::::Electr0hed::::

my favorite commercial:

mend will be performing at the visual arts collective with The Red Machine, and Lucid Aisle August 29th.  In Addition to live music the Photography of Dominique Zamberk will be featured.  (A great local photogrpaher who has been a great supporter of mend and local music).  More info at www.mend-music.com and www.visualartscollective.com

More cyclists in the Tour are getting popped for doping.  I used to love watching the Tour De France but with all of doping scandals the past couple of years, I’m annoyed and disappointed.  Perhaps if Pro Cycling can clean itself up, I’ll get back into it.  I need to post an Op-Ed that I wrote last year for an English class on the topic.

I don’t know that it’s a hobby as much as an interest, but I’m a big fan of American history.  It started out when I was a kid watching School House Rock on Saturday morning cartoons.  My mom is a big historian and is a walking library on the subject.  I remember my mom telling us the real stories of how the U.S. was founded and not the candy coated version we were given in school.  (The real story behind the pilgrims and the Mayflower makes Thanksgiving kind of a sick joke of a Holiday!)

My 3 favorite periods of American history are the American Revoloution, World War 2, and the Civil rights movement in the 60’s.  (With that I’m developing a keen interest the the Vietnam War era and the baby boomer generation of my parents. Tom Brokaw’s new book “BOOM!” is on my to read list.)

I just started watching the HBO mini series “John Adams” that recently came out on DVD.  It’s based on the David McCullough book.  Having read the book first, I found the mini-series initially a bit disappointing. (Isn’t that always the case?) It’s like a reader’s digest condensed version, which I kind of expected, but sheez.  Also, if you’re not very familiar with American History during this time period, you may find it a little difficult to follow.  But the more I watch it, the more it grows on me. Particularly the portrayal of his wife Abigail who really should be credited as one of the “founding fathers”. If you’ve ever had an interest in how the U.S. came to be, but don’t know where to start, go out and rent this series. It’s condensed to 3 DVD’s.  Then read the book to fill in the blanks.

One error I noticed on the DVD…probably just an error of omission…is during the trial of the Boston Massacre.  In the DVD you get the impression that all of the british soldiers involved were acquitted, which is not completely accurate.  2 of the soldiers that initiated the shooting were convicted of Manslaughter (initially all were charged with murder.)  To emphasize Adams skills in the courtroom, he defended the British soldiers in a trial by a jury of american colonists, and rendered acquittals of the soldiers because they were tricked into firing on innocent colonists by an angry mob.

John Adams is one my favorites of the “founding fathers”.  He was highly intelligent, had no patience for stupid people, was very blunt and not your typical politician.  He spoke his mind and said things most people thought but feared saying in public.  In spite of his part in the American revoloution he always made his family a priority.  He also did not believe in slavery and did not own a single slave which was quite common amongst our founding fathers. 

Knowing that he had a reputation for being highly impassioned and even a bit obnoxious, Adams talked Thomas Jefferson into wrtiting the Declaration of Independence because of his writing skill.  (If you haven’t read the Preamble of this document since you were in chool, read it again.  It’s an amazing writing and one that our government needs to review a little more often.)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

He was one of the authors of the Federalist Papers and advocated our current legislative system of Bicameralism.  Looking at our modern Government, I find his idea of seperating the rich and affluent from the working and lower class as a check and balance….. an interesting idea.

An excellent companion book is David McCullough’s book “1776″.  It was written based on the research he did during “John Adams” and focuses more on the military action and George Washington’s part of the American revoloution. 

Both are pretty fast reads when you get into them.

“There’s not so many now still standing on their feet
Their knives are out and singing so sweet
Engage with sharper minds that cut you when you meet
Anyplace to mess around
When someone wants to take you down

Maybe you think you’re above this
But baby we know that you love it
Baby you know where to shove it
Apply your lipstick
‘Fore dying in public”

Red Carpet Massacre, Duran Duran

I just couldn’t help myself. 

This one’s for you know who.  wink, wink.

The past week has brought some interesting insight for me. I’ve been reflecting on some things as a result.

To start, someone I considered to be a friend demonstrated some less then friend like behavior. Perhaps it’s just me being petty, maybe I am misunderstanding the circumstances that are surrounding this person. And yet I look at the other great friends of mine and how they would act in the same circumstances and I see a much different result. I look at the actions of the past and can’t help but wonder if our friendship is merely based on shallow entertainment. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s causing my trust to wane and I have to wonder if it’s a chapter that is closing. The jury will be out on this decision indefinitely. Perhaps time and distance will be healthy and one day down the road things will be different. In the end I don’t have the time or energy to worry about it and life will move on. A Fair weather friend that is only around for just the party? Is it worth my time and energy? I don’t know….but we’ll see what happens. I’m no longer going to stress about it. I’ve mad a few attempts to communicate and the ball is now in his court. I wish him well and the best of luck in a very tough achievement.

Then later this week I found myself ensnared in a trap. Her intent was to provoke and brew further drama. I nearly fell for it. Easy to do when the one you love is attacked in a public forum. Events followed this week that reminded me what’s really important and that petty drama is not. She is not the brightest star in the sky and is incapable of taking any personal responsibility for her mistakes. It was that which helped lead to her inevitable divorce. I predict this cycle will continue until she realizes this and makes a change. In the meantime I’ll ignore it with the realization that her selfishness, vanity, twisted sense of morality and insecurity is all consuming and in the end, will result in her own bitterness and negativity. I wish her and her partner all of the luck in the world. They’re going to need it.

There is a time for fun, there is a time for family. My family is what defines me. They are my priority and nothing will interfere with that. Right now we’re working hard to improve our circumstances…there will be time for fun and party later. The kind of friends I wish to have around me will understand that philosophy. Most of them do and I will do nearly anything for them as they would for me. That’s not to say we’re all work and no play….. right now timing is everything!

In other news, I’m preparing to assist someone that worked for me in meeting with an attorney in regards to my former place of employment. I’m merely going to present examples as to how my former administration created a hostile and dangerous work environment (even moreso considering I worked in a Maximum Security Prison.) I hope that maybe an impartial party will recognize what is going on and will correct it before good people get hurt.

Enough deep thoughts for one blog….cheers all!

I watched a news story on this guy the other morning.  very incredible story about a guy who was one of the “lost boys” of Sudan who spent most of his youth literally running for his life.  He just recently became an american citizen and joined the U.S. Olympic team as a runner.  I’ll actually have a reason to tune into the olympics now.  Here’s further reading:

New York Times

http://lopezlomong.org/

First- this is cool….I want one….if any of you are of the giving type….hook an electr0hed up! =)

Firefox Ogio Messenger Bag

http://store.mozilla.org/product.php?code=MZ34014&catid=10

Other coolness-

The Coop

http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/the-coop/

AN interesting twist on social networking.  Also handy for you to share websites, photos, etc. with friends and family.  Getting tired of your email getting cluttered with jokes, etc. ?   Here is a way to share that stuff without e-mail.  I will post more on this as I explore it further.

here is the weave link I mentioned previously:

http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/weave/

Most of the cool addons for Firefox are not yet supported in 3.0 but as they come up I’ll post about the ones I like and/or dislike.

Ciao for now.

I’m a big fan of open source app’s, particulary mozilla (www.mozilla.com) firefox amd thunderbird.

Recently Firefox 3.0 was released and Mozilla got the Guiness book title of the largest number of downloads.  In addition a recent study was conducted that put firefox on top of being the most secure internet browser.  Naturally Internet Explorer is the least safest. 

“Profit motivated cyber”criminals have rapidly adopted Web browser exploitation as a key vector for malware installation,” researchers state. “As popularity of this attack vector has blossomed, there have been frequent reports of hundreds of thousands of Web sites succumbing to mass-defacement, where the defacement often consists of an embedded iFrame. These iFrames typically include content from servers hosting malicious JavaScript code designed to exploit vulnerabilities accessible through the user’s Web browser and subsequently to initiate a drive-by malware download.”  http://www.crn.com/security/208802248

If you download and install the new firefox check out the Weave 0.2 addon.  very cool app that syncs your bookmarks, browsing history, cookies, etc.  So no matter what computer your on, weave will load these into your browser.

I found a very cool website.  Checkout www.ecogeek.org

Here are some recent articles:

Hawaii First State to Require Solar Water Heaters -

Written by Peg Fong

Thursday, 03 July 2008

The state of Hawaii has become the first in North America to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill, signed into law by Republican Governor Linda Lingle this week, prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters.

All new homes will be required to have the energy-saving systems installed starting in 2010. Exceptions will be made for houses in heavily forested areas. But the move to force solar heating is a big step for a state that relies heavily on imported fossil fuels for 90% of its supply.

Conventional water heaters are typically the largest electricity consumer in the average household, gobbling up nearly 40% of consumption. The measure was first introduced five years ago when a barrel of oil cost just $40. Since then, the price has more than tripled. Solar water heaters can be complex systems or simple cheap models. Here’s how you make one for $5. The government also has a good site on how solar water heaters work.

Mercedes to Cut Petroleum Out of Lineup by 2015

Written by Jaymi Heimbuch

Thursday, 26 June 2008

In less than 7 years, Mercedes-Benz plans to ditch petroleum-powered vehicles from its lineup. Focusing on electric, fuel cell, and biofuels, the company is revving up research in alternative fuel sources and efficiency.

The German car company has a few new powertrains in the line-up that European journalists have had the opportunity to test out in their facility in Spain. One vehicle includes the F700, powered by a DiesOtto engine that combines HCCI and spark ignition to get nearly the same efficiency as diesel, but minus the expensive after-treatment systems. The engine can run on biofuels, and we may have a purchasable vehicle by 2010 – a year that seems to be popular for the debut of a lot of new alternative fuel car models, making ’08 and ’09 simply thumb-twiddling years for consumers. I don’t know, maybe car makers just like the roundness of “2010.” The company’s next big step will be to launch a Smart electric car which is fuel and emission-free.

Anyway, Mercedes is looking into electric vehicles, both battery powered and fuel cell powered. Not only are models in development, but we’ve also seen the company making steps towards their zero petroleum goal right now, from better cabs in London to Li-Ion battery improvements. The company also has about 100 Smart electric cars undergoing testing in London, with that favorite 2010 year as the projected market release date. Mercedes is making serious investments, already putting nearly $4 million into the pot of their long-term Sustainable Mobility plan, with another over $14 billion going in before 2014.