The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You

Here is one fresh of the press:

https://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagnews/release.php?id=4020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2012 www.texasattorneygeneral.gov	CONTACT Press Office at (512) 463-2050
Houston-Based TaxMasters and Founder Patrick Cox Ordered to Pay Over $195 Million For Defrauding Customers in Texas and Nationwide
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott released the following statement after a Travis County jury returned a $195 million verdict against Houston-based TaxMasters, Inc., its predecessor companies and its founder and chief executive officer, Patrick Cox, for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act: “Today’s decision marks a significant victory for the Texans and TaxMasters customers nationwide who sought help from TaxMasters with their income tax debts and were taken advantage of in the midst of a national economic downturn. While the TaxMasters CEO made hollow promises about fighting for taxpayers and their pocketbooks in television ads, the evidence proved that the firm didn’t even bother to show up when it came time to fulfill those promises, but instead misled and defrauded their customers.” In an apparent effort to avoid the State’s enforcement action, TaxMasters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just one day before the jury trial was set to begin. Citing the firm’s bankruptcy petition, TaxMasters CEO Patrick Cox sought to delay the trial, but his request was denied and the trial proceeded as planned. After an eight-day trial, the jury found that TaxMasters, its predecessor companies and Patrick Cox committed over 110,000 violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and ordered the defendants to pay a total of over $195 million. Of that, over $113 million is restitution for fees TaxMasters’ customers paid to the firm, and $81 million was further awarded in civil penalties. Breakdown of the verdict • Consumer restitution: $113,099,820 • Civil penalties: $81,205,000 • Attorney fees: $1,045,998 • Number of Violations: 110,383 Facts of the case • The State’s enforcement action against TaxMasters, Inc. was filed in May 2010. • According to the State’s enforcement action, the so-called “tax resolution” firm misled Texans by aggressively advertising its services to federal taxpayers who have received notice from the IRS of an audit, garnishment, lien, levy or tax deficiency. • TaxMasters misled customers about their service contract terms, failed to disclose its no-refunds policy, and falsely claimed that the firm’s employees would immediately begin work on a case – despite the fact that TaxMasters did not actually start to work on a case until its customers paid in-full for services, even if that delayed response meant taxpayers missed significant IRS deadlines. • TaxMasters also failed to contact and consult with the IRS on the client’s behalf, appear on the client’s behalf at an IRS audit or hearing or postpone or stop a wage or bank account garnishment or stop a levy or lien against a client’s property. • From 2005 to 2012, the Texas Attorney General’s Office received 891 consumer complaints against TaxMasters. • The case was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Nanette DiNunzio, Bruce Griffiths and Jennifer Roscetti. The trial team also consisted of legal assistants Pam Yediares and Pauline Sisson. NOTE: The Texas Attorney General’s Office will actively participate in the bankruptcy case to seek to recover restitution for customers.

 

universal devide

If what the pundits are correct and it turns out to be a vote along party lines, then that, in my opinion, is a bad thing for the court itself.  The Chief Justice has tried to avoid these types of rulings because he knows it is a bad thing to openly clarify the ideological devide in the form of a 5/4 ruling along party lines.  Whichever way the ruling goes, it will be best for the the court and the county if it by more than the minimum majority either way.   I was surprised that the attorney arguing in favor of Obamacare didn't use the example of citizens being forced to buy automobile insurance.  Of course that is being done by the states but it still seems like an example that would be a better fit than the burial insurance, brocoli, or cell phone examples they discussed.  It is always a bad sign when judges try to oversimplify an issue into something that it isn't and I don't think the president's guy did such a good job in coming up with common sense answers and examples.  His biggest hurdle seems to come down to convincing the court that it is in fact constitutional for the federal government to force citizens to purchase insurance.

I also agree that the questions asked during the oral presentation are not a reliable indicator of how the court will rule.  When it comes down to it, just as Clarence Thomas has previously said, the court relies mostly on the written briefs.  The bottom line now is that we will find out in the summer when the ruling is issued.

Day 2

Here is the audio for today's oral arguments:

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/27/149465820/transcript-supreme-court-the-health-care-law-and-the-individual-mandate

partisan evaluation

Here is a link to the top story from today's news:

The Supreme Court is deeply split on ideological and political grounds, with the five conservative Republican-appointed justices often in the majority: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.


Here is what Reuters News service says about the political leanings and predictablility of the individual Justices:


"...The Supreme Court is deeply split on ideological and political grounds, with the five conservative Republican-appointed justices often in the majority: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
The four liberal Democratic appointees are Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
A looming point of interest for the 400 spectators who will crowd into the courtroom on Tuesday is whether that 5-4 division becomes evident or appears to splinter.
All four liberals are likely, based on their past decisions and statements, to vote to uphold the law. If that occurs, they would need only one of the conservatives for a majority. An American Bar Association legal group survey of academics and lawyers found that 85 percent thought the law would be upheld.
Among the justices most likely to become swing votes in the dispute are Roberts, a 2005 appointee of President George W. Bush. Roberts has often deferred to Congress in rulings and has signaled an interest in avoiding a deeply divided ruling.
Another conservative justice who could defy political-based assumptions is Anthony Kennedy, a 1988 appointee of President Ronald Reagan. Kennedy has straddled the middle and has most often been the swing vote when the liberals prevailed.
Based on his opinions, Justice Clarence Thomas is most likely to vote to strike down the law. Scalia and Alito cannot be as easily predicted as Thomas..."

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States of America

Click here to hear audio of the proceedings from today:

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/26/149401430/transcript-supreme-court-the-health-care-overhaul-law-and-the-anti-injunction-ac


Amazing stuff. 

The text is also there so you can either read it or listen to it. 

SCOTUS

The Supreme Court is in the news today:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577305362846327828.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

They are going to hear arguments on "Obamacare" and rule on its constitutionality. I have mixed feelings on government healthcare. I do feel like that as a country that had the resources to invade & occupy Iraq & Afghanistan and to send out billions in foriegn aid, we should have a responsibility to provide basic needs for our own citizens. Our country was founded on based at least partly on Puritan principles and taking care of the poor is about as basic as it gets when it comes to the golden rule. However, I do not like the type of service I get when I go to the Post Office and I can only imagine what Governement Healthcare could evolve into.

There is no question that partisanship has take a front seat to patriotism here lately but I see more of that in the Executive and Legislative brances. According to the constitution Congress is in charge of spending money. The president cannot spend a dime (in theory) without Congressional authorization. When I hear members of Congress attacking the president about his budget, I always wonder why they are not attacking thier own branch of government since Congress actually has to sign the checks.

I know there is some ideological differences between the members of the court but I am comfortable with that and have generally felt good about how the Justices have been conducting thier business and have full confidence they will issue a decision that is based on the law. I am not convinced that it will be purely non-partisan but I have made a decision in advance to respect thier ruling, whichever way it goes.

effect & cause

Bobby D

Bonus video

But wait.  Order now and receive this bonus vidoe at absolutely no (current) charge.

sixteen saltines

Check the video of our favorite rock and roll hero.

There is no charge to view the video but please keep in mind that at some point in the future we might ask a favor from you.  Of course when the boss asks a favor, well you know.   Please enjoy the video.

Time Travel has not happened even in the future

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17364682


You can read the whole article by clicking the link above but here is the synopsis provided at the beginning of the story:

An experiment to repeat a test of the speed of subatomic particles known as neutrinos has found that they do not travel faster than light.


Here is a bit of background provided in the article itself:

...Results announced in September suggested that neutrinos can exceed light speed, but were met with scepticism as that would upend Einstein's theory of relativity.

A test run by a different group at the same laboratory has now clocked them travelling at precisely light speed...


Or you could read my posts here where I have already gone on record to make it official that we here at the one man web log never had any doubt whatsover.

Pump and Dump alert from "Penny Stock Research"

Below is somthing I saw on the Internet today on a website that issues advice on penny stocks. 




http://www.pennystockresearch.com/nsrs-gpls-taxs-pump-and-dump-alerts-january-27-2012/


NSRS, GPLS, TAXS – Pump And Dump Alerts – January 27, 2012


By: Brian Walker - January 27, 2012
Filed in: Pump & Dump Alerts

This week we’re exposing these three popular Pump & Dumps: North Springs Resources (NSRS), Geopulse Explorations (GPLS), and TaxMasters (TAXS).
That said, welcome to Pump and Dump Friday, where every week we highlight a few of the “bogus” promotions that are going on in penny stocks.
If you don’t know how these scams work, be sure to check out this free report that exposes the whole thing.
Now without further ado, here are this week’s disasters waiting to happen:

TaxMasters (TAXS)

You’ve got to love a company dedicated to fighting the greedy, over-reaching hand of the IRS. I’m already feeling the ink being sucked from my checkbook as tax season nears.
If you were to believe Research Driven Investors, you’d think TAXS was the greatest company ever. Considering the pumper was paid over $50,000 to promote shares of TaxMasters, they’d better make you love TAXS.
Well, I like TaxMasters IRS-fighting concept, but I’m not a fan of how TAXS is handling their own finances….
In November of last year, TAXS announced their previous financial reports dating back to 2009 shouldn’t be relied upon. Call me crazy, but it’s not very reassuring when a “tax fighting” company can’t even keep their own books straight!
The info page 2 of their November 28th 8-K speaks for itself…

“… as amended on September 16, 2011, the registrant’s board of directors concluded that the previously issued financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and 2010, for the first, second and third quarters of 2010 and the first quarter 2011 should no longer be relied upon. Additional information concerning these financial statements has been developed…”

That’s some scary stuff… you never know the end result in matters like this.
However, after digging deeper, I found the reason behind the misstated earnings. It has to do with issuance of restricted shares that took place in 2010 as part of compensation for public relations.
Back then, TAXS retained their own independent valuation firm to value these restricted shares. And initially, the firm said the four million restricted shares were worth $356,014. But as it turns out, the shares were closer in value to $2.5 million!
Can you say ooops?
I don’t know what’s really going on over there at TaxMasters, but I’d steer clear of any company with restated financials. No matter the outcome, there are always better places you can invest!

 

How many times?

You can read back in my other posts and see that I have already clearly stated that time travel is not possible:

MarcTwyman.Blogspot.comSaying how it is on time travel


Below is an update from today's news:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/us-physics-neutrinos-cable-idUSTRE81L2B820120223

By Robert Evans and Julie Steenhuysen

GENEVA/CHICAGO | Wed Feb 22, 2012 9:06pm EST
GENEVA/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The world of science was upended last year when an experiment appeared to show one of Einstein's fundamental theories was wrong - but now the lab behind it says the result could have been caused by a loose cable.

Can click the link to read the rest of the story. 
  

God Bless America

This is my new favorite video.   It doesn't get any better.

Big News: Jack White to release solo album

Jack White is going to release a solo album.  Here a song from it here:   Hear "Love Interuption"

(you have to click the "Play" arrow near the top of the page)



There is no question that the album is going to be good.  It is afterall Jack White his ownself.

JK Harris In Liquidation

Seems like the pennies on the dollar settlement once promised by JK Harris have come full circle:

http://www.loansafe.org/jk-harris-in-liquidation
JK Harris and Co., at one point a nationwide firm offering to settle people’s tax debts for pennies on the dollar, came to a humble end in a Charleston courtroom Tuesday.
Dogged by consumer complaints and large legal settlements, deeply in debt and unable to find a way out, the Goose Creek-based company’s proposed bankruptcy restructuring was converted to a liquidation. A trustee has been assigned to scrounge up what assets she can find to repay creditors.
Many creditors, including consumers who are collectively owed millions from settlements of claims that the company misled them, will get nothing.

Who's Next?

Video of the week - Betcha can't do this

"Oops"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57321982-503544/rick-perry-fails-to-remember-what-agency-hed-get-rid-of-in-gop-debate/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

If you have not seen it yet, click on the link above to see Rick Perry self destruct during the debate earlier today. 

La Quinta Daytona

Above are pictures from the La Quinta at Daytona.  It was originally another hotel/motel that is about 30 years old and was purchased by the current owner who got a La Quinta Franchise so it is not completley similar to most La Quintas as far as facilities.   It has the mexican clay roof, good sized rooms, a heated pool, and a great view of the ocean. 

Gopher Tortoise

Above is a picture of a Gopher Tortoise taken at Ponce Inlet which is about 9 miles or so north of Daytona.   They have a nice park there with a pier, a beach, and we also saw some dolphins in the inlet.  The turtle was eating lunch and not too concerned about much else.

Atlantic

Above is a picture I took looking straight out into the Atlantic on Daytona Beach.   There was a good breeze but the air was envigorating.   The ocean produces some good breathing air and I was really feeling it here. 

Venice Florida

I don't know if I took any pictures at Venice.  Maybe I have some I took with my phone.  I will add them later if I find them.   We spend a couple of days at Venice and it was very nice.  Again the weather was just about perfect and the beach was great.  It is a little farther south so we were able to take a dip in the ocean.   It couldn't have been more relaxing.  Whenever it got a little warm, I would just plunk in the ocean for a little bit and splash around.   We had to walk a little bit to get to a quieter section of the beach but we still ended up chatting with several really nice folks who strolled by.  Everybody seemed to be high on the fresh air.  On the way back from the beach one  day, we stopped to pick up a sandwich at the KT deli at 454 E. Venice Ave.  When I went in I met Toan, the owner and his wife who's name I don't remember but she had a very cute personality.  Toan did most of the talking but his wife would smile and also make comments that didn't agree 100% with Toan.  Toan offered me some home made eggrolls to sample and I asked him what else he recommended.  I ended up getting a french vietnamese sandwich and some eggrolls.  This is the place to grab a sandwich in Venice.  He told me he recently updated the menu to include homemade eggrolls and other vietnamese choices but a lady who was in there getting lunch told me that the Cuban press sandwiches were good also.   Toan also told me where to get the best vietnamese buffet food here in Houston at our local chinatown.   I am going to check it out and will update the blog when I do.

Roses are red, the sky is blue...

Above is a picture from when I was sitting at the campsite one day at O'Leno.   I was sitting there relaxing and the sky really looked blue and beautiful so I clicked a picture of it.   This was perfect weather for camping.  No misquitos or humidity.  A little too cool in the evening but we had a fire so it was about as good as it gets.

Destin Florida & Grayton Beach State Park

We stayed one night at Grayton Beach State Park.  When I looked online at the specific picture of the campsite that I reserved also online, it looked very private because it appeared to be fenced in by vegitation and trees.   However, when we arrived, there was a campsite directly behind it that bordered the back of our site.  There was a clear view if thier RV which was facing us, a fire burning, and also a loud radio playing Southern Rock.   I have no problem with Nascar and Nascar fans.  I enjoy a good Nascar race myself.  Still,  A nascar party was not what I imagined when I booked this campsite.  We went to the forest ranger and the moved us to another site but it was till pretty close to the nieghbors.  Also there were trails all around our campsite that lead to the the restroom shower area so people were walking by at all times of the night with flashlights.  There was also a neigbor who treated us to several hours of classic rock.  We could clearly hear the conversations from two of the nearby campsites.  Grayton Beach Park is a nice place as far as the beach and park area but the camping experience is more of a place to stay or somewhere you would want to have an RV.  Not good for tent camping.    In the middle of the night I was dreaming along and I woke up into a sleepy haze hearing animals walking around our tent and then thrashing around on our picnic table.  I thought I had put all food items in the car's trunk but I left a lunchbox and a can of nuts out.  As I looked out the window, it looked like there were two bears trying to claw my lunch box open.  I was half asleep and I was thinking to myself, "are there black bears in florida?".   Then I woke up a little bit and realized that it was two very large and fat racoons who must have gotten that way by eating well from what they stole from campsites.   I shined a flashlight at them and they marauded off to pillage the next campsite.


The next day we cut this particular venture short went over to Destin and checked in to a Motel 6.  It was as sparse as most motel 6's but this one had a kitchenette and the room was actually pretty large compared to any Motel 6 room I had seen before.

Below are a couple of photos I took when we were eating lunch under a public Gazebo.   I should have clicked a few more but I was busy enjoying the really beautiful beach.   It was perfect weather.   This part of our trip was actually the day before we camped O'Leno which I have already posted pictures of in the previous post.

National Lampoon Vacation

Above is a picture of our outdoor hotel for our recent visit to O'Leno State Park in Florida.   Florida has a great state park system.  Very well organized and all facilies are well maintained.   The campsites are set up for RV and also Tent with some being tent only.   Most have electrical and water at each individual site.

O'Leno has an interesting history.   Originally it was a town called "Keno" after the gambling game but back in the 1800s  it was change to "Leno" because of pressure from religious elements and also business people that didn't want to offend anybody.   Then when the railroad was built,  it passed by Leno and it became a ghost town.  Later on in the 1930s, the forestry department made a state forest out of it and it was referred to as "Old Leno" and is now called O'leno.   Within  the boundaries of the park, the Santa Fe River goes underground and resurfaces down the line.  They have an amazing system of hiking trails and I took a few pictures which are posted below:

Above you can see some of the palm tree type shrubs that are all over the are and concentrated in this particular area where I snapped th photo.  I imagine that there was some clearing done and the palm shrubs took over. 

Below is a picture of a suspension bridge build back in the 30s:

If you are ever in northern central florida I would highly recommend a visit to this park.  Camping is $18 and a day visit is $5 per car.  They have hiking and biking trails as well as plenty of fishing and also swimming area.   Be careful not to swim in the wrong place or you might come across a gator. For more info, check out the Florida State Parks web site which is very good.

big easy

The French Quarter is alive and well.   Below are a couple of pictures I took during a recent daytime visit.   It was a good time which was made even better by the guy who works the door and seats people at the Royal Cafe.  We were walking by about 11 am and he was hawking the passerby's with an invitation to eat blackened chicken, shrimp creole, etc and he also hawked out that our dog was welcome.  We had a dog stroller and thought it was funny.  When  we got hungry we decided to take him up on the invitation.  The guy loves his job.  He made sure we felt right at home and sat us at a table with an open air street side view where we could watch the goings on and interesting people.  No matter what you look like or how you dress, you will not feel out of place at the French Quarter.  Give em a visit and enjoy yourself while supporting some great culture.

R

Time for a Party

I think it is great that people have the opportunity to voice thier opinions and participate in peaceful protests.   However, I do think it is a good idea to know exactly what it is that you are protesting about.   In the "Occupy Wall Street" movement the participants are saying that they are fed up but it isn't really clear what they want "Wall Street" to do.   Are they wanting to shut down the stock market and the banking system and possibly bring in a new group of capitolists who are not driven by greed?   It just doesn't work that way. 

The problem is that if they got rid of every member of "Wall Street", there are plenty more who will come in and do whatever it is they can get away with.  AIG, Enron, and every other type of scandal or fraud will repeat itself as long as people can get away with it.  That is just the nature of people. 

The solution isn't to ask the players to start playing nice.  The answer is in the officiating.  Washington, and the state legislatures, should be the primary focus.  As long as people put up with a system where elected officials can be paid off without concequence, then they will continue to get the kickbacks.  People do need to take to the streets.  Particularly on Tuesday in early November.   We need to elect representatives who are not part of the current two party system because it is broken. 

The time is right for a real third party that is not just the extremists from an existing party like the "Tea Party".   Thier answer is to "revolt"  and be hard core Republicans.   We need a true "Tea Party", one that doesn't just hi-jack the name but actually represents something different which is honest representation.  It is time that American Citizens have more representation than multi-national corporations.

Basically, it is time for America to be America.

Einstein & Twyman: "I done told you so already"

A few weeks back it was reported in the news that scientists had clocked nutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light.   This is a finding that would imply that time travel was theoretically possible and was also at odds with the theory of relativity according to our boy Albert Einstien.  Now it comes out that they likely did not account for the rotation of the earth (relativity) and the movement of the tracking device in relation to the earth.

I have already explained here on the one man web log that time travel is not possible and will never happen.  If it was ever going to happen, it would have already happened in the future and we would know about it here in the past which is at this precise moment the present.

Albert explained it as follows:   E=MC2

I explained it here on the one man web log a few months back: http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2011/07/science-cathes-up-to-one-man-web-log.html

Read more about it here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394747,00.asp#fbid=OA9BZlZhNOI

Taxmasters - News story from the internet today

(picture from ABC news story referenced below)

http://goingconcern.com/2011/10/will-jk-harris-and-taxmasters-join-the-tax-lady-in-the-late-night-tax-problem-solver-body-count/


Below is an op-ed from the above link:


Will JK Harris and TaxMasters Join the Tax Lady in the Late-Night-Tax-Problem-Solver Body Count? By Joe Kristan

 

“Pennies on the dollar” may be a great pitch on cable television, but it’s not a surefire business plan. Desperate taxpayers who have paid money up front to JK Harris to resolve their tax debts at a discount are joining the IRS as potential “pennies on the dollar” creditors now that this leader in the tax settlement industry is filing for bankruptcy protection.
This is the second major blow this year to cable TV ad revenues. Earlier this year “Tax Lady” Roni Deutch gave up her law license in the face of charges that she took fees up front to resolve tax debts and failed to follow through.
Tax nerds see the late night ads when we get home and wonder how these outfits manage to get such great deals out of the IRS when getting the Service to actually forgive tax debts is like pulling teeth from a grumpy rhino for the rest of us.

TaxMasters now stands as the biggest remaining player in the TV tax settlement business, but they have their own problems. They were de-listed last month from the OTC Bulletin Board to the pink sheets for failing to file their 10-Q due August 15. The last reported trade for Taxs.pk is at 13 cents. They have also been sued by the Minnesota Attorney General for allegedly deceptive practices. ABC News reported on the suit:

The Minnesota attorney general says many of the company’s employees are skilled tele-marketers who have little knowledge of the complicated tax issues faced by people who have fallen behind in filing their returns or making tax payments. “When you call, you think you’re talking to a tax professional,” said Swanson. “You’re really talking to just a salesperson who’s trying to get you to sign up.”

So maybe the secret is that the late night settlement outfits are staffed by telemarketers who just happen to be awesome at selling pennies-on-the-dollar deals to the IRS. If that’s true, though, they seem to be having a lot of trouble turning what would truly be a remarkable and valuable skill into profits.

Texas Toast

Here in Texas, our boy Rick Perry decided that he was going to save the country.   Lucky for the rest of the country they are not as embedded in political ideology as rural Texans.   Little things like kickbacks and extreme opinions kind of get in the way when it comes to getting elected at the big time level. 

The truth is that in Texas the lieutenant governor actually more important when it comes to legislation. 

The problem with Perry is that he wants to continue a "war on science" by teaching sunday school in science class.   I don't have a problem with global warming skeptics that are scientists.  However when a pure ideolog oposes the concept of global warming just because he is supposed to, that is like attacking Christopher Columbus because the earth is not flat.  

The bottom line is that Rick Perry is a phoney.   Anybody who supports him is willfully ignorant.

Texas had many great things to offer and Rick is just not one of them.

and then there was one

There used to be 4 major players in the "Tax Resolution" business.

First it was American Tax Relief -  shut down by the FTC

Then it was Roni Lynn Deutch  -  finished off by the state of California

and now JK Harris is filing bankruptcy to get out of hot water:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/oct/07/jk-harris-to-file-for-bankruptcy/

There definitely seems to be more to the story but either way,  karma is a bitch.

Little Woman So Sweet

Hey You!

I just posted a video on Youtube if you wanna see it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MarcTwyman#p/u/0/2LQrp_t6480


It is me playing a Blind Boy Fuller Tune on acoustic guitar.

night night

What now?

This guy is done.

brother can you spare a dime?

Well it looks like the politicians just wasted some more of our money. S&P Just downgraded the USA to less thatn a AAA credit rating for the first time ever and in doing so they cited political brinksmanship that made the risk unpredictable. If the elected officials had not put thier party and ideology before country, we could have saved some money. The Tea Party happened a long time ago and it should be off limits for anyone to use it as a title for thier organization just like it is telling when someone claims to have God on thier side or hi-jack the American Flag.


So from the One Man Web log to all the ideologs: Up Yours!

Fear and Cowardice

I was watching a movie online just now, one of the hanibal lector ones called Red Dragon. It struck me when Hanibal told the young retired detective that he had fear but was not a coward.

It made me think. Most poeple may have already thought about it but it isn't possible to be brave if there is no fear. Bravery, or the lack of cowardice, is only applicable if there is an element of fear. The reason our founding fathers were so great is because they were facing a situation where they would have been crazy not to have fear at some level. They stood up to the English powers and if the revolution failed, they would have surely been shot or hanged.

The latest fiasco from our current round of elected representatives was in my opinion cowardly. Nobody wanted to step away from worrying about what their particular group of supporters would think and they all just behaved predictably. Sickening stuff.

OK, it is now back to the movie.

Nanu Nunu

Science Cathes up to One Man Web Log

OK, Here is a story from todays news:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/25/time-travel-is-impossible-scientists-say/

The headline is "Time Travel is Impossible, Scientists Say"

And here is a quote from the story:

By proving that even a single photon must obey Einstein's theory that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, Hong Kong physicists believe they have debunked the idea of time travel once and for all.

A Hong Kong University of Science and Technology research team led by Du Shengwang said they had proved that a single photon, or unit of light, "obeys the traffic law of the universe."

"Einstein claimed that the speed of light was the traffic law of the universe or in simple language, nothing can travel faster than light," the university said on its website.

"Professor Du's study demonstrates that a single photon, the fundamental quanta of light, also obeys the traffic law of the universe just like classical EM (electromagnetic) waves."


Now here are some quotes from One Man Web Log entries that pre-date the "scientific breakthrough" :

http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-hawk-or-not-to-hawk.html
I can't go into it with mathematical equations but I don't think warp speed is physically plauseable.

http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2010/05/scientific-breaktrhrough.html
I was driving through the U-Turn at Gessner and Katy Freeway and maybe it was the G-force of approximatley 1.009 Gs that gave me the proper frame of mind to come to the indisputable conclusion that time travel will never be possible. No matter how advanced human technology advances it will never happen...

http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/2011/01/time-and-space-travel.html
As far as time travel goes a trip down "memory lane" is about as real as it is going to get. At least considering the parameters of the physical universe as we know it.

Is the Chili good here?

The other day we went to Chili's and I decided to try the chili. I asked the waiter if it was good and he kind of laughed but he said it was. I thought it was OK and I figure that it is a good represention of what it is supposed to be which is a Terlingua style chile. However, It is a little bit more chili tasting that I prefer. Not necessarily too spicey but too much of a chili (chili powder) taste which I understand would be correct as far a what folks would expect.

Last night I decided to make a batch in the crockpot my ownself. I used about a half a bag or so of red beans (dried), a couple of cans of diced tomatoes, a can of chili paste, a container of sodium free free range chicken broth, about 6 or 7 fresh jalapino peppers (seeds removed), a good amount of ground turkey meat, a couple of good sized white onions, a bell pepper, about a half a batch of celantro (chopped) and a bout 8 celery stalks chopped. I also added a good bit of chili powder, some garlic powder, some onion powder, some Mrs Dash, a little black pepper & I think that was about it. I rinsed off the read beans added all the ingredients. I cooked the turkey meat with some chopped onion in a large skillet and then added it also. I let it cook on the lower of the two crock pot settings and I tasted it this morning and added a little bit more chili powder. I was thinking about cheating a little bit and adding some Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce but I decided against it. It came out pretty good. It isn't the purist's chili but it is something I can eat for several days in row and not get overpowered. I had some tonight with som brown rice and it tasted pretty good. If a person wanted to get really serious about it, they could add some of the peppers in stages but it has just enough kick for me but more importantly a good flavor. To me it is just hard to go wrong with a crock pot. You just throw a bunch of stuff in there and about 8 hours later, it ususally tastses pretty good.

Casey Anthony

I sympathize with the jury because they had to find that beyond a reasonable doubt that the mom killed the kid. The prosecution did not have an official cause of death and without that it is hard to convict someone of murder. As far as I am concerned, if the public is going to be mad about the results, they should be mad at the prosecution for going forward with a case without enough evidence to convict. They should have either waited until they had the evidence needed for the murder conviction or they should have charged her with a different crime. Maybe endangerment of a child or child abuse. Florida seems to have a history of going after people without proper evidence. Janet Reno did it and got famous in the process. It turned out she was creating evidence through hypnosis that did not stand the test of time.

The "Tax Lady" is done

Check out this video of Roni Lynn Deutch apparantly blaming the state bar of California for the mess she is in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmajIcRShL8


Yesterday she plead "not guilty" to contempt of court:

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=18579082&postID=5831369971147613124


American Tax Relief, Another of the 4 major players among the "Tax Resolution" companies, was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/1023083/101109atrpi.pdf


It was a state attorney general lawsuit that was the first domino in bringing down Roni Lynn Deutch and just last month the State of Tennessee won its case against another of the 4 major players in the "industry", JK Harris. This is was not the only state level AG action that has focused on JK Harris.

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/233089-tennessee-wins-case-against-jk-harris

The Solution?

The country is in deep do do financially and the legislative answer from both sides seems to be a nice pork sandwich. I am thinking maybe we should be having a salad. Or maybe a nice healthy bowl of soup.

There was a deal

There is no question that there was some sort of deal. Osama was holed up in a mansion not far from Islamabad. No way that the Pakistani intel folks were not clued in. They have been playing both sides all along.

Either way. It is a great moment for America.

Tauelangi Angilau

We just got back from our two-day Galveston mini-vacation. We stayed at the LaQuinta on East Beach and Kathy, the manager who works nights, took great care of us. We got a good deal on a suite so we had plenty of room and an ocean view. Luckily for us, weekdays are still not booking up like they will be once things heat up a litttle but overall Galveston looks like it has come back pretty well. As far as the Seawall, Murdocks was the only place to rebuild over the water. The fairly new Hooters restaruant was washed away and never returned and of course the Balinese is still gone also. One thing that struck me when driving down Seawall Blvd. after dark is that too many of the street lights are out and also they need a little more lighting along the sidewalk. Even if just for a several blocks or so just to create a little better place to take a stroll in the evenings.

I brought my laptop along so I felt like I had jettisoned into the current century when I was able to look at Denny's Menu online to call in my order one morning. Of course Denny's was close enough to see from our window but it was still convenient. I guess most places offer free wi-fi but it was something I had never taken advantage of before. LaQuinta does provide a breakfast with choices of Belgian Waffles from the waffle machines, orange juice, coffee, yogurts, cold and hot cerials, as well as a selection of muffins and also bread that could be toasted.

We spent about a half a day at the beach just relaxing. I set up a couple of umbrellas and a pen for my dogs so we were pretty well prepared. There was a bit of a cool breeze but the water was actually comfortably warm. That reminds me; I still need to wash and vacuum the car.

A bit of sad news also. Hurricane Ike claimed one more victim during our stay in Galveston. A 65 year old man from Utah named Tauelangi Angilau was killed during the demolition of the Flagship Hotel which was damaged by the water and waves during the storm.

The Blues

The internet is funny sometimes. Here is the wording of a link that got fabricated and displayed in a banner add based on my browsing activity: "The Blues - Symptoms, causes, treatments of The Blues" Then it gave the web address to a medical site of some sort. I guess Comander Data could have answered this one a long time ago if someone had bothered to ask him. Now that IBM has "Winston", we can defer other age old questions to him. I think I like it better when there is still a little bit of mystery but what can you do?

The Real Deal; Mr Quinn Sullivan

This kid is a real guitar player at any age. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4xVkTr01l0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewm_7mzfZi0&feature=related

Civil War

You know, if you think about it, the Civil War really wasn't all that long ago. Crazy stuff. What a terrible time to be a soldier living in America. They have been running a series on PBS for the last several nights and I have caught bits and pieces of it. It really souded like Lincoln was a great leader and a great human being. Sad he got killed by an idiot but he got the important stuff done. Hopefully, looking back on it, he would have been satisfied with his contribution to humanity. The other obvious thing that struck me is how good a General Robert E. Lee was. In terms of American values, he was fighting for what I consider to be the less than the best cause, but back then, in the minds of the Southerners, I am sure they rationalized it was more about states' rights.

Police search home of actor Charlie Sheen

(Reuters) - Police searched the home of Charlie Sheen on Thursday looking for firearms that would have violated a court order against him, but they found only bullets and an antique rifle, a lawyer for the actor said.

Thats right, the link doesn't work. There is enough Charlie News out there that I don't need to be a supplier.

I know he has put himself out there but even if he has, I don't know if it means he has to give up his rights. Maybe they would have searched his house even if he hadn't been so public with all his rants and such. Still, I can't help but wonder.

Somebody call the ACLU.

Two great tastes that go...

=




PLUS

Well, Not exactly.

But I did see a guy on TV cooking apples the other day so I decided to try it myself.

I cut up an apple and cooked it in a little bit of cooking oil and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on it. Then I realized I needed some sort of pastry to go with it so I got a couple of of those half cooked flour torillas they sell at the store and cooked them in the same pan I had used for the apples. I sprinkled cinammon and sugar on them also and then made some apple cinnamon tacos.

I have noticed before that if you put a little bit of butter on a flour tortilla and cook it, but not too much, it gets kind of a sweet taste. The cinnamon apple tacos actually tasted pretty good.

corny southwestern update

The stew/soup crockpot concoction/recipe from the last post turned out pretty good.

I had put enough chili powder to enhance the "southwestern" style zing that I like but not so much to overpower everything.

I was also glad that I didn't use the whole bag of 15 variety beans.

The only thing I addded was a can of corn after it was cooked and that seemed to help the texture and fit the recipe just right. One other thing that might work is some finely chopped raw onions added when it is served but I haven't tried that.

a total crock

Today I decided to use the crock pot to cook some beans and chicken.

Here is what I put in there.

Half of a bag of Hursts 15 Bean soup mix (it is a bag of beans with a flavor packet. I didn't use the flavor packet.

3 Chicken Breasts cut up

3 peices of bacon cooked in the microwave first between paper towels and then cut up

3 carrots cut up

3 or 4 celery stalks cut up

one and a half onions chopped

2 Jalapino peepers without the seeds

1 Bell pepper chopped

2 potatoes cut up

1 can of diced tomatoes unsalted

A good few shakes of Garlic Powdr

some onion powder

Several good shakes of Chili powder

a few good sprinkels of Mrs Dash

Oh Yeah, You gotta put some water in there also.

Thats all I can remember. I put it on about 3 hours ago. It already smells good but I know it is going to take a while for all the beans to cook right. I may cheat a little bit.

I guess I will find out how it turns out tonight.


ps. don't use your fingers to clean out the Jalapino's. Cut the pepper in half longways, take a spoon and under running water scrape out the seeds. Do this last and then make sure to wash your hands with soap and water right after that (before you touch your eyes or mouth). You need to use soap because the oil from the Jalapino needs to be broken up to be removed.

The way it has always been done

Hello from the one man problems of the world sovling brigade:


I was just listening to a radio talk dj republican guy talking about the middle east and how if revolution takes hold in the middle east and Saudi Arabia goes down to fundamentalists then we are all going to be chicken fried as far as our economy becaues we do not have enough energy to run things without thier oil.

My thinking is that if we can put a man on the moon then we can figure out how to produce, or actually capture, energy.

It is a simple fact that all of the energy we are using originally came from the sun. Dinasaurs either ate plants or other dinasaurs that ate plants so if oil came from dinasaurs then it ultimately came from photsenthisis or the bioligical converting and storage of the suns energy.

The natural answer is to capture the engergy from the sun and with all the advances of chemestry and biology to the point that they are not actually connected, we can do this.

There you have it,

Now go out and grow yourself a can of oil.

Bye

Mississippi John Hurt

Mississippi John Hurt is well respected as one of the great fingerpicking blues guitar players.

Here is a video of him playing a spiritural called: "Walk that Lonesome Valley"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgdLVWgU4G0

I really like this song. It is also interesting to see what a gentle personality that Mississippi John Hurt had in introducing his song. Very authentic in more ways than one. I think Im gonna learn me how to play this song. Then maybe I can walk the lonesome valley a little better my ownself.

Here is a version of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis doing the same tune (sans the Jordanaires) with a little rockabilly guitar to go with it :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guJnpSSTERo&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I do like the back up vocals by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Here is June Carter and her sisters doing the same tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79a-qg6t5fw


& if you have time, click on this one to walk somemore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1fFO92vxoQ

This one is from the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAs4L9AKUKk&feature=related

Mubarak is done

The people have spoken in Egypt and Mubarak is out.

I hope they are able end up with a representative form of government that is not oppressive. There is no doubt the terrorists will try to step in but I am encouraged that there has not been alot of anti-American rhetoric attached to this revolution.

I heard that Twitter and Facebook were the conduits for the whole thing. I imagine that social network sites will be shut down from here on out many countries around the world where the people do not get a voice in the government.

I now join with all Americans in wishing the people of Egypyt the best.

Here is a video of some of the celebrations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q37tYtXoBw&feature=watch_response

I like the one where the Taxi Driver put flags on his windshield wipers and pushed them forward so the flags were waving.

It is really touching to see the people so happy. I know things can get messy during a transition of power but Damn, I hope these poeple get to stay happy.

Conan Plays Guitar

Unless you are Jay Leno, You will like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfxu8qbY4Is

Conan O'Brian Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGyv0hXrulQ

Wanda Jackson - Rockabilly Queen

Here is a video from Wanda Jackson's appearance on David Letterman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzDfYidKU5c


Jack White produced her latest album and has kind of put her back on the map. This performance rocks in a way you just can't do at home.


Watch this one for some history on these two & more about the album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCN4kVcgK5w&NR=1&feature=fvwp

It's like the Beatles

The other day it was in the news that the White Stripes will no longer exist as a band.

Here is a video of some vintage stripes that seems to capture what they were about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03YUgHAshSo

I don't know if Jack White will be able to capture the rawness of the stripes on his own. I am sure he could if he really tried but it is harder to have the true punk rock vibe once you have made it to the big time like he has. The other thing, it is hard to recapture what Meg did on drums. That may seem strange to say but she was a big part of the White Stripes, probably much more than people realize. There was something about the chemestry or that made thier music rock at the core.

I wish both of these kids the best.

jack & alicia

Here is a video with Jack White and Alicia Keys:

It seems to have a little bit of a James Bond type quality to it to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icrNkmf9uyQ

There is a short section somewhere past the middle of the song where they do a call and answer with some scat vocals and lead guitar where it kind of sounds like Robert Plant in the early Led Zep.

Tattoo'd Lady

Here is another one from Rory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uezV4zn8tvI

Cool song here. The intro is again a clue about how Rory was unpredictable and did not play cliche style riffs. A true original.

More of the story of Rory

Check out the intro. This was years before VanHalen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k4iocWURPk&NR=1

Rory Gallagher

Hiya, hello, & Howdy.

Here's Rory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1zsRRt1FWE

This guy was really something. He was known more as an electric guitar player. One of my favorite songs of his is called "Calling Card".

Very Talented individual, and very entertaining.

One heluva guitar player.

Rasta Bob Vibration

Check out this video of Bob Marley with his band and the Three I's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGO8HN1QQdI


You can find plenty of Bob Marley Videos on Youtube by just doing some simple searches using Bob Marley or The Wailers.

It is interesting how Bob used to go into somewhat of a transe before he started singing. He does it on the video above. It seems like partly showman ship, some ganga, and also a bit if just getting lost into the music and channeling what is.

Here is another:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd2GZqQOuRw

This one is called the Rastaman Chant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmFhvWhiACg

& I hope you like Jammin Too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR5Qo4Pnc94

& of course, Redemption Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGgbT_VasI

Los Quatros Amigos

These guys really rock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1bHaUk1CM&feature=related

If you don't like this video, Please kindly never speak to me about music.


Thanks,

Rock On!

Democracy in Egypt?

We here at the one man web log have generally stayed out of political discussions but there is no hard and fast rule and besides that "so what?" if we do.

I am hearing politicicans talking about our responsibility to spead democracy in Egypt. Today it is John McCain speaking out.

My opinion is that we need to spread democracy here at home and we don't actually have a responsibility to spread our own ideologies around the rest of the world. Spreading our "Ideals" is a little different and that could use some work. Generally American policy has been shortsighted and we have aligned ourselves with who ever was in charge and looked the other way as far as "atrocities" and inhumane behavior. Sadam was our boy at one time. The Shah of Iran was our ally and so was Marcos in the Philipines. We have a fairly long history of aligning ourselves with people who are now probably sitting at a common poker table in hell. Really evil villain types and we stood by them until the people had an uprising and then we unsuccessfully tried to jump onboard. That is a failed policy and it won't work in Egypt any better than it will work in Pakistan if the people over there get worked up.

We promoted the idea of democratic elections in Palestine and they democratically elected a guy from Hamas which is considered to be a terrorist organization and now we don't want to officially recognize him.

My point is that we can't just pick and choose when we want to have high and mighty ideals and then use that as an excuse to stick our noses into the business of governing other countries.

behold virtuosity

For the regular readers here, You probably noticed that I deleted my recent posts about "the state of rock & roll". I just didn't feel aimless ramblings were up to the standards that we try to keep around here so I used the delete button a few times and I feel better now.

I have been listening lately to a CD that used to belong to my dad called "Andres Segovia My Favorite Works". It is a compliation of songs he performed and recorded and peresonally assisted in the selection of for this CD. According to the liner notes, he selected the songs in the final year of his life.

The music on the CD is from Spanish Composers and it is obvious it was all composed or specifically arranged for guitar.

There are several striking things about these recordings. One is that Andres Segovia is an absolute master and I have never heard anyone to equal his skill level as a guitar player. None.
Of course this isn't a huge revlelation since he is the most well known classical guitar player of our time. These songs are not just 2 or 3 minutes and the playing is so clean and clear it is simply amazing. No mistakes whatsover and I don't think it is because of editing. Another thing is how well he seems to "feel" the music and his use of dynamics. A third thing that is amazing is that as you listen to the music, you can forget you are listening to a guitar player and start to hear the story he is telling. The songs he chose to perform shows his excellent taste in music and a beautiful appreciation for art.

He was able to make very difficult feats of guitar artistry seem effortless and it never sounds like he is showing off even one iota. He is the only guitar player who I have ever heard who used harmonics and it didn't sound the least bit contrived or put in just to show that he knew how to do it.

The CD says "MCA Classics" at the top and the title is "Andreas Segovia My Favorite Works". I don't know if it is still being distributed but I imagine that it is.

Again, Everybody knows who Andreas Segovia was but he still I was am just blown away by how good he was. My dad always liked both Andreas Segovia and Carlos Montoya. Montoya is know for being a great, if not the greatest, Flamenco guitar player in the world. There are some who list other flamenco guitar players but Carlos Montoya is easily the most well known. I have agree that my dad had excellent taste in guitar music and I know he spent hours listening to both of these guys.

In our next lesson we will cover Watermelon. Is it a fruit or a vegitable?

Please do your homework, get plenty of sleep, shave the back your neck, and wash behind your ears. Also, be nice to animals. Everybody knows that besides just being unkind, a person who is mean to animals is just a pure creep. I know that some of you take pride in your creepyness but there is no reason to be cruel just for the sake of cruelty. Enough of that already.

That's it. Lights out. I don't want to hear a peep.

Time and space travel

Hello,

I know I already covered this but I was J-walking across Richmond Avenue today near Augusta and it occurred to me that time travel is not as simple as it may sound. I have no idea why that when I am crossing a street and hurrying to not get run over that I would think about such a thing but it is a fact.

In the movies, whenever there is a time machine, the "travelers" always end up at random places at random times since the "kinks" have not all been worked out. But since the Universe is everexpanding and Planet Earth is constantly moving, it is impossible that time travel would work without some fairly lengthy calculations.

As far as time travel goes a trip down "memory lane" is about as real as it is going to get. At least considering the parameters of the physical universe as we know it.

Like I said, I know I have covered this but I still am puzzled why I would be thinking about this while quick-stepping across the road to avoid traffic. This may seem like a trivial concern but so what?

Y2K + 11

Some people think the world is going to end in 2012.

As far as I am concerned, if there is an asteroid headed towards earth, I don't want to know about it in advance.

For all practical purposes, the world ended for Nostrodomus and the Mayans a long time ago.

The other day I was watching a show about a scientist who found blood vessels in dinasaur bones. They seem pretty certain that they are going to be able to get some dinasaur DNA and put it in chicken embryos and make dinasaurs again. The scientists have come to believe that birds are all decendents of dinasaurs and share the same dna so if they can just make it turn on and off the right way and wha-la.

an excellent source of cholesterol

Howdy again, happy New Year.

I heard that Snooky is going to be in the big ball on Time Square. I hope she doesn't throw up on everybody.

OK, this one isn't for the vegetarians. And if you got a beef with me for not being a vegetarian, I understand. The only question I have is why do you have those sharp fangs called canine teeth? Are they made for ripping lettuce and carrots apart?

We picked up some T-Bone steaks but they were thinly cut. The problem with a thin steak is that if you cook it too much it gets dry and if you like your steak medium well with a little bit of char on the outside then thin cut won't work too well for that.

We also happened to have some bacon in the fridge so I decided to cuts some slits on the edge of the T-bones and I wrapped each side with a couple of slices of bacon. Before that I putt some garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper on each steak.

Once I had it all put togeather, I cooked them in a large skillet with a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil over a fairly good heat. I used a smaller flat skillet to hold them down once they started cooking.

As far as the tatste test? Don't worry about it. Why do you think they put bacon on meat in fancy restaurants? There are certain things you can't go wrong with taste-wise and bacon wrapped around meat is one of them. It is kind of like melted cheese. That's why people like pizza. If you disagree, then try a pizza with no cheese and get back to me.

Rock on and congratulations to Dick Clark for still being alive.

Happy new year.

savings by design

Today I was sitting out back on my lawn furniture. I may not have mentioned it before but last year we bought som new lawn furniture. The iron kind that is painted black. The chair is suspendeded by a spring type peice of metal on each side and it forms a rocker that doesn't smash the dog's or thier toes.

So far our collection has just one piece which is the chair but as far as I am concerned, it is a great collection when you want to sit down under the outdoor ceiling fan.

Today I was taking a break out back and there was a squirrel burrying acorns from my neighbor's Oak Tree. I have seen the squirrels carrying acorns back and forth for some time now as they get ready for the winter but today is the first time I saw on doing any burying. I guess they wait until there is a good rain and the ground is soft.

It was kind of amazing to watch. It looked like the squirrel was regurtitating the acorns. I would see a convulsive type movement and I could see a lump int he squirrels cheek/throat area as it was happening. I am going to have to read up on the interenet to find out more about it but at this point I am going to have to say that my research results are that squirrels actually regurgitate the acorns.

The squirrel would look around, find a good spot, and then do some digging and convulsing and the next thing you know he was pushing the acorn into the ground with a borroughing motion and then he had a routine where he put the dirt back and patted it down. I guess they have a sectin of thier brain dedicated to remembering where they buried the acorns later on.

It is pretty amazing how nature works. I am sure it is all part of a bigger picture where the Oak trees produce acorns the scquirrels will like and the squirrels plant the acorns and forget to get some or maybe the squirrel dies or whatever. The bottom line is that the squirrel gets some food and the Oak Tree gets it's seeds distributed over a greater distance.

I imagine you are asleep by now so enjoy your nap.

exit through the gift shop

We watched a documentary a couple of nights back. Click this link to find out about the DVD from IMDB.COM:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

It was about a french guy in California who filmed everything in his life and he got interested in filming street art. He eventually met one of the biggest and baddest street artists of all; a guy who street name of "banksy" but kept his identity secret.

Eventually the french guy gets the idea to do his own street art and sell it at a huge art show that he promoted. At the end, the other street artists seemed to be not so happy with the french guy but in my opininion he didn't do anything except expose how much of a contrived situation art shows can be.

If you can print up some art an sell it for a million dollars, I will take my hat off to you. Especially if you want to hit it with some spray can paint and make it worth $24,000 and I still get to keep the hat.

38977 and counting (or clicking)

I just checked saw the "views" number on my Youtube video account has something like 38,977 views and it made me think.

I wonder how many of those were actual views. It could have been me just clicking on each video all those times and I don't have any views at all. How dissapointing is that? I also wonder how many complete views there are. Most of my videos are longer than what is recommended for getting the highest number of hits but I don't care.

Besides that, I don't have much to say except Happy Festivus you all and to all a good night. Also happy new year and whatever else blows your skirt up.

You know, being alive is a cool thing. We are all going to die at some point but it is pretty amazing while it lasts. Don't think about it too hard or it will make your brain hurt.

Speaking of making your brain hurt, I just heard someone on TV talking about Jermain Jackson having two kids, one of them is named JerMagesty. Hopefully that won't mess him up too bad. The other thing is that his Uncle Randy, Jermaine's brother is also the father of Jermasty's half sibling. I don't remember if it is a boy or a girl but Randy was married to the woman first and had a child, then Jermaine stepped in to make it a "family affair" and have two children of his own. It made my brain hurt to think about it but I finally figured it out that they are still just both uncles and the kids are both cousins and half brothers and sisters. How freaky is that? Talk about a Sister Cousin.

I don't know how I got off into that but sometimes you have to wonder. This isn't the kind of thing you see at Walmart unless of course you are in the TV department and the Jerrry Springer show comes on. I guess Jerry is still in business but he seems to have gone downhill.

As I told you already, Not much to report on. Except I am making plans to travel to Europe in 2011. It looks like we will be in London, Amsterdam, Germany, Beljum, and France. I plan to eat some chocolate in Beljum (however you spell it) and maybe have a cup of coffee in Amsterdam if I have time. I don't think I am going to climb the stairs to get on the Eifel Tower. I think it will be good enough just to look at it and maybe eat some french pastry. Maybe I will borrow someone's dog so I can take it in a restaurant. I have never been there before and I would like to check out some of the historic sites. I know up there around the Black Forest is where the battle of the bulge took place and there is supposed to be a really cool museum somewhere around there but I am going to have to do some geography homework so I can pretend like I am with it.

OK that is enough for now.

Please go away and come back some other time.

Documentary Report

To Whom it may concern:

Hey Yall,

Hope the family and everybody is doing fine.

To pass some time and relax, we have been watching a couple of documentaries lately. One of them is called " The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia". It is about some folks from Coal Mining Country. I lack the verbal skills to correctly describe what it is all about so you can check out the DVD trailer on this YouTube video. Please keep in mind that it is not rated "g", or even "pg" so please do not let lead you to ruination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ysuG2O0zw


Another one that we are watching, but haven't seen the whole thing is about Mike Tyson. I wasn't sure what to expect but this one is kind of interesting if you are not already familiar with the actual story of Mike Tyson. What has hit me so far is that he didn't become Champion of the World just because it came natural to him. I knew already that he had been pretty much adopted by a mentor figure but I didn't realize how focused Mike Tyson was on becoming a great boxer. He studied films and focused on being an accurate powerful puncher and really was lead through a regimentied and diciplined program that resulted in a guy who would step into the ring and end the fight before everybody had a chance to get comfortable in thier seats. Just like Mohammed Ali, He focused on the psycholigical aspect of defeating his opponents as well as the physical. You may or may not be interested in this story but Mike Tyson remains something of a spectacle to me. Not that I find him to be hideous or anything like that. He is a guy who had nothing, got everything, and then pretty much lost it all but still has not "gone away". Regardless of all his other qualities, he has a sincere and (blatantly) honest quality about the way he presents himself.

This report seems to have fizzled and I haven't really given a proper rating to either DVD but as the kids used to say back in the day, It is what it is.


So keep the cards and letters coming and if you "owe your soul to the company store" please remember to remit your payment in a timely fashion.

Thank you to all Veterans

Today is the official day to honor Veterans here in the United States of America.

It is without any reference to any political affiliation or opinion that I hereby proclaim an expression of sincere gratitude and recognition to all Veterans.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.