about? Why aren't they on T.V. talking to Brian Williams and Tim Russart?

Truth is occupation, historically, has always been looked at negatively and left scars on societies for generations. Look at Japan after WWII, the scars are still there after 60 yrs. It's time that we step back and listen, and if we can't here anything then we need to work towards getting some noise out there to listen too. This means letting the debate happen over Arab & Persian radios, T.V.'s, and Blogs.

In Egypt, on Feb. 22nd, the noise went silent! Abdul is getting penalized, by a Republic America supports, for expressing his opinions about Islam and the government, for making some noise! and America and our congress are not going to condemn it or even acknowledge it?! What kind of pick-and-choose policy are we supporting here?

We're bogged down into trying to "address the issue"... what's the issue? The issue is not the troops redeployment, or the terrorists, or Iran, or the billions of "domino theories" and "slippery slope" arguments about withdrawing; The issue is freedom. With so much power and influence... we should fight to keep Abdul out of prison, we should fight to make Arab & Persian bloggers, and bloggers world wide, free to express themselves without the fear of being arrested and put in prison. We should fight the good fight for what Superman fought hard for:

Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Now there's a debate for congress...

~J out

Tis a drab friday indeed

The rain falls today with the gloom of a fine nor 'westerner day. Its one of those days that make you sigh and look out the window hoping for the sun to peek out over the horizon... Yet it is slow to come.

This friday (hopefully) is the last friday that'll be hanging out with nothing to do. Next week starts my job in Beaverton. I can't wait! Other then that... Nothing much more has crossed my mind today. Sort of a dull day... today.

This morning was sort of white-wash on the road. The windsheild wipers just flapped, but visability was still low.

Yep... dull day today... but the weekend is near! Please oh lord make it a good weekend!

~J out

Play the r3d's music

Wanna listen to what I listen to?

Well at the bottom of this page is an online radio sponsored by last.fm

Go ahead and click on the play button and listen in to what I like. Of course if you don't like it... you can change it.

Anyway... Last.fm remains, in my opinion, one of the last few un-commercialized online radios that just plays music.

Anyway... that's my plug... check it out, play with it, and have fun listening to R3d's music!

~J

One heck of a Yesterday

Yesterday proved to be one of the roughest days of the year.

It all started with me being cocky and thinking that I could make it to the cheap gas station on interstate whilst on fumes. Well luck was not my side and sure enough, as I inched acrossed the I-5 bridge the car stalled... I was SOL, on the I-5 bridge, at 8:40 in the morning (read rush-hour). Oh man, oh man...

So what did I do? I got out and pushed. Dad started pushing, but I thought he better drive. So I got out and pushed, and pushed, and pushed until my face was red, my legs shook, and I nearly collapsed from exhaustion. With some help from a big truck behind us we made it to the 76 on the Oregon side and filled up. However, that wasn't the end of it.

I was winded and coughing constantly. I wasn't recovering like I should... My lungs felt like they were on fire and my mind whirled. I told Dad to drive the rest of the way... I was in bad shape. I didn't know it, but I was having an asthma attack! Half way down the commute I realized that my old asthma was coming back. I had to get an inhaler, but my old inhaler was at home.

Eventually I got to the nurse at LC and recovered and quickly (after class) headed to Kaiser where I waited for three hours to get my hands on an inhaler smaller then your hand. What an ordeal. The gods musta been crazy yesterday! I just hope this bad luck doesn't follow me into the week.

~J
BTW.. Tank is at "F" and I got into school fine today!