A Little Bit Of Everything!

The Collection: Call it a Day

2008-07-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes i rhyme when i write.....

When I put in far more than I get out
And conversations are fever pitch shouts
When being around me makes you ill
Yet you hang around at your own free will
When you lead me to the deep end of the emotional pool
Then leave me stranded,I'm such a fool
When you use against me my perennial weakness
And tick me off with your artificial sweetness
Let's call it a day babe.call it a day
When you push me and I push back
Radio silence for days after the fact
And when you finally do speak to me
I end up apologizing,almost on bent knees
When every moment with you is some kind of test
Constant pressure to please,to impress
When I'm finish writing,gonna do what's due
Let's call it a day babe.call it a day

Men’s Olympic 100M final

2008-07-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

The upcoming men’s 100M final at the Olympics is going to be one of the most keenly contested races ever. In the starting line, there will be current record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica (9.72), former record holder Asafa Powell also of Jamaica (9.74) and American Tyson Gay who recently ran a wind aided 9.68 (tornado assisted or not, that’s a fabulous time!) as well as other guys to make up the numbers. Who will be champion?! Anyone one of the three at this point; it’s just a matter of who’s better on the day and/or who can hold their nerve.

Will Asafa finally grow a vertebrae and not be psyched before the race even begins?! Will he fulfill his dream of winning a major title?! Or will Michael Johnson’s prophecy come through?!

Will Usain exact revenge on Tyson for beating him at last year’s world championships and for biting his ear off?! Can Usain lower the world record even further?

Can Tyson not get caught using the currently unknown relative of GHB? Will he win the final and then vanish for a few weeks as he did after the world championships?! Guess he needed to detoxify or something?

Will Justin Gatlin get a chance to defend his ill gotten Olympic title?

Will anyone ever break Florence Joiner’s woMEN’s 100M record (10.49)?! I doubt it!

We’ll all find the answers to these pressing questions in the coming months!!!!

Pay Per Post!!

2008-06-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

Over the years blogging has grown from just a hobby that few enjoy to a lucrative income generating opportunity for anyone willing to spare the time and effort. During this period, many companies have facilitated the bringing together of bloggers and advertisers for mutual benefit. These companies fall into one of three categories accord to their level of service offered to bloggers; average, better than average and then there is Payperpost.

Payperpost is undoubtedly the first place that a blogger ought to visit if he/she wants to write sponsored post. Why? Because they simply have the largest number of paying opportunities available. They even give advertisers the option of directly picking you to write a post for them, sweet! Did you ever find yourself registering with a ton of blog networks and get very few assignment from them? I certainly have! I’ve been in the assignment queue of one particular service for a month and still no work (sigh). Payperpost, problem solved.

Trust me, give them a try. Your blog has to be more than thirty days old and have at least ten post but it will be worth the wait (if you have to). It feels like home, you’ll never want to leave once you get in. Luckily for me Dosh Dosh pointed me in the right direction. Visit Payperpost at:

drive traffic

Africa

2008-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

The cradle of life, home of the great pyramids, the host of the FIFA 2010 world cup of soccer, the most mineral rich continent, diverse and unique.

Africa, the only continent which has gotten poorer over the past three decades, the place where civil war and dictatorships are a dime a dozen, the place where famine and its related diseases are a harsh reality, a place where HIV is destroying huge chunks of the economically productive population. The ills of the continent are well documented and hypotheses of its causes and solutions are published every six months.

Here is the simple truth, Africa is the way it is because if has been robbed of its population through slavery, drained of its mineral resources and left for dead by Imperial Powers. Everyone who was anyone; the English, Spanish, French, Dutch and others, had their way with those ‘soulless savages’. They placed the entire continent at a disadvantage that is more evident now than ever. It is more embarrassing now than ever.

What’s done is done. We only need to be willing to admit and accept the truth.

Africa is a very big place, some countries are better off than others but on a whole they are not where they ought to be developmentally. Take Rhodesia for example, I mean Zimbabwe; the country is currently in political, economic and social turmoil. (I kinda sounded like Leo in Blood Diamond there didn’t I! Let me not even talk about those overpriced pieces of Carbon). Zimbabwe was once the poster child of Africa, now only a shadow of itself.

There are those who say that civil unrest is a natural feature of societal development and that things will eventually calm down and peace and obedience shall be the order of the day. They often site the fact that many nations which are now developed went through periods of intense, violent civil wars…… Be that as it may, Africa has still been short changed.

In conclusion, those who benefited most from Africa should take a leading role in the solving of its problems. Let your conscience be your guide.

> Human

2008-06-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

It’s the ultimate irony of human existence, some have a great deal while others have very little. The unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity can be so stark, so dramatic. It tends to be more noticeable in the developing world, in places like Brazil and India where there really isn’t a sizeable middle class. Just really rich people and really poor people.

In 2007 the world commemorated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Trans Atlantic slave trade in British colonies (although slavery didn’t end for another thirty years and even later in America). If one were to ask the average Joe if slavery still exists today, he would firstly laugh and/or scoff and then vehemently say NO. But someone ought to tell Joe that slavery is alive and well.

You can see it in Darfur where slaves are transported just like they were in the old days, in chains. You can see it in Europe where poor young women are lured from the East with the promise of high wages in Western Europe, only to find themselves forced into prostitution by well connected and extremely dangerous criminal gangs. You see it when companies or business owners pay their employees a starvation wage; just enough to keep them alive. You see it with illegal Mexicans in California, Arizona, Texas and Utah. You see it with the abuse that domestic helpers around the world. You see it somewhere close to you. I see it through my window right now.

Some people just want to survive while others want to thrive. What category do you fall into? What category do you want to be in?

It has always pained my heart to see how much food we waste when there are soooo many people around the world who would kill for what you just threw away. What makes the west so much more fortunate than the least? It’s not something that we will readily admit.

Maybe those scientist guys are right and the world is overpopulated. They estimated that the most ideal global population should be about four billion. This makes the planet overpopulated by over fifty percent! Maybe the clergyman Thomas Malthus is right as well. His dooms day thesis states that population increases exponentially (2, 4, 8, 16, 32) while food production/productivity increase arithmetically (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Do the math, the population will outgrow its food source and famine will result.

We only need to turn on the TV to see famine being beamed into our living rooms in Hi Def. But there is enough food to feed us all. We only need the will to share it, to send it where it’s needed most in a timely manner. But is food aid the long term solution? Definitely not, but that’s the best that can be done right now (sigh). The world is not level; it’s not level at all.

I know that this post is not very coherent and may not make sense to a lot of folks ….Let’s make the world a better place.

Click! Click!

2008-06-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Google’s Adsense is in use on this blog. It’s a cool way to make a few extra bucks. Due to the pay per click nature of the program Google keeps an eye out for click fraud; that is the use of illicit methods to increase clicks and hence revenue. If a publisher is deemed to be involved in click fraud, he or she can loose their Adsense account. This is quite understandable; Google has a right to defend the integrity of their cash cow.

That being said, suppose a competitor or someone who doesn’t like me decide to click on my ads, continuously. To the point where my CTR (Click Through Rate) goes Through the roof. To the point where Google flags my account and eventually bans me from their network, permanently. How do defend myself? Do I get the benefit of the doubt? Is there any doubt?

There is a great deal of software out there which can click on ads as many times as the host server can handle. Some even use real IP addresses! And when advertisers do an analysis and see that these clicks aren’t being reflected in sales then….. How would I be able to defend myself? After all, who benefits most from more clicks on my ads? Google benefits most to be honest, but they will see me as the primary beneficiary. Could Google give me reasonable answers to these reasonable questions?

Snapbomb!

2008-06-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Let’s be honest, most people who blog do so with the intention of making money from their efforts. There are many websites which link advertisers and bloggers with the intention of accruing benefits to both; welcomed exposure for advertisers and cash for publishers. Many measure the value of a blog by its page rank and link profile.

Then there is Snapbomb, they not only values a blog based on its level traffic but they constantly monitor and re-value your blog. So if your viewer-ship increases, so does your blog’s value and vice versa; fair enough. This is by far the most efficient way of determining the true worth of a web log.

I mean, how often does Google update your page rank? Not often enough. Is your blog even ranked? Maybe not. No wonder there’s a buzz about Snapbomb. They bring a fresh and unique approach to the world of blog advertising. In the world of blog advertising, Snapbomb is king! If you have an interest in blog marketing, if want to monetize your blog immediately; Snapbomb ought to be your first stop . Check them out at:

http://www.snapbomb.com/bloggers.html?acp=7551

Samsung Ultra Edition 10.9

2008-06-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

More commonly known as the D900, this cell phone has been on the market for over two years and I’ve had one for about half that time. There are phones with more features, there are handsets with more hype and advertising, but the D900 is the most complete cellular that I have ever seen. From the 3 mega pixel camera to the ultra slim profile ( the slimmest slider in the world when it came to market), this phone is perfect in everyway. The menu is easy to navigate; even those who have been living under a rock can easily get a handle on it. The only thing it doesn’t have is an AM/FM radio, but who listens to the radio anyway. Samsung has made more advanced sliders such as the U600, U800 and another model whose name eludes me. Those ones are okay but the D900 has soul. If you place it at eye level and look at it long enough, you can see it breathing.

Blogging for a Living

2008-06-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article that I stumbled across awhile back, enjoy.

7 distinct methods you can use to generate substantial income from blogging. These seven methods are strategies you can adopt right from the beginning, preferably before you set up your first blog.

1. The “Flagship” or Big Blog Route

This is simultaneously the most profitable and most time-consuming blog venture. The flagship method directs all your focus on a few blogs in order to make them incredibly popular in their niche. Flagship blogs should have a large audience as well as high daily visitor traffic numbers.
These type of big blogs have a wide variety of monetization options with direct advertising sales being a big part of it. Know that not everyone can successfully create a big blog so attempt this route only if you absolutely believe that you have the networking skills, niche knowledge and marketing know-how that’s needed.

Benefits: Fame as well as more monetization options/potential for your blogs, alongside personal satisfaction. Another advantage is that big blogs usually market or promote themselves automatically once a certain level of fame has been achieved.

Disadvantages: Very time-consuming especially if you are not outsourcing the content creation or marketing duties. Expect a lot of work and experiment with creative promotional ideas if you decide to go this route.

2. The “Pay per Post” or Get Paid to Blog Route

This is rather simple. Set up multiple niche blogs on either your own domains or free blog hosts like Blogger. Maintain them over a period of time and focus on writing content and building up their Google PageRank, link profile and Alexa Rank.

Submit all of your blogs to multiple get paid to blog websites like Blogitive, Blogsvertise, Review Me, Sponsored Reviews, PayperPost, LoudLaunch and then start writing sponsored posts.

Benefits: The greatest strength of this method is that you don’t even need a large audience to make money. 20 people could be visiting and reading your blogs everyday and you’ll still be able to make at least $15 a day from each blog. If skillfully done over multiple blogs, this method can allow you to easily make over $1.5 K a month.

Disadvantages: No passive income. You’ll need to spend time writing multiple sponsored blog posts, which can be boring and time consuming. Work will also be needed to maintain your multiple blogs, although that will be minimal after they have been optimized and running for some time.

The article continues at http://www.doshdosh.com/how-to-make-money-blogging-seven-strategies/

A Moment of Silence

2008-06-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

Quiet, let’s take a moment of silence to reflect on the death of decency. Although it has been long gone we can’t help but be reminded of its demise by continuous stream of shocking moments. I could go on and on but today I’ll focus on one particular topic, celebrities and panties; or rather the lack thereof. I got an email entitled “Are there no underwear stores in Hollywood?” Maybe you have seen it or an incarnation of it. It has photos of several high profile celebs getting in and out of cars with their vaginas in full view (and a bunch a sickly looking vaginas they were, scary).

Have they no pride, no sense of worth? Or is it that they genuinely don’t care or just looking to stay in the news? They’re all grown women and can do whatever they want and there are times when I welcome a chick not wearing panties but these women have taken it to another level. To the height of insanity. So let’s pause for a moment…...

The News

2008-06-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

While watching BBC World News an important question dawned on me, again; who decides what stories makes it into the cycle? For sometime now, I have made the British broadcaster my primary source of international news, especially because of Iraq. I find them to be relatively balanced in their reporting. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about many American broadcasters, the powers that be seem to push their own agendas; except for CNN, they’re pretty objective. Most viewers trust the other stations’ reporting and therefore internalize the misrepresented stories they often bring. Now back to the BBC. Although they truly present world news, I still don’t trust them the way I should. Call me paranoid but I take everything that I see, hear or read with a grain of salt.

Permission to Reproduce

2008-06-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

It may sound ridiculous, it may sound heartless, it may even enrage some of my friends; people should need a license to reproduce. Just like how you need a permit to operate a car, motorcycle or airplane, just like you need authorization to get married, operate a bar or a strip club; a piece of paper that says you are certified to have children should be mandatory.

Think about it, how many folks do you know or have heard of who really aren’t fit to have kids but they do? How many cases of child abuse and/or neglect have disgusted you to the point where you might dust off the old shot gun and hunt them down? Too many to recall! Perhaps if people were screened before hand we could identify if they will be okay parents or not. There would certainly be less unplanned pregnancies which result in unwanted children; and the whole world would be a better place!

But how would the state put such a measure into practice? By brute force, that’s how! And what would be done if someone were to break the law? Terminate the pregnancy and imprison the parents! It would be like taking China’s one child policy and tweaking it, the possibilities are endless! (maniacal laughter)

I’m only kidding, this society would never stand for such a move; there would be civil war, bloody civil war. However, something needs to be done about this wave of misfits masquerading as parents. Remember that children need guidance from us adults, not our friendship. I understand that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day and that we don’t always have the time to listen and attend to our charges. Nevertheless, stay close, be apart of their lives, let them know that you care, tell them the truth. Give them the tools to become fully functional, fully integrated social beings.

Heroes and Villains

2008-06-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Paraphrased:

Every super hero ever concocted and depicted on the pages of comics, made into a cartoon or film all share something in common, they all have an arch nemesis (or several). A bad guy is needed to draw contrast, to show how virtuous the hero is. Without a villain our hero would have no purpose, just another face in the crowd.

This was the prelude given by my friend Edward to put forward his argument that God is either the creation of the hearts and minds of men or the Devil is the alter ego of God. Two sides to the same coin. He reasoned that many people, no matter what religion they follow, are drawn to the divine not out of love and admiration but because of the threat of eternal damnation. Fear is a very strong motivator, stronger than we are willing to admit. God has the devil just as how Spider Man has Venom, apart of himself that gives him great ability but which has a mind of its own.

Without the Devil, God would be without function, milling about and calling mankind to come to him but fewer would listen, let alone answer the call. Why lead a life that is fitting before God if there are no consequences if you don’t. Folks would just take him for granted even more than they do now. But with something as horrible as an ever burning lake of fire and brimstone imprinted in your psyche from birth; people flock to Sunday morning prayers. We all wanna save our soul (or at least try).

He went on to talk some more. I just sat there and listened to every word. I don’t believe a word he said but I couldn’t fight his line of reasoning. It made sense, it all made sense, but not everything that makes sense is true. Then again, truth is a relative term, it’s a matter of perception; perception is reality; reality is what we make it. Perhaps there is no such thing as truth.

Left out in the Cold

2008-06-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

It’s a fact, the world and all the things in it were designed by right handed folks for right handed folks. From a mouse to a guitar, designers assume that all users are right handed. Left handed items are special order or unavailable. Just take a look around you and you’ll easily see what I’m talking about. Why are things this way? Is it because most people are right handed and majority rules. Or has there been a conspiracy to suppress the hearts and minds of lefties. After all, left handedness has been traditionally been linked to weakness, demonic possession among other unflattering things.

Should information be a crime?

2008-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

It is amazing of how much detailed information one can acquire about things such making explosives, poison, drugs, perpetrating fraud and other things with nothing more than a search engine an a few minutes to spare. There are many websites which offer free step by step instruction on how to do a lot of things. One such site is Totse.com, they have an extensive archive instructions for things ranging from how to get free food to how to make a potentially lethal stun gun. I think the website’s motto is “information is not a crime” and/or “knowing how to scam prevents you from being scammed”

I am however uncomfortable with this current free for all. Information that would otherwise be very difficult to get can now find itself in the wrong hands with ease. This can and has had real world consequences; psychopaths use the net as a way of acquiring and sharing ideas. Maybe we should be like China and block access to sites that are deemed unfit. Most people (myself included) do not want to see that happen but it may become necessary for our own good.

Two Peas in a Pod

2008-06-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

There’s a really funny and creative video clip of George Bush and Vladimir Putin engaging in a number of activities. The kinda stuff that good buds would do, the two are seen hanging out and the whole nine. The video is actually just two actors doing stuff and Bush and Putin’s face added to their bodies and is set to a great, perfectly matching song.

One has to wonder about the message the video’s creators are sending across. This is my take on it; Putin has demitted office as president and Bush will be gone in six months. Both seem to be in favor of press censorship and questionable interrogation techniques. They both use strong arm diplomacy as a means of getting what they want. The list goes on, but it is important to note that neither speak English. Two peas in a pod indeed.

Check it out at http://minimovie.com/film-128212-Putin%20On%20The%20Ritz

The Collection: Porcelain

2008-06-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I rhyme when I write. This one is about a relationship I never had with a girl I cared for dearly.

The star lights get bright in the distance
As darkness takes over from the day
A wonderful oppurtunity has vanished
My reluctance has chased you away
I wish that things had gone differently
That we met when things were swell
Unfortunately that is not the case
So I wish you happiness,wish you well
I apologize if I caused any emotional strain
Any untold suffering on your part
I assure you it was unintentional
Your calligraphy is like Leonardo's art
Words are inadequate to describe you
But i'll give it a shot
Beautiful,sweet,intelligent,a good sense of humour
Oh,did I mention that you're hot
You're everything I look for in a girl
You're a wonderful human being
But I can't subject you to my highs and lows
Things are not what they seem

The Hypocrisy of our Drug Policy

2008-06-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why Cigarettes and Alcohol are legal yet Marijuana and Cocaine are not? Is it because some drugs are genuinely worst than others or is it because the rich and powerful are protecting their investment? Or is it both? Whatever the reason(s) may be, this should not be the case. I don’t have any empirical data but I believe that Cigarettes and Alcohol are more destructive than Crack, Meth, Heroin and all other illicit substances combined.

Check this out, millions die from Alcohol induced car accidents every year, this is not only a burden to the health system but it destroys people’s lives and hurts the economy. Respiratory illness caused by Cigarette smoking is also a major burden on health care. Especially if you live in a country where the government pays for or subsidizes health; they’ll be using your tax dollars for that. Not to mention the abuse of prescription drugs…don’t get me started.

I’m not saying that all these substances ought to be banned nor that should they be legal and be on the shelves of your neighborhood grocery store. We all have heard of the horrors and cut throat nature of the illicit drug trade. From Columbia to Afghanistan and everywhere in between, the fight against drugs seems to be a never ending battle. So why bother? As long as there is a demand for cocaine it will be produced. Sellers will by any means necessary get their product to market. Let’s not waste time and money trying to tackle the problem from the supply side. Let’s continue to educate our people of the dangers of drugs. Not just the illegal and demonized ones but also the ones that make you look cool.

Ultimately, we all have to make our own decisions. We just have to encourage our friends our loved ones to make good choices and not turn our backs on them when they don’t. We’re all human beings, we all make mistakes. So let’s forgive our leaders of the past for being such hypocrites when it came to drug policy and let us urge the politicians of today to correct their mistakes. Or is it too late? Are high sales taxes and public education campaigns working? Was it a case where what was deemed legal or not was determined by what became popular and established first? If Heroin was synthesized long before tobacco was ever smoked, would it be legal and tobacco left out in the cold? As usual, more questions than answers.

Oh, did you know that doctors used to believe that smoking was good for you? I wonder who gave them that idea.

ATM Fraud and Me

2008-05-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Last night a friend and I went to a local ATM to withdraw some cash. Being the sharp eyed person that I am, I noticed that the card reader slot looked a bit bulkier than usual and what appeared to be a motion sensor where one wouldn’t normally find one; inset, just above the keypad. I immediately told my companion not to insert her card. She hesitated and asked me what the problem was, I explained it to her.

With my house keys and a few minutes we removed both devices from the machine; it had been installed using heavy duty mounting tape. Speechless, we inspected the underbelly of the devices. We all hear about card fraud but we rarely see it first hand. We called the bank and then the police.

Realizing that the perpetrators could be close by, we fled the scene, not realizing we were carrying the devices with us. I’m looking at it right now; they made a plastic mold of the card reader and then placed it over the original with a skimming device. The motion sensor looking thing is actually a motion activated camera. Both available on the internet for about $500 in total. It’s amazing how easily and anonymously one can buy these potentially criminal devices.

By the time you read this, I would have handed over the devices to the police. I hope they don’t arrest me for tampering with evidence. But that may be the least of my worries, suppose whoever planted the device trailed me back to my place? Suppose they’re five minutes away from kicking in my front door? I’m not worried though; I can defend myself. Besides, anyone who is coward enough to rob people from a safe distance (as opposed to going into a bank with guns loaded) doesn’t have the balls to come knocking at my door. Those lazy cowards should get a real job.

Pulp Fiction

2008-05-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

In relation to my previous post “Stop the Recycling”, I will now examine one of the best movies of the nineties, Pulp Fiction. Arguably Tarantino’s best work, this haphazard concoction is a model of what innovative film making is all about. This flick didn’t become a cult classic because of who was in it (although some big stars were apart of the cast} nor was it because it had a huge budget or extensive marketing. It achieved what it did because it was a solid, well written, well but together work of art.

It certainly wasn’t perfect, the scene in which Sam Jackson and John Travolta were miraculously spared from becoming strainers after that guy popped out the bathroom and emptied his gun was flawed. One could clearly see the bullet holes in the wall in the background long before the guy supposedly put the holes there. Quentin Tarantino has been accused of being a plagiarist for copying elements of other movies and incorporating these into Pulp Fiction. These criticisms take nothing away from the film. There is an old saying; there are no new ideas just reincarnations of old ones. But there is a limit to how much recycling can be done but generally speaking, the more creative you are with other people’s ideas the better the outcome.

There should be more film makers like Quentin, not those who are too willing to copy his style and have no ideas of their own but those who can bring the level of innovation and uniqueness that he has. Cinema should excite us, engage us, inspire us and immerse us fully in its aura. Pulp Fiction and many other movies do just that. That is what film is about. That is what film is about.

Stop the Recycling

2008-05-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or do you realize that a significant portion of movies made these days are sequels, prequels, side stories or remakes? This trend is not only boring the masses to death but also promotes copyright infringement. Think about it, people are more likely to buy or rent a legitimate DVD if they think that a film is worth it than if they don’t. Sequels and the like are often times a waste of valuable time and just tell the same old story in a different location and characters. I’m not gonna call any names but we all can easily think of many movies that should have remained as screenplays.

Is it a case where Hollywood has genuinely ran out of new ideas and in an effort to remain viable has gone into this tail spin? Or is it because they have a ‘Formula for Success’ and they’re gonna stick to it for as long as it works? I mean, big budget sequels tend to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars from the box office alone, so if it aint broke don’t fix it. Right? I’m sick of it.

Good movies are few and far in between; and I’m not talking about any particular category of movies, generally speaking. A movie can have a thousand explosions and be laced with curse words and still be given four stars. A good movie is one which scores on all the important points; plot and structure, dialogue and all that. A movie shouldn’t only succeed because of who wrote, produced, directed or starred in it. But by its overall quality. Unfortunately this is not the case. How many times have you gone to see a movie because it has a famous name on it? Countless. And even if it sucks we still give it merit because a particular person was involved.

Don’t get me wrong, I love movies. There are few things I enjoy more than spending an afternoon watching screen gems. I therefore have a highly developed sense of taste when it comes to cinema. Let’s make a change for the better. Let’s demand higher quality entertainment.

School Girls Should Wear Age Tags

2008-05-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

The other day while coming from a friend’s house, I saw a young woman who looked familiar. We eyed each other for awhile. I approached her and started a conversation in relation to that fact. Long story short, she’s a ninth grader who lives close by. But the thing is, it was Sunday, she was all dressed up and though I had seen her many times before, she looked different. She looked like a grown woman. If I didn’t realize who she was and if she had lied to me about her age, I would be in a load of trouble. I may engage in questionable activities, be of dubious character but I stay clear of underage girls.

As common courtesy I took her phone number, I’ve called her a few times just to see how she’s doing. She’s an okay girl; I’ve decided to take her under my wing. Some guys would have sought to exploit the situation. She isn’t gullible but she’s still at an impressionable age. Which bring me back to my original thesis, school girls should wear age tags, so that older men know they should stay clear. Let’s protect our young women, don’t make a good girl bad in order to satisfy your selfish sexual desires.

Staying Alive

2008-05-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

With rising oil prices (the last I heard it was $127 a barrel) and increased prices for basic food items like rice and corn, we are all in for a very hard time. These exponential price increases impact most on those who can least afford it, the poor. What are the world’s leaders doing about this problem? They seem to be more concerned about who has nuclear weapons and which regime should be blacklisted. Where is the U.N in all of this? Something(s) need to be done!

The drive to decrease our dependency on oil seems to have backfired. We’ve been converting grain (that would normally be eaten by people and animals that we eat) into bio-fuels as a cleaner and renewable alternative to oil. That move has made food prices sky rocket. Didn’t any of those scientist and politicians who promoted the diversification of our energy resources see this coming? I too, had jumped on the bandwagon. I failed to see the basic economic principle; when demand is greater than supply, prices rise, and rise, and rise. Now when I buy a pound of sugar at the corner shop I consider myself lucky, because I had to outbid an ethanol plant.

Clearly we have to find viable alternatives to oil, but let’s do it in a responsible and sustainable way. This planet has finite resources. I’m not saying that using food for fuel is altogether bad. But what good is having cleaner air to breathe and an abundance of fuel if half of the world (including someone you love) dies of starvation.

Manchester is bigger than London?

2008-05-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Manchester United F.C faced Chelsea F.C in the final of the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday; the richest, the most competitive, the greatest soccer club competition on the planet. Millions across the world watched every moment of the match. For the umpteenth time the top two clubs from a given league have reached the final (although I wish that Liverpool F.C were there instead of Chelsea, Anfield Forever!) and boy what a final it was. Since the team I was rooting for was longer in the competition and the team that knocked them out was still there then I was inclined to….I hoped that Manchester would kick Chelsea’s rear end. I hoped Manchester would embarrass them. Based on form, United were ahead. They won the English Premier League (although by a small margin, it really went down to the wire} and from what the pundits were saying they should add the champions League to their silverware collection. And those pundit guys put their money where their mouth is. But, I just had a rotten feeling that this would be Chelsea’s year. I’m glad that my gut was wrong. In the final analysis, the game was lost by Chelsea rather than being won by Manchester. Chelsea gave the game away. They outplayed their rivals but just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Soccer is all about putting the ball in the back of the net. The game went to a penalty shoot out and Manchester held their nerve. They wanted to win the game, deserved champions indeed.

Dream Car

2008-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

We all have a dream car, something that we may never be able to afford but something we aspire to. For me, that car is the Audi RS4; an eight cylinder, 420 HP, all wheel drive marvel of engineering. I’ve never driven an RS4 (I have been driven in on though), there are certainly cars with more horsepower and more prestigious name plates than the Audi. But no high performance sports car is as rounded as this four door beauty. Its exterior lines are perfect; eighteen inch alloys with extra low profile tires hug the tarmac. The Quattro all wheel drive system enables the car to corner like it’s on rails (no kidding!).

The interior is practically yet tastefully designed, a place for everything and everything in its place. So plush and so refined that for a moment you thing you’re in a luxury sedan, only to glance at the six speed manual transmission, the huge foot pedals and the speedometer which reads in Miles Per Hour “160”…“170”…“180”…”to be continued” and then you realize you may not live to tell the tale. This car is not for the faint hearted.

Unlike many of its rivals, the RS4 is suitable for everyday use, not just for tearing up the race track. You can take long trips with the wife and kids and not regret not buying a minivan. Can’t do that with a coupe, can you?! Maybe you like Porsche 911, or BMW M3, M5 or M6 or even Mitsubishi Evolution GSR and Subaru Impreza WRX STI. You’re entitled to your opinion and I am to mine. Nothing comes close to the Audi RS4. Drive safely.

Just Breathe

2008-05-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

While running up and down flights of stairs at work and breathing quite heavily I began to wonder. Carrots are good for the eyes, cranberries are good for the bladder, milk is good for the bones, Omega 3 is good for the heart…. What’s good for the lungs? I’ve never seen a product or heard of the benefits of some fruit or vegetable in maintaining healthy lungs. All the doctors tell us is to not smoke and to breathe deeply every now and then. Don’t the lungs need special care? After all, we do inhale a great deal of dust and other man made hazards on a daily basis. Where does it all go? Is ALL THAT CRAP at the bottom of my lungs? Do lungs have a cleaning mechanism of some kind? I thing I need to do a bit of research. The only time we seem to care about our lungs is if we have a respiratory illness. We all seem to take them for granted. Maybe if breathing wasn’t an involuntary and sub-conscious process then we would be more concerned about those two sacks. And as a result take good care of them. Then again, if we had to think to breathe then we’d all die in our sleep.

My Take On Women?

2008-05-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Women: beautiful, soft, loving, caring, the foundation of civilization (yes they really are!) etcetera, etcetera. They say that you can tell how a man will treat his woman based on how he relates to his mother. I love my Mom; she means the world to me. I do my best to help her out when I can. It’s the least I can do to show my appreciation for her bringing me into this world; as wretched as this world may be. That being said, I know how to love and take care of a woman. However, for strange and complex reasons I’m single. I’m twenty two years old, I have a job, I’m tall dark and a handful yet I’m single. Why? Because most of the women I come across just aren’t appealing to me in all the ways that I need them to be (yes I want a woman for more than just sex). I tend to loose interest in them very easily; the simplest of thing makes me give up. A simple misunderstanding can, and has made me walk out of what could have been a beautiful relationship. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places for love, perhaps there’s something wrong with me. Am I too picky, insensitive or unwilling to accept a woman for who she is? More questions than answers. At the end of the day (figuratively speaking, it’s gonna take much more than a day!), I would like to find someone real special, a girl who I would actually be able to marry in the near future. Settling down however, doesn’t mean settling for less.

Living So We Can Die

2008-05-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Morgan Freeman once said in a movie (I can’t remember the name of the flick); “….the only thing I have to do is stay black and die…” Death is all around us; our very survival depends on something else dying. It’s only a question of how we handle the statistical inevitability. Some use religion, the belief of an afterlife, others believe in reincarnation, others think that there is nothing beyond this life. I’m not sure what I believe. Sometimes I feel like a Disciple of Christ (not Judas) and other times I feel like a Anthropocentric-Agnostic-Atheistic-Infidel (I just don’t give a damn); It depends on my frame of mind. My Grandfather died recently, we weren’t close, he’s an old man and the family has been expecting his death but it still feels surreal. Almost like we expected his death but were hoping he would outlive the Sun. I think we all have a thing, an idea in the back of our mind that we can somehow live forever or at least for a very-very long time. But these bodies weren’t designed for long term use (Sigh). Guess we just have the make the most of life.

Decision 08

2008-05-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Hi! I’m Nicholas Brown and welcome to the first edition of my web log. I would like to say……let’s get to it. If someone told me a year ago that Barack Obama would catch up and eventually lead Hilary Clinton in the race to stand for president I would have said: “Yeah, then you wake up and find your bed soaked with urine”. In other words I thought it was impossible, a dream, the stuff of movies. But it has happened, the message of change seems to have overcome the I was running the country while Bill was getting his groove on platform. I mean she constantly reiterated that she's the more experienced of the two. Maybe if she had put a bit of distance between Bill and her campaign she would be in a better position, the winning position. People love Bill, that’s an undeniable fact, but I just have a feeling that he would be in charge if Hilary ever got into the oval office. Don’t you get that feeling? He's a very intelligent man, perhaps the smartest President this country has ever had (he’s certainly smarter than the current one). He could probably use his wits to convince a perfectly sane human being to jump off a cliff. No joke. I just don’t trust the man. At the end of it all, when the dust settles, I hope that the most suitable candidate would have won. After all, being President of this great country is an important job and the selection of a candidate should not be based on family history, money, corporate affiliation or rigging voting machines in Florida. Enough said.