Social Conservatism

I discovered The Southern Avenger from the daiylpaul.com site, and it is usually interesting. This one hit a chord with me, and I agree with the premise that too many Republicans sound tough on issues yet turn around and do nothing or act basically the same as Democrats in Washington.

Government debt finance

I am reading Hamilton's Curse by Tom DiLorenzo. It talks about Hamilton's influence on our country and how his policies helped launch the growth of government. I found this passage camparing government debt versus private debt particularly good.

"Politicians, on the other hand, have no personal obligation to pay anyone anything when they vote to spend mor ethan the tax revenues that are available. They are spending other people's money and face little or no consequences if they spend it foolishly."

DiLorenzo goes on to talk how they are often rewarded for this, and this is how we get to trillions of dollars in debt with no end in sight. Go USA!

Chargers win the AFC west

A fun game today saw the Chargers win against the Bengals. The victory, coupled with a Raiders win, clinched the AFC West for the 4th straight year and almost clinch a first round bye in the playoffs.

Speaking of the Raiders, here is a highlight from earlier this year:

Universal Netflix

Why shouldn't the government provide Universal Netflix or Ferrari coverage for me?

Anyways the federal government makes me sick, and the country is in big trouble.

Believing in God

I read something a couple of days ago that made me stop and think. I don't have the exact words, but it goes along the lines ' I don't believe in God, I know God.'

I think this is something Christians need to focus on. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and I don't just believe in him. People of other religions may believe in their god, but Christians have a very different system.

Cure the web of Flash

Flash has to be one of the most common plug-ins for web browsers, and it has led to some extremely annoying things on the web - Animated adds and other crap on websites. For Example, ESPNsoccernet.com has a video player that starts every time you visit the page. This cannot be disabled, and it is annoying.

FlashBlock for Firefox fixes that. It turns flash items off and allows you to turn something on or enable flash for a specific page if you wan that. There is also a program called ClickToFlash for Safari on OS X is similar.

Flash has its place, but not everywhere.

2010 Goals

I have set 2 big goals (there are others) for 2010.
1. Andrea and I want to finish Baby Step 2. We have one student loan to pay off until we are debt free.

2. I want to run 10 Half Marathons that are actual races. After doing the marathon in Long Beach, I figure this will be a different challenge.

Marathon

Last Sunday I ran my first marathon in Long Beach, CA. I thought I had prepared well, so I was pretty confident of myself. I finished just over 4:03, but it was much harder than I imagined it would be. Around mile 16, It hit me that I still had 10 miles to go. Around mile 20 my legs start to feel like lead, and I am pretty sure prayer was the only thing that got me through it. God gave me the strength to endure, and I was happy to finish.

A while back my brother talked me into doing this with him. I spent the better part of 6 months training and preparing my body to do this. It was a lot of work, but I think it was worth it. I would like to see the statistic of how many people can say the have done a marathon. I bet it is less than 2% of Americans.


Runlongbeach.com has all oo the information but here is a screen shot of my results:

World Cup Qulaifying almost done

The last two World Cup Qualifying match days are upon us. The USA has already assured itself of at least the playoff and 2 points are required to guarantee a trip to the World Cup.

The USA is playing Honduras, and it should be a good matchuup. Honduras i undefeated at home this cycle, and they are also look to clinic their tip to South Africa next summer.

The TV situation is disappointing. I will be in Long Beach this weekend, so I should be able to watch the game.

Go USA!

Bloodsport

I caught the better part of Bllodsport on VersusHD tonight. What a fantastic movie! Van Damme does a lot of posing, kicks and slow-mo grunting as he beats up a path of fighters on his way to face Chong Li, the vicious villain and reigning Kumite champion.

When Chong Li throws dust in his eyes, he has to revert back to his blindfolded training as a child. This allows him to win even though he can't see. This also allows him to do even more slow-mo moves and fantastic leaps.

Good times.

Jordan

As a kid , Michael Jordan was basketball. After he retired I have watched only a few games, and those were mostly NBA finals games. I learned from him that a tenacity to win and be the best was a key driver for success. He was the best player, but he played like someone trying to prove he should be on the team.

ESPN made a Top 23 moments

The Conscience of a Liberal

A while back I decided to try to get some viewpoints from a liberal perspective to figure out how they could possibly think the way they do. I got the audiobook of The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman.

Sadly, I only got about 5 minutes into the book before I had to stop. This was only his introductions and I could already knew he was a complete idiot. I will have to try again but I feel I won't have a better experience.

USA Mexico - Rumbo al Mundial

The USA will play Mexico at the infamous Azteza tomorrow. There has been a lot of coverage of this on sites like SBI, Match Fit USA, and others. My prediction 2-1 USA. Of course Mexico will be up for the game, but I give the USA credit here.

It should be fun.

3 Years

Three years ago God gave me Andrea as my wife. We have a wonderful little girl. Life is good.


Life is very different now, but together we have made made the choices that led us to where we are today. I am proud of how we have decided things together and have alwasy been able to come to an agreeement.

Twitter Tracker again

I love these segments.

Confederations Cup first round

The USA beat Egypt today 3-0, and that couple with Italy's 3-0 loss to Brazil sends the USA through to the semifinals. A lot of media seemed to eager to say that a lot of changes need to be made including the US head coach.

I thought some personnel changes were in order, at least taking out Beasley and Dempsey and letting Freddy Adu and/or Francisco Torres play. Bradley ended up replacing Beasley, and it paid off. With their backs to the wall, the States responded playing hard and with passion. I still thought Dempsey was not very effective, especially defensively, but he did fight to get the header for the 3rd goal.

Charlie Davies was a pleasant surprise, and his goal was just sticking with the play as the Egyptian defenders got in their goalies way giving Davies a loose ball on the goal line.

Next up is Spain who is arguably the best team in the world. They have scored 8 goals and conceded 0 in their first 3 games. Check out highlights from the South Africa match to to see an incredible goal by David Villa.

Twitter Tracker segment 2

Makers and Takers

I recently read Makers and Takers by Peter Schweizer that takes on some notions perpetuated by liberals about themselves and conservatives.

One line that I agreed with is "As a liberal in good standing, you can outsource your responsibilities and focus on what's really important - yourself - with nary a twinge of conscience."

The idea is that liberals only need to be concerned about the poor, injustice, and the environment but not actually do anything but vote Democrat. This is more than enough effort. This is humorously described in the book Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander.

"...all of the world's problems can be resolved through "awareness" - meaning the process of making other people aware of problems, magically causing someone else, like the government, to fix it"

This contrasts with conservatives who provide action, and largely try to avoid government intervention help people, believing that government is part of the problem in solving problems.

The book also describes how conservatives are more generous, honest, angry than liberals.

Liberalism - Why?

About a month ago, I asked my wife why anyone would be a Democrat. I just don't get it. I told myself I would look into this by reading books and other things by liberals in an attempt to understand them. I need some ideas. I do have some books in mind, but I need help.

In another note I recently read a funny book called Stuff White People Like. Sadly, I think that discusses most of the points.

My first Half Marathon

I was planning on running a half marathon today with Mikey today, but he was unable to make it. Anyways, I rocked it in 1:42. I almost died at about mile 11, but I recovered decently.

Jim Gaffigan

I just Jim Gaffigan's new comedy special King Baby. Like his other stand up acts, it is very funny.

The only bad part about bacon is that it makes you thristy... for more bacon.

Macgyver - Star Wars mashup

From Gizmodo:

Man Utd and Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final

Man Utd and Barcelona will meet on Wednesday May 27th at 11:45 PM Pacific in what is shaping up to be a great game. Both teams have been leading their domestic leagues and playing great soccer. This will also feature the game's two biggest stars in Christiano Ronald and Leonel Messi. It is likely the winner of this game will be player of the year.

So who will win this game?

Manchester United swept Arsenal aside with two early goals in their 2nd leg game this week, but are in a close battle to stay on top of the EPL. Barcelona have a bit of a lead on Spain, but also have the Copa Del Rey to worry about if they are to have their own Treble.

I will give the edge to Man Utd because of their defense. Vidic and Ferdinand are absolute studs in tbe back, while Barcelona has Marquez out with an injury.

Man Utd also seems to show up in these big games while Barcelona seems a little sloppy. I thought Messi did not play well at all against a stiff Chelsea defense n the semis. These teams also met in last year semis, and Man Utd won 1-0.

Prediction ManUtd 3 - Barcelona 2

Marathon

Last week, I agreed to run a marathon in October. I am wondering if this was insane. Then again, not many people can say they have done this, so that will be cool.

Long Beach should be nice in October.

Nike+ test

I want to find a way to keep this at the top

The widgets should appear on the left side. Lets pray they continually update.

Chelsea-Barcelona semifinal thoughts

So I decide to stay up tonight and watch the 2nd half of Chelsea-Barcelona. WOW.

For the record, I predicted a 1-0 win by Chelsea despite a dominating game by Barcelona.


Messi needs to go to the Anelka/Drogba school of flops
1. Get slightly ahead of opponent
2. Click heels together
3. Flail arms and shake head
4. Fall flat and spin
5. Raise hands in amazement of the no call or quietly get up if call comes.



Barcelona offensively was a mess. They couldn't pass, and their whole game of give and gos was not working. I thought their lack of being able to change tactics would have ended their chances. Messi relies on opponents to watch the ball and lose focus on him to move into attacking positions. Chelsea had none of it, so credit to him on shutting Messi down for 2 games.

Chelsea goal - Sweet volley from Essien
The red card - this was a phantom. The ref must have thought the defender clipped Anelka's legs.
Pique handball - the no call here was a makeup call for the weak red card.
Barcelona goal - Iniesta took Barcelona's only chance of the game. nice shot at 92 minutes.

Chelsea's behavior at the end was pathetic. Take a loss like a man, and don't whine to the refs. That red card gave them a huge advantage and was a terrible call. The no handball late was not a penalty, and they can only blame themselves for not defending better in injury time.


A 1-1 tie saw Barcelona advance on away goals. Incredible

Andrea's segment on Hulu

Andrea's segment is on about 21:40 minutes in.

Update: Hulu lets you set the start and end times, so you can select a clip. Very cool.

Andrea on the Dave Ramsey Show

I captured a clip, and i will try and get a higher quality one up soon.

Update: the video clipped off the begingning part from the DVR and should be better quailty now.

Sounders win again

The Sounders beat the San Jose Earthquakes this weekend 2-0 with the return of Kasey Keller. We have won every game with him playing, and have yet to concede with him playing. That is a good statistic.

Steve Zakuani was a menace on the left wing, and he basically won the game for us. He made mincemeat of the San Jose defense, and basically wore them down. He helped create numerous chances and even scored the opening goal. It is not a coincidence that after his substitution, the Sounders eased off and just killed the game.

One thing I did notice is that Montero and Ljundberg don't seem to be clicking yet. I also noticed Ljundberg's excellent movement off the ball. He was open several time, and Sounders players missed him or were unable to get him the ball. If they can get that right, then our attack will become stronger.

I finally got some tickets, so I will see them when the host Chivas USA in September.

Sounders FC

So the Sounders are 3-0 with 3 shutouts. Basically we are the best team in MLS over the first few weeks, and we look like a very strong side. There have been many stories about the fan passion, and I can't wait to go to some games this summer.

Go Sounders!

Chuck Norris continues to be awesome

I have netflix, and I recently started watching the old Chuck Norris movies including The Octagon, Lone Wold McQuade, Missing in Action, Invasion USA, and The Delta Force. THese are mostly action movies and they are a lot of fun.

I also read his autobiography Against All Odds: My Story and it was actually I good read. I also picked up his book Black Belt Patriotism which is about his conservative political beliefs. We share a lot of beliefs like limited federal government, the right to life and taxation. He also mentioned Dave Ramsey's program and how it can help people.

Also the chucknorrisfacts.com is great.

David Bach doesn't get it either

I picked up Fight For Your Money by David Bach from the Library to see what he has to say. Sadly his financial advice has gotten worse over time. Another book he wrote, the Automatic Millionaire, had good information and some advice.

Sad.

Suze Orman still doesn't get it.

Suze Orman has a new book called 2009 Action Plan. I listened to the first part of the audio version and wasn't surprised when her "action plan" consisted of learning how to maintain your FICO score.

To her credit, she outline the whole process of bad mortgages and greedy/stupid borrowers, lenders, and investors got into this mess. She even talked at length about how leverage broke everything.

So why does she insist on telling people to maintain their FICO score by keeping credit balances low? Maybe consumer debt got us into this mess. Maybe she sells FICO score kits.

Divorce

I recently found out some good friends are divorcing after only 2 years of marriage. We don't live in the same place as them since we moved in the summer of 2007, so I don't know the whole story yet.

What I do know is that our culture teaches this:
a. FIND the right person.
b. FALL in love.
c. FIX your hopes and
dreams on this person for
your future fulfillment.
d. If FAILURE occurs repeat
steps 1, 2, & 3.

While it should be teaching this:
a. BECOME the right person.
b. WALK in love.
c. FIX your hope on God and
seek to please Him through
this relationship.
d. If FAILURE occurs repeat
steps 1, 2, 3.

This was from a sermon last summer at my church.

I was shocked when I heard the news, and it made me very sad. Then an interesting thing happened. I was angry at my friend for not talking to me about the situation. I thought I should have been someone he could come to for counsel. That is gone now, and I am praying for them

Paul Scholes

I became a fan of Manchester United during my senior year of high school after they won the treble in 2000. One player who I have been a huge fan since then is Paul Scholes. His specialty is the long rang blast and he has had few in his outstanding career.

Some of his goals



More:


And last years winner in the UEFA Champions League semifinal against Barcelona

Proverbs 31:10

Proverbs 31:10
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

I was reviewing some notes for FPU, and I read this verse again.

I love the book of Proverbs, and this seems right to me.

24 is back and good

In honor of season 7 of 24. Here is Jack Bauer and co. from 1994.



Season 7 started off slowly for 24, but I think it will be good. The last few years they have tried to start off strong, but they faded down the stretch. I also like the change from LA to DC.

Why do bad guys always get shot/blown up/poisoned or otherwise killed just before they reveal vital information? If his conspirators are going to kill them because they are talking to the good guys, why don't they kill him sooner? Maybe they appreciate the dramatic effect.


When did Tony learn how to fight...almost.

Mikey to WA #2

Intel has a big office in Dupont, WA which is just south of Tacoma and just north of Olympia.

That i pretty sweet.

iTunes vs Amazon MP3

My first ever blog post was about the iPod shuffle I bought and some thought about iTunes. I refued then (and continued) to buy music that had DRM. With no way to do this in iTunes, I used bittorrent to illegitimately acquire music.

Last year Amazon.com started an mp3 store with DRM free. From then on, they have been my choise to acquire music. It's not like I get a lot of music, I have 20 songs from them, some free, from amazon mp3 in about a year since I discovered it.

At Macworld 2009, Apple announce that iTunes would be expanding their DRM free iTunes+ program to eventually have their entire collection available DRM free.

I think I will start using iTunes as my primary source with Amazon as a backup. Exciting times for music fans.