The Vocal Observer

Presented without comment

2011-10-04T08:59:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T08:50:00.008-06:00

Again it seems life has gotten in the way of my blogging. For that, I apologize.

Molly and I are in San Antonio to celebrate Christmas with her family. Due to the fact that we did not want to haul our presents to each other to San Antonio, we decided to do our own little Vega Christmas on the 22nd this year. Molly got lots of gifts from Santa, including a new watch and some fancy perfume (Coco Mademoiselle). I got some really nice gifts too, including a new Saints Jacket, a couple of new ties and a new work shirt. (Yes, I have decided I am a little bit sad that I have now entered the stage of my life where a tie is an acceptable Christmas present).

But by far the best Christmas present was one that Mason got.

That's right. Molly sacrificed one of my old ties to make Mason a set of Shirt/Tie/Suspenders onesies. He is going to be the best dressed baby on the playground, and will definitely draw some attention when he visits daddy at work. I am probably most impressed by the fact that Molly made these herself by actually using the sewing machine. She has typically shied away from "domestic" things like that.

As this year wraps up and I think back on 2010, I can say that this has been just an absolutely wonderful year. Between getting the job I have wanted since I finished college, to flying halfway across the world to visit China, and the most wonderful gift of all, the impending birth of my 1st child, I can say that 2010 has truly been a blessed year for the Vega house.

My wish as this year closes is for two things:

1st: That 2011 can be as wonderful as 2010; the Mason is born a happy, healthy child; that Molly does well through the final stage of the pregnancy; that life continues to remind us of the greatness of God.

2nd: That the coming year can be as wonderful for our friends and family as this past year has been for us. Molly and I truly have been blessed with many gifts, and it is my true wish that many others may enjoy such wonderful blessings in the coming years.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Congrats to Smo!

2010-10-18T11:46:00.004-05:00

This weekend was a great one for the League City Crew. Stephanie got married to "Uncle" Chuck in a wonderful ceremony at South Main Baptist Church in Houston. Will and I were both asked to be ushers, and we were honored to do so. Stephanie looked gorgeous in her dress and could not stop smiling both before and after the ceremony. She was so focused that she even missed the fart joke I made to try to lighten the mood just before she walked down the aisle. The ushers and Mr. Smotherman all got a good laugh, while Smo just kind of smiled and said she didn't hear what I had said.

After the ceremony and pictures, we all headed off to the reception at the Hotel Derek. The hotel ballroom was awesome and the reception was a blast. It was good to see all of the old crew there. Joseph & Cynthia, Amanda & Jon, Will & Amber, Lisa, Kelly, Allison, Stephanie Gay, Bobby and Trisha were all in attendance. Alcohol and food were abundant and the photo booth they had was all kinds of fun. Smo admitted she copied our wedding idea with the photo booth, but she made it her own by giving the guests all kinds of fun hats and dress-up clothes to spice up the pictures.

Of course, the night could not end without at least a little bit of drama. As we are all waiting for the valet's to bring us out cars, I notice someone very familiar sitting inside a nice Mercedes at the valet stand. Yep, it was Will, and he had commandeered someone's car by pretending to be a valet. After some unsuccessful attempts to get him out of the car by Amber, I was able to come over and convince him to get out of the car. He was drunk and not thinking clearly. How he got home that night, I am not quite sure. I am a bit disappointed that grown, educated adults are still ok with drinking and driving, and if I could sit Will down and give him a "time-out" like a child, I would. Alas, my car was ready and my sober (pregnant) wife was ready to go home.

All things considered, it was a great night. Good friends, good food, and a reason to celebrate! Congrats to Stephanie on becoming Mrs. Stephanie Jones! I wish you many years of happiness and love!

An announcement!

2010-09-03T10:31:00.003-05:00

My boys can swim, Molly is pregnant!

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting...

2010-07-13T12:42:00.011-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated the blog. Well, here is the most important piece of news, during late May and early June Molly and I spent 2 weeks touring China! It was incredible. There was so much history and culture to see. So many awesome pictures that I'll only have space to share a few. I'll try to go in order of where we went.

First up: Shanghai

Walking through the streets near the Yu Gardens.

Inside the Yu Gardens

The Suzhou City gate, built in 514 B.C.

Me at the Suzhou City Gate

Molly and I at The Bund (A waterfront area in Shanghai)

Next: Xi'an

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Molly at the Terracotta Warriors

More terracotta Warriors

Then: Beijing

The Sacred Way near the Ming Tombs

The Sacred Way

Tienanmen Square

Panda at the Beijing Zoo

The Great Wall of China (Badaling Entrance)

Molly and I at the Great Wall

The Forbidden City

Scorpions on a stick at the outdoor local market (No, we didn't eat any)

The Temple of Heaven

Finally: Hong Kong

City Skyline from Victoria Peak

A boat in Aberdeen fishing village

Waterfront skyline at night

Molly and I on our last night in China. Rooftop dining in Hong Kong.

I took almost all of these pictures with my new Canon XS Digital SLR camera. I am not the greatest photographer in the world, but I think some of these came out really well, and the small size on the blog doesn't really do them justice.

All in all, the trip was great. Definitely a once in a lifetime type of trip. I don't think Molly or I plan on going back, but we were happy we went, and glad to get home to better air conditioning and drinkable water from the tap.

Company Golf

2010-05-19T12:52:00.004-05:00

During one of my first meetings with my new boss, I was asked "Do I play golf?". The answer, of course, if yes, but I am not very good. Well, he invites me to this Company Sponsored golf tournament which was held on Monday. Oh boy.

First things first, when my 1st meeting with my new boss involves an invitation for golf, I just KNOW it's going to be a great new job for me.

Then, there's the actual golf tourney. Pretty much the entire company was there at the Kingwood Country Club. I saw the founder as I was warming up, I saw Head Ops and Supply Chain Management guys throughout the day, and I even had the CEO of the company make small talk with me just before the cocktail hour. Needless to say, it was a great place to meet the people in power.

As for the golfing, I did a LOT better than I originally had hoped. I was money with my irons, especially the 5 & 6, as well as with my pitching wedge, where I hit a few shots from 100 yards out that got within a few yards of the hole. Even my drives were behaving. I still have a slight slice on my drives off the tee, but they were very manageable and only a couple really got away from me. Where I completely failed was my putting. I was just plain awful on the greens. It's not that I wasn't getting close, but I was missing on 8 foot putts, and 6 foot putts, and 12 foot putts, and pretty much every birdie attempt our team had was thwarted by poor putting.

It wasn't about the score though. With our 5 player, Par is your friend, scramble format, we ended up shooting a 1-under 71. The winner? They shot a 52. Yeah, 20 under par on 18 holes. Frikkin ridiculous. Not a big deal though. I got to hang out with my new boss and co-worker, drink some beer, play some golf and schmooze with the higher ups. All in all, that's pretty darn good for a Monday workday. I am definitely looking forward to more days like that.

Birthday Weekend!

2010-05-10T12:49:00.011-05:00

So, this past Saturday I turned 27. And yes, I realize that now puts me one step closer to 30. I am not happy about it. However, I was able to spend the weekend with the old gang from A&M, so it was definitely worth it. We stayed at Tyler's condo on Sam Rayburn Lake, which is near Jasper, Tx. I never knew places like this existed in the middle of East Texas, but apparently they do. There was a beach, and some nice wakeboarding spots. Very fun. Here are a few pictures:

Molly and I chillin' on the beach.

Chris taking the opportunity to eat, drink, and PEE all at the same time.

The group at the beach, preparing to do a birthday shotgun.

And....SHOTGUN!

Chris & Tehina on the Jetski

Willie wakeboarding. He was decent and got a little air.

Molly spent much of the day tearing around on the jetski.

Like I said, it was a fun weekend with sun, boat, friends and beer. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Compounding the celebration were two other major accomplishments for me, all in a couple weeks time.

1st off, I will be graduating from my MBA form the University of Houston on May 14. 2 1/2 years and 48 credit hours completed. Lots of work and time, but I am hoping it will pay off. So glad to be done!

Secondly, I got a raise at work and a new position. When I first joined my company, I came into the Accounting department even though I had never done accounting. I did so to help my new boss, former co-worker, to set up a new department at the company. She knew I didn't like accounting, but promised that if I helped her with this opening, she would help get me to a better position in the company later. And it happened. I was actually offered 2 jobs last week. One in Forecasting and One with the Corporate Development (Acquisitions) group. Anyone who has seen my MBA coursework, or has heard me talk about what I want to do, knows this was an easy decision. I am now the newest, and ONLY manager in the Corporate Development department. I am excited because I'll be involved with buying businesses, deal negotiations, business strategy and tons of other really interesting parts of business and finance.

So, needless to say, it has been a most excellent couple of weeks for me. With our China trip coming up at the end of May, it's looking like May will turn out to be an absolutely incredible month. Here's hoping things continue to look up for The Vega's!

Sigh, we are getting so old...

2010-04-26T10:23:00.004-05:00

So, this weekend is the first time that Molly has felt like she is truly turning into an adult. On Saturday, we "slept in" until about 8:30 Am, and then decided to start doing things. Molly went to go work out, and I watched day 3 of the NFL Draft. After Molly got back and got cleaned up, we decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to use the gift card I won in my office Superbowl Pool (I Was the ONLY one who picked the Saints to win!!).Yeah, we didn't eat that much, but we did have a lot of food. 2 Dozen wings, and order of Pulled Pork Slider and Molly's Salad....I was VERY bloated after that.

On our way back, we decided to stop by World Market. We browsed, but nothing jumped out at us, not even in the wine section! Since we have now been to wine tours in both Napa Valley and in Washington, we've become something of a set of wine snobs. We are constantly looking for a certain type of wine that we both fell in love with: Cabernet Franc.
See, there are plenty of places that carry Cabernet Sauvignon, but very few places that carry Cab Franc, so we are always on the lookout.

On Sunday, we decided to finally find a Church in our area. Since Molly is Episcopalian and I am Catholic, we've decided to alternate between hers and mine each week. Since this week was week 1, I decided we would go to her church. We tried out St. Dunstan's near Spring. It was nice, but Molly is looking for a Church with a young community that I do not know if we'll find. Not many church's are stocked with 20 & 30-somethings...
Then we went to PetCo for dog food, and we were at HEB for grocery shopping before 10:30 Am. We were there so early that we couldn't even buy wine yet, since Texas has the Blue Law that states you cannot buy alcohol before noon on Sundays. How sad is that? We were there too early to buy wine...

Then we cleaned house, did the dishes and hung out around the house the rest of the day. Molly made a Paella! But still, THIS was the normal weekend for OLD PEOPLE! We didn't see friends or go out anywhere exciting. We just had a relaxing weekend.

We are getting so old....

Fact Checking the Fact Checkers

2009-11-17T13:35:00.003-06:00

One of the most egregious things I have noticed is the use of "fact checking" as a political tool in recent months. From CNN fact checking a SNL Skit now to the Associated Press (I thought the "press" was bi-partisan?) fact checking Palin's new book "Going Rogue".

The question becomes, who fact checks the fact checkers? It appears as though media outlets like CNN and now the AP are using "Fact Checking" as a way to discredit Obama opponents, instead of actually reporting the news.

Did anyone fact check "The Audacity of Hope"? I couldn't find one!

How about fact checking Will Farrell's spoof of George W Bush? Nope!

How is it that the media has become so biased nowadays and no one seems to be paying any attention. Folks like Olbermann and the drones on CNN spout off about Fox enws being an opinion station likened to the GOP or talk radio, but then THEY THEMSELVES have whored themselves out to Obama, Pelosi and the rest of the Lefties in congress and NO ONE calls them out on it?

This is getting utterly ridiculous, people!

BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing a GREAT article Fact Checking the Fact Checkers of Palin's book: Check out this great article.

The 45 Stated Communist Goals to Take Over America

2009-11-06T09:45:00.004-06:00

I am posting this simply as reference. Please read these Communist Goals to Take Over America, from 1963, and draw your OWN conclusions (I will bold some of the ones that I noted when I read it)...

Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963

Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 .

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.

At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen:

[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.

You are free to draw your own conclusions or none at all from what you have just read...

Is this racist? I think so...

2009-10-20T11:13:00.005-05:00

An article in the Washington Times caught my eye today. It was about Black voters in a small town in North Carolina who were unable to identify the "Black candidate" unless they had the (D) next to their name. The town had gone to a non-partisan vote, with the political affiliations removed. However, a judge has overturned this ruling, saying "partisan elections are needed so that black voters can elect their "candidates of choice" - identified by the department as those who are Democrats and almost exclusively black"

Here is an excerpt from the article.

KINSTON, N.C. | Voters in this small city decided overwhelmingly last year to do away with the party affiliation of candidates in local elections, but the Obama administration recently overruled the electorate and decided that equal rights for black voters cannot be achieved without the Democratic Party.
The Justice Department's ruling, which affects races for City Council and mayor, went so far as to say partisan elections are needed so that black voters can elect their "candidates of choice" - identified by the department as those who are Democrats and almost exclusively black.
The department ruled that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and that therefore the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters' right to elect the candidates they want.
Several federal and local politicians would like the city to challenge the decision in court. They say voter apathy is the largest barrier to black voters' election of candidates they prefer and that the Justice Department has gone too far in trying to influence election results here.
Stephen LaRoque, a former Republican state lawmaker who led the drive to end partisan local elections, called the Justice Department's decision "racial as well as partisan."
"On top of that, you have an unelected bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., overturning a valid election," he said. "That is un-American."

Justice concludes black voters need Democratic Party

In this day and age, it is truly disturbing that a black voter:
a) Can't tell if the candidate is black unless there is a (D) by their name.
b) Uses a person's skin color as a measuring stick for their vote.
c) Is voting, yet doesn't know the candidate's ideology by their name alone.

This is one of the most heinous forms of racism, as it enforces the stereotype that blacks must vote for Democrats and that they are too "dumb" to know who to vote for unless they are specifically TOLD by a political party affiliation.

Voters of ALL colors and creeds should do research on the candidates values and policy ideas and use THAT as the measuring stick for who receives a vote. Using any other method is truly a bastardization of democracy and against what the founding fathers intended for our country.

UnBelizeable

2009-10-12T08:01:00.009-05:00

I waited WAY too long to make this blog update. Sorry about that.

Let me tell you about our recent trip to Belize.
Belize, for those who do not know, is a small country just South of Mexico, and just East of Guatemala. It has an ancient history in the Mayan culture and parts of it were once major ports for the Mayan civilization.

When we first got to Belize, we flew into Belize City and stayed one night on the mainland. After that, we took a boat to the resort island of Ambergris Caye. Everything was very laid back on the island. There were cars, but most people drove golf carts around. In fact, one of the first people we met on a golf cart was a guy from Michigan.

He owned a restaurant on the island called Sunset Grill. As we were trying to make the long walk from out hotel to the "downtown" area, he offered to give us a ride into town on his golf cart. Being the trusting folks we are, we accepted. As he took us into town, he gave us a tour and told us a little about the history of the town and how he had found himself living here after so long in the US. The tour ended, of course, at his restaurant. We had lunch here, mostly as a courtesy to him, but also because it was lunch time. One of the neat things about the restaurant is the location. It was right on the water. Not only that, but the place had a group of Tarpon that basically hung out around the restaurant and waited to get fed. BY HAND!

Molly and I both tried it out.
But the owner was much more comfortable feeding and grabbing the fish right out the water. Very cool!
The next day we took a LONG boat ride back to the mainland, and up a river to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. This place was on the river, and was a major trading port for the Mayans to trade jade and other goods. It consisted of a bunch of temples (Jaguar Temple, Mask Temple, High Temple) and also a ball court, courtyard and other ruins. The cool thing is that most of the site had not even been excavated yet. There were still lots of ruins which were covered by trees and earth. So in 20 years, we could go back and get to see, basically, a whole new set of ruins.

The next day it was back out on the boat to go snorkeling. I can't do scuba diving, so snorkeling is our only option to explore the sea. We saw lots of fish, some nurse sharks and even a sea turtle. My 1st time seeing a sea turtle! (Thanks to Cap'n Ron over at Reef Adventures for setting up our excursions)

All in all we had a great time. We love traveling to new countries and experiencing new cultures. We picked up a great Habanero Hot Sauce that we've been putting on everything called Marie Sharps. For under $1200 (2 round-trip flights, hotel & excursions) in total, the trip was easily one of the cheapest we have been on, and was well worth the money.

Here are some other photos from our trip:

My 1st Belikin Beer (The Beer of Belize!)

Molly enjoying a fruity island beverage.

The Jaguar Temple at the Lamanai Ruins.

Me on the steps of the Jaguar Temple.

The steps up/down the High Temple.

Molly and I at the top of the High Temple.

A ball court at the ruins. (Sometimes they would kill the winners as a sacrifice to the Gods. Other times, they would kill the losers. Not my kind of game).

Molly outside our hotel (Banana Beach Resort in San Pedro)

Just Us.

Widget

2009-10-02T08:11:00.002-05:00

Real American Hero

2009-09-01T08:20:00.005-05:00

It's too rare these days that we see our real hero's rewarded for their service and valor. Too often we find ourselves so preoccupied with pop culture and reality television to notice the amazing sacrifices that are being made for our right to freedom and liberty. I know I have made this mistake numerous times. Chron.com has a wonderful story today about a marine who made a great sacrifice for his country, and who was rewarded for protecting our freedom.

Gates hands Marine keys to new house

“We're really low-key people, so this is kind of crazy,” said the 29-year-old Texas A&M graduate. She turned to her husband and fellow Aggie, Marine Corps Capt. Daniel Moran, with a stunned grin of her face. “This is, like, ridiculous.”

The couple — and the crowd lining the streets of their Cypress neighborhood — were awaiting the arrival of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who came to the Houston area Monday to present Capt. Moran with the keys to his new home.

The four-bedroom brick house was custom built for Moran by Helping A Hero, a nonprofit that has constructed 14 homes for local disabled veterans since 2006.

Moran, 28, medically retired from the Marine Corps last month after being seriously injured during his second tour of duty in Iraq three years ago. Monday's event marked the fourth time he'd met Gates, who was president of A&M when Moran and his wife were students there.

As Gates recounted, he first shook hands with Moran when he handed the young man his diploma upon graduation from A&M. The second time, Gates was visiting injured service members at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where Moran was a patient.

“He asked me to personalize a graduation-day photo of us,” Gates recalled. “I was honored but, after meeting Daniel, I came away thinking I should be the one seeking an autograph.”

The third time was at half time of a Texas A&M football game in 2007, when the secretary of defense presented Moran with a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor in front of 80,000 screaming fans.

On Oct. 9, 2006, Moran suffered a concussion from the explosion of a homemade bomb in Ramadi, Iraq. Despite his injury, Moran urged doctors to let him return to his platoon. Less than two weeks later, another improvised explosive device killed three of his Marines and wounded Moran, who sustained third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body. The blast also seared the inside of his lungs.

Moran's new home has special air filters to protect his vulnerable immune system.

I urge everyone to go to the Helping a Hero website at the link below, and if it is within your means, make a donation to this wonderful organization today.

HelpingaHero.org

I have no words...

2009-08-30T12:49:00.003-05:00

Audio clip is of Diane Watson (D) from CA

She first claims that those who wish for Obama to fail on Healthcare feel that way because of his skin color, then essentially praises Guevara and Castro for awesome Cuban Healthcare.

There is something seriously wrong with America if these are the types of thoughts our congressmen have while "representing" the people of the USA in congress...

The liberal straw-man arguments must stop!

2009-08-27T09:10:00.005-05:00

You know the ones I am talking about.
The ones where it is said:

- Bush = Republican
- You voted for Bush (May or may not be true)
- You supported his policies (Not true in many cases)
- 0 is passing policies with similar aims as Bush

Therefore

- You should support 0 because you supported similar initiatives under Bush.

or

- You are a hypocrite (or a racist) because you supported Bush's socialist policies and not 0's

This is the ultimate straw man that I see DAILY from the left in the media.

Allow me to debunk this once and for all:

1) Republican =/= Conservative : Most true conservatives did not support MANY or MOST of Bush's policy decisions. True that many may have voted for him, but as is the case in many election situations, he was simply the lesser of two evils (Gore/Kerry). regardless of what Gibbs and the President think, voting for a president does not mean you automatically support every single dumb policy decision that person makes while in office ("We won!")

2) If the entire claim of the left is that Bush was the devil and did such horrible things, why is it OK that 0 is now driving down the EXACT same road as Bush did, but with his foot firmly pressed against the gas pedal? Bush was bad, but a "Bushey-er" 0 is awesome and good? Someone explain that to me?

3) Let me offer some advice: Stop attacking the messenger! Those on the left spend much of their time demonizing Fox News and Health Care Protesters and Right-Wing Zealots, that they completely miss the opportunity to rebutt the points these people are making. The protesters are mis-informed? INFORM THEM! O'Reilly's talking points memo is missing factual information or is misleading? GO ON HIS SHOW AND SAY THAT (He has invited Gibbs numerous times, and been rejected). Crazy Birthers are complaining about the long-form birth certificate? RELEASE THE LONG-FORM AND PUT AN END TO IT ONCE AND FOR ALL.

The left seems extremely arrogant in the way they have handled things in 2009, and if is very reminiscent of Clinton's 1st year in office. We all know how the congressional elections went after that year, so why would you continue to travel down the same failed path?

These strawmen and messenger attacks truly need to stop if we are to get anywhere good as a nation. Not as two political parties, but as a nation!

Watch out Rick Moranis!

2009-08-18T08:44:00.003-05:00

Today comes with an interesting scientific discovery in the Philippines. Scientists have discovered a species of giant rat-eating plants!

Giant rat-eating nepenthes plant named after David Attenborough

From the article:

Nepenthes attenboroughii, a previously unknown variety of pitcher plant discovered on a remote mountain in the Philippines, is so big that small rodents could be trapped inside and slowly dissolved by flesh-eating enzymes.

It is thought that only a few hundred of the plants exist, growing only on one mountain on the island of Palawan. The species was discovered by a team of scientists who had heard reports from missionaries who got lost in the dense jungle.

It's straight out of Rick Moranis' worst movie nightmare!

Still, it's kinda cool that scientists are still going around, discovering new species of plants and animals that we previously did not know existed. The world is truly a wondrous place, and while Space is obviously more sexy, there is still much that we do not know about our own planet. I am very interested to see what our scientists discover next.

What a curious little fellow

2009-08-14T08:31:00.003-05:00

After weeks and weeks of Healthcare debate, it's time for another funny story.

This one is from our folks North of the border in Canada.

Take a look at this nutter who invaded a couple's holiday snap.

It was supposed to be an isolated beauty spot in the Canadian lakes - but a stranger still managed to creep into the shot.

The cheeky squirrel jumped into Melissa Brandts and her husband's picture when they had set the timer on their camera.

Mrs Brandts explained: 'We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot.

Of the photo in Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park she added: 'It was a once in a lifetime moment – we were laughing about this little guy for days!'

That story put a smile on my face :)

Chevy Volt still doesn't get me energized

2009-08-11T08:33:00.005-05:00

I admit it. I drive a gas guzzler. An "evil" car that gets below average gas mileage.

And I love it to death. It's my "Youth" car that i think everyone deserves to have once in their life. Hey, at least I bought American, right!?!

That said, with the whole Cash for Clunkers thing and gas prices always in question, I have started to think about what I want for my next car. I imagine I will keep the mustang for a few more years, but eventually it'll be time to get something a bit more practical.

On CNN today there is a story about the 2010 Chevy Volt and it's supposed 230 miles per gallon fuel efficiency.

CNN: Chevy Volt to get 230 mpg rating

Not a terrible looking car, I suppose. And 230 miles per gallon is a heck of a deal, I will admit. However, there are a few things that give me pause when talking about the Volt.

The Volt's lithium-ion batteries will hold enough juice to drive the car for about 40 miles, GM has said. Once the car goes beyond that, a small gasoline engine will turn on, generating electricity to power the wheels for longer drives.
When gasoline is providing the power, the Volt might get as much as 50 mpg.
But that mpg figure would not take into account that the car has already gone 40 miles with no gas at all.
So let's say the car is driven 50 miles in a day. For the first 40 miles, no gas is used and during the last 10 miles, 0.2 gallons are used. That's the equivalent of 250 miles per gallon. But, if the driver continues on to 80 miles, total fuel economy would drop to about 100 mpg. And if the driver goes 300 miles, the fuel economy would be a just 62.5 mpg.

So really, you are driving an electric car for 40 miles, and after that, you're just driving a crappy 4-banger that has to say a prayer to get to 60 MPH in 30 minutes. For city driving, that might work out just perfectly, but I drive 25+ milers per day to work, then another 10 to school, then the 35 back to work. Now, I would still be able to do my daily commute on a one day charge, but what happens when I want to drive all the way to San Antonio?

Sure, I can drive the 40 miles on electric, but then the rest of the trip is on gas power. And chances are that I'm not going to be able to bring my charger everywhere with me, so for however long I'm gone, I'm just driving a really slow economy car with a tiny engine. Blech!

Then there's the cost. Obviously you can expect that the volt isn't going to be running around $15-20k like most economy cars. No, it will most likely be somewhere in the low to mid $30's. That's $10-15k more in up-front costs. Not to mention, all that electricity from "charging" overnight has got to come from somewhere. Which means you can expect your home electric bill to jump way up as well, since you'll be sucking a ton of juice to re-charge this baby for the 40 miles it gets sans gasoline.

Last, and certainly not least, is the concern over battery life. I'm sure we've all had iPods and cell phones and laptops, right? Think about them. They are great when you first get them. They stay charged for hours or days at a time with normal use. But as you get more and more charges through them and more and more use, the battery life starts to decline. I've got a 6 yr old iPod that won't turn on anymore unless it's plugged in because the battery has since crapped out. How long until the 40Miles that the Volt claims on electric falls to 38, or 35 or 30, or 20? And how long until the battery goes out for good and it's time to get it replaced with a new one?

I am hopeful that the technology is getting to the point where electric-type cars will make sense for everyone. While I do not subscribe to the belief that Global Warming is real, or that man even affects it as much as they claim, I DO think it couldn't hurt for us to start trying to look out for the environment. That said, I don't think the Chevy Volt is the right solution. I don't think our technology is there yet for something like this in mass production.

I still believe our best end-game is to figure out how to make a car that runs on water. I know the technology can get us there, we just need to get away from this electric craze and shift towards using the most abundant natural resource on the earth for travel. When we figure that out, I'd say we'd be on the right track.

Pelosi is Un-American!

2009-08-10T08:19:00.013-05:00

Oh good grief Charlie Brown, Nancy Pelosi is at it again. This time, in an Op-Ed in the USA today proclaiming town hall protesters are "Un-American".

Pelosi:'Un-American' attacks can't derail health care debate

Some snippits from the OpEd:

However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted "Just say no!" drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.

So, hanging an effigy of a Democratic Congressman is NOT ok, but hanging an effigy of Sarah Palin during that last election was absolutely, 100% acceptable? You can't have it both ways. Either that form of speech is acceptable for all, or acceptable for none.

Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.

Un-American to drown out opposing views? What about when you, Nancy Pelosi, lead the dems in the House to Lock Out the Republican members from debating the latest stimulus bill? Was that Un-American? Or how about President Empty-Suit's speech where he says he doesn't want to hear a lot of talking from those who he claims "got us into this mess". He wants them to sit down and shut up. That seems like an unwillingness to hear opposing views to me.

Our plan's cost-lowering measures include a public health insurance option to bring competitive pressure to bear on rapidly consolidating private insurers, research on health outcomes to better inform the decisions of patients and doctors, and electronic medical records to help doctors save money by working together.

Read the truth in this statement: The government will offer a below-cost option with the ultimate hopes of drowning competition and running all other providers out of business. The care will ultimately be lower quality, and eventually higher cost when those with pre-existing conditions start to drag the entire system down.

Name me ONE thing that the government does better than the private sector?

For seniors, the plan closes the notorious Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" that denies drug coverage to those with between $2,700 and $6,100 per year in prescriptions.

Ah, so you are finally going to fix a major problem with the governments LAST attempt at a health care overhaul. One that has already been deemed a colossal failure that has put this country in TONS of debt. So, in order to fix a previous problem, you are going to create an even bigger one. Oye Vey.

Nancy Pelosi calling hard-working Americans who do not support this bill and wish to have their voices heard "Un-American" is as low as it gets and reeks of desperation from the Democratic party. It seems as though freedom of speech and the right to protest are only rights afforded to the liberal crowds. When a conservative crowd attempts the same tactics, they are demonized and called Un-American.

This isn't the 1st time Nancy Pelosi has called hard-working Americans Un-American. She did the same thing when referring to enforcing immigration laws.

Pelosi calling Immigration laws Un-American

It's time for the double-standard to stop. Let the people's voices be heard! Just say No to Socialized Health care!

This is not bipartisan

2009-08-07T12:28:00.005-05:00

Remember back during the election when Barry promised he was going to govern from the middle, and "reach across the aisle" for bipartisan solutions.

Apparently that sentiment has gone out this window.

Obama: Don't Want the Folks Who Created the Mess to Do a Lot of Talking

In a speech in Virginia, Obama says:

"But I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking."

Wow. What an arrogant prick! Conservatives created the mess? Hmm? No, liberal republicans and democrats and the last 2+ years of a democratic congress got us into this mess, President Empty Suit!

Conservatives are trying to ensure that you don't continue creating a BIGGER mess by creating an American Nanny State or the United Socialist States of America!

Between Obama's comments, and those of his Press Secretary (We Won!), you have to wonder: at what point does this guy realize that the election didn't make him ruler and dictator for all of America.

It made him President. And AS President, it is his duty to perform the will of THE PEOPLE not of himself.

I say this again: there's no freakin way this is actually happening.

Big Brother is Watching

2009-08-06T09:02:00.007-05:00

There are some things that happen that make you stop. pause. Then think to yourself "there's no freakin way this is actually happening". I had one of those moments today when I heard about the WhiteHouse "Snitch" program.

White-House Snitch Program Commentary

Official White House Snitch Website

The "snitch" program basically asks all citizens to send an email to flag@whitehouse.gov if you see a chain letter, email, or blog with seemingly "fishy" information about the proposed socialization of US health care known as the Affordable Health Act of 2009.

Let me repeat that, the White house is asking US citizens to TATTLE on those who are exercising their right to free speech, if any such citizen deems the facts to be "fishy".

THERE. IS. NO. WAY. THIS. IS. REALLY. HAPPENING.

Obama is attempting to implement a program that was made infamous by its use in Nazi Germany prior to WWII to ensure dissenters of Hitler could properly be whisked away to concentration camps. What does the White House plan to do with the information it receives on these "fishy" individuals? And more important, WHY DOES THE WHITE HOUSE CARE?? Misinformation flies around the internet just as fast as a person can type it and hit submit. 9/11 conspiracies and a myriad of other left and right wing bloggers have been protected under the 1st amendment for years. Why is the white house all of a sudden looking to squash this free speech?

If you are a proponent of the 1st amendment or a free America you should be absolutely terrified right now. I know I am. I am very happy that Senator John Cornyn of Texas is standing up to this piece of outrage and lobbing poignant questions over the white house gates. How is this information going to be used? What actions does Obama plan to take against those who are "snitched" on?

I just can't help thinking to myself again, there's no freakin way this is actually happening.

I also can't help thinking to myself, how long before someone reports my blog to that website?

Awesome/Funny website of the day

2009-08-05T10:45:00.004-05:00

I'm sure you've all seen those pictures passed around the internet of funny test answers to kids exams. Well, here is a website that has a TON of them, and they are hilarious.

FunnyExams.com

Some examples:

If you don't laugh, you might need to have your funny-bone examined by a doctor.

ESPN Outside The Lines: High school teammates carry on

2009-08-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

ESPN Outside The Lines: High school teammates carry on

ESPN Outside the Lines story about a pair of High School wrestlers who, together, overcame individual disabilities and hardships to succeed in wrestling and graduate from school.

If this story doesn't tear at your heart, nothing will...

Obamacare: Repeating the same thing over and expecting a different result

2009-08-03T15:21:00.005-05:00

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about the Healthcare exchange in California, and how it failed miserably because of one, undeniable fact: If there is a cheaper/better alternative, people will buy it.

Click here for the Wall Street Journal Article

Here is an excerpt:

As Congress debates creating insurance "exchanges" as part of a health-care overhaul, the failure of a similar effort in California may offer important insights, former participants in the program say.

From 1993 to 2006, small businesses in California could buy health insurance through an exchange run initially by the government, and later by a nonprofit group.
The plan was undermined when some businesses with relatively healthy workers bought policies more cheaply directly from insurers, bypassing the exchange. That left the exchange with a shrinking pool of less-healthy workers, forcing rates higher and prompting many insurers to withdraw.

So, when I hear Obama tell me things like: "Costs won't go up for the middle class" and "If you want to stick with your provider, you can do so", I can't help but think to myself :BULLONEY!! If everyone was able to opt out of government healthcare and simply stick with the existing providers, they would do so, because the care and level of service is much higher (If you doubt that government-run healthcare would be a low level of care, I suggest you visit your local VA hospital).

So, you end up with the same situation. The only people who would use Obamacare would be the ones with diseases or illnesses or bad habits (smoking, overeating, drug abuse, etc). That means only those in poor health will really be provided for under this coverage. This will, inherently, cause the costs to rise (more procedures needed, more tests, more expensive treatments) and ultimately to a failure of the system as doctors begin to realize that the government payment for their service will remain static as their variable costs continue to rise.

But lets say, for grins, that the government increases the payments and care for these "less healthy" individuals in order to keep the incentive for doctors to accept Obamacare. Well, that's going to cost more money, isn't it? And where does that money come from? That's right: YOU and ME! "Rich" people can't pay for everything. Eventually the government is going to run out of other people's money to give away and they are going to have to raise taxes to try to cover their shortfalls.

Everything about this plan simply reeks of documented historical failure. And it is utter insanity if we continue to repeat the same mistakes which have failed so miserably in the past. The Government has already run Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security into the ground. Healthcare is their next attempted step.

Listen, I think there is some good to come from healthcare reform. But this sweeping bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It will not provide what it promises, and it may ultimately contribute to the bankruptcy of America. The only reason this bill is even in consideration is because of blatant fear-mongering by the POTUS; a tactic which, in his campaign, he railed against. All of the insults towards W's reputation for ruling out of fear, and within the first 6 months, we have seen no change from that tact.

No more. Not here. Not now. Take a stand. Write your congressman. Just say NO to the "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009".

Idiocracy

2009-08-02T16:25:00.005-05:00

“As the 21st century began, human evolution was at a turning point. Natural selection, the process by which the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, reproduced in greater numbers than the rest, a process which had once favored the noblest traits of man, now began to favor different traits. Most science fiction of the day predicted a future that was more civilized and more intelligent. But as time went on, things seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. A dumbing down. How did this happen? Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence. With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most, and left the intelligent to become an endangered species.”

Such begins the movie idiocracy. If you’ve never seen it, the jist is that an utterly average man is frozen in cryostasis for 500 years, and when he wakes up, then entire earth is populated with absolute morons. Why? Because the dumb people had lots of children, and the smart people had few children, and over a number of years, this was the inevitable outcome.

In many ways, this is not too far from the truth of what our future very well could turn out to be. I read an article today about a girl who is suing the college she graduated from for her tuition back, because she didn’t get a job right away and she feels they did not do enough to get her one. Imagine that. This girl thinks it the job of the COLLEGE to find HER a career.

Click here for College Lawsuit Story

Where is the personal responsibility? Where is the individual drive? Where is the stick-to-it attitude that made America great.

With recent developments around healthcare and other capitol hill initiatives, America is turning more and more into a nanny-state. A place where the government must take care of the individual, because the individual is no longer willing or able to take care of themselves.

At some point, we all have to look deep within ourselves and say: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! No one is responsible for how your life turns out except YOU. Sure, some folks have it easier, and others have it harder. Such is life. It’s not always a fair and level playing field. The only thing a person can do is take personal responsibility for his or her actions and work to make the best of the situation provided to them, cause baby, that’s all ya got to work with!

So I say, enough of the government interference with natural selection. Those who work hard, should be allowed to reap the rewards of their hard work. Those who choose to do less should live the life that they are willing to work for. And that’s a life without plasma TV’s and 24 inch rims! Even though life isn’t fair, and we don’t all have the same advantages, we ALL have an EQUAL opportunity for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

Guns can be FUN!

2009-07-16T08:14:00.010-05:00

Ok, obviously that title might make some people angry. Guns are not meant to be fun toys, they are meant for safety and protection. However, that does not mean that a person cannot enjoy themselves immensely while honing their shooting skills at the range or a friends ranch.

One of my more recent gun purchases was this Springfield 1911. (My other guns are a Ruger 10/22 rifle and a Sig Sauer SP 2022 9mm) I'll admit, it was an impulse buy. I saw them online, I knew people who had them, and by damn I was going to have one myself. .45 cal is much more expensive to shoot than the 9mm I am used to and the gun is very finicky about ammo, but when you have the thing in your hands at the range, it's like pure heaven.

Another fun thing about guns is the fact that almost anyone can learn and use one. It's not rocket science. Pull trigger, gun goes bang. Pretty self-explanatory. However, the ease of use means that shooting doesn't always have to be something you do alone. I even made it a point to bring Molly along with me when I went to the range a while ago and had one of the proudest moments as a husband that I've ever had.

Molly and I had been at our station for about 20 minutes and it came time to change out the targets. Just as we were changing out targets a group of 5 or 6 "college buddies" came and parked at the stations next to ours. As they laughed and joked, Molly got a little "apprehensive" since she didn't really like anyone watching her do things like this. Well, I line-up first and fire the first magazine at my target. Then Molly steps up to shoot. Just as she gets to the station (I go back behind her a few feet, out of the firing line and so I can see how she is shooting), one of the guys walks in between her and I on the way back from tossing some empty boxes into the trash can. He stops for a split second to watch Molly's 1st shot at the target. Boom, Dead on bulls-eye. She had been shooting ok at the start, but had never hit dead center like she did on this shot. She glanced back and saw me and the guy watching and I gave her that "good job" look. She turned back around and fired her second shot. Boom, 2nd shot landed about a millimeter away from the 1st shot. Simply amazing. At that point, the dude turned back to me and mouthed "Wow!". As Molly continued to shoot, I watching him go back to his group of friends and proceed to point over to our station and re-tell the story about the hottie that just shot two nearly perfect shots in a row while he watched.

I was beaming. That's my girl!

It's a shame I haven't made the time to get back to the range in the last month or so. I really enjoy it and it is a great way to relieve stress. If you are ever in Houston, just let me know and I will bring you out to the range and let you squeeze off some rounds. If you didn't like shooting before, I bet you will after we're done.

Don't call her Liz!

2009-06-19T09:37:00.003-05:00

Got this one from Politico.

No name-calling

If you want to score a meeting with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), know this: His scheduler/office manager, Elizabeth Becton, is to be addressed by her full name — not Liz or any other variant.

An executive assistant at McBee Strategic recently learned this the hard way. A few weeks ago, the assistant e-mailed Becton seeking a meeting with McDermott and a client, JPMorgan Chase. Days later, the assistant checked back in and unfortunately began the e-mail with “Hi Liz.”

Becton curtly replied, “Who is Liz?”

When the assistant wrote back with an apology, Becton turned up the heat. “I do not go by Liz. Where did you get your information?” she asked.

The back-and-forth went on for 19 e-mails, with the assistant apologizing six times if she had “offended” Becton, while Becton lectured about name-calling.

Becton told the assistant that if someone said using “Liz” was acceptable, then “they are not your friend”, and “If I wanted you to call me by any other name, I would have offered that to you.” Plus, it’s “rude when people don’t even ask permission and take all sorts of liberties with your name,” she said, adding: “Please do not ever call me by a nickname again.”

But the tirade didn’t end there. Becton continued her riff — responding that the assistant “got played” by someone who was trying to “tick” Becton off. Becton’s final, searing missive stated: “In the future, you should be VERY careful about such things. People like to brag about their connections in D.C. It’s a pastime for some. It’s also dangerous to eavesdrop, as you have just found out. Quit apologizing and never call me anything but Elizabeth again. Also, make sure you correct anyone who attempts to call me by any other name but Elizabeth. Are we clear on this? Like I said, it’s a hot button for me. And please don’t call the office and not leave a message. My colleague told me you called while I was away. ... I do sometimes leave my desk.”

McDermott spokesman Mike DeCesare told us Tuesday, “An apology is being issued as we speak,” adding, “This isn’t reflective of the way we do business in this office.”

Read the saucy email exchange after the jump:

Click Here to read the article with the full email exchange.

Excellent email of the day

2009-06-17T11:06:00.004-05:00

Hilarious email forward. See how many you have done or agree with... (Warning: It's long!)

Getting married before you are 25 is like picking a movie to rent from the A-F aisle in a video store without checking anywhere else. Yeah you skipped "You Got Served", but you also skipped "Indiana Jones", "The Godfather", and sex with other people.

Last night, I gave a homeless guy a ride from McDonald's to where he'd stashed his bags about a mile down the road. He rocked out to my Stones CD the whole way, air-guitaring and singing his homeless ass off. **** yeah, homeless guy. **** yeah.

The thing I admire about the rat tail is that it takes commitment. It's not like one day you just decide you want one, you have to grow out that bad boy and you have to repeatedly convince the hairdresser to trust you because it's a great idea.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

My 4 year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

I was on the phone with my friend the other day when he yelled, "****! I can't find my phone! Hold on." At a loss, I chose to remain silent and let him work that one out himself...

Literally means exactly as you describe, dumbass. "I can't believe they fired me, I literally put my heart and soul into this job.." No, no you didn't. Unless you worked at an Aztec temple and they demanded sacrifice, you did not literally do ****.

Eating dessert, skipping class, and having sex all have one thing in common. Once the idea crosses your mind it's almost impossible not to do it, and if someone else says it out loud, it's 100% going to happen.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us". Classy, bro.

Quit calling yourself fat if you are clearly not fat. I am not going to say you're not anymore. I'm just going to nod and make that ehhhh kinda sound.

If I say "You're killing me, Smalls" and the person I'm talking to looks at me with confusion and doesn't know why I've called them Smalls, I question why I'm friends with them.

I think the worst STD you could ever get is babies.

Sandwiches always taste better when someone else makes them.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time" is always the right answer.

Sometimes I wonder if philosophers were actually that much smarter than everyone else, or if they were just the only ones who remembered to write down all the cool **** they thought of in the shower.

I have a hard time understanding commercials for TVs that try to show how vivid the picture is on their brand of TVs. I'm still watching your commercial on my ****ty one.

When I have to work late, the last thing I do is send a somewhat meaningless email to my boss, just so she knows I was in the office until at least 7:53.

In Home Depot today I saw a product called "Liquid Tape.” That sounds an awful lot like glue....

If I'm supposed to meet you somewhere and you call to see where I am and I respond "I'm on my way" or "I'm almost there," I probably haven't left my house yet. And when I have finally arrived, I will be blaming my tardiness on traffic.

It might look like I'm enjoying the cool music on my iPod with my headphones on, but I'm secretly listening to your conversation.

I think I'm going to start a bar called the gym. Then all of these people who really just want to say they went to the gym without actually working out would have somewhere to go.

The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

Wine glass? Tumbler? Snifter? Dude, we're getting drunk, not aristocrating on the Titanic. Just pour the booze into those plastic cups over there and the rest will work itself out.

I laugh every time I see a "Slow Children at Play" sign. They should really put a comma in there... I'm going to hell.

Anyone who says working out in the morning "gives them energy throughout the day" is full of ****.

I always wonder how some parts get cast in movies. I can just imagine bulletins that say "Read for the parts of the Hideously Ugly & Overweight Girl and for the Toothless, Senile Old Man who Poops Himself today at 4pm." Someone out there is seeing this & says "Now that sounds like a part for me!"

Whenever my car makes a strange noise the solution is always turning up the radio.

I will definitely not enroll my future daughter in gymnastics seeing as I know she will only use her skills later in life for sexual positions.

If I show up to work an hour before my boss, I am doing whatever I want for that hour.

Hey eyelid twitch - thanks for fulfilling my life long dream of looking like a serial killer about to go on a rampage.

"Don't Stop Believing" is the like "Eye of the Tiger" for drunk people.

Whenever it's below freezing, and you see a girl walking to the bar without a coat on, you should definitely make a move on her. You already know she's into bad decisions.

I think "I don't like [insert rum/vodka/gin/whiskey]" is actually code for "I once puked up a ton of [insert rum/vodka/gin/whiskey] and thought I was going to die."

When asked "Why does no one know how to please a woman?" Anonymous gave this answer: "Because nobody has a penis made out of chocolate that ejaculates money."

I have discovered that my hatred for abbreviations and anal retentiveness for spelling has made me the best drunk texter ever. Sure, I may be squinting out of one eye with my tongue sticking out in complete concentration at my phone, which is one inch from my eyeball, but you're going to understand what I'm saying, goddammit.

If I don't shower within 30 minutes of working out, I'm not showering.

I wish my office directory would also list people's relationship status.

Dear Pringles, Now that I am no longer a child, I can no longer fit my hand inside your tube of deliciousness. Work on that.

You know it's time to do dishes when you're drinking water from a martini glass.

Condoms are for strangers, not girlfriends.

You should get a prize just for showing up at work on crappy weather days.

Beware your drunken inner-entrepreneur. While nursing a hangover, I found my handwriting on a wadded up bar napkin that simply read, New Restaurant Idea: Date Crepe! I can't decide if I should be more worried about the concept, or the fact that I added an exclamation point.

Cops should be able to pull over people who don't turn right on red.

There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

At the bar last night a guy called his wife to tell her he was on the way home and to warm up the cock garage.

Nothing throws you into a state of panic like getting a phantom vibrate from an empty pocket.

The most glorious ten seconds after you and your date have parted ways is when you finally succumb to your flatulence.

I like to give my friends checks when I owe them money rather than cash, just so I can write stuff like "last night" in the 'For' section.

I need new drinking friends, the type that will be single when I am and in a relationship when I am, not consistently the opposite no matter what.

I’m pretty sure I get 'self beer goggles'. The more beers I drink the hotter I appear in the mirror. Sad downfall to reality when I see those Facebook photos of the previous night and realize how awful I actually look when wasted.

The scariest 10 seconds ever is when you are double checking who you just sent a text message to... just in case.

I have the deepest desire for my turn signal to be perfectly in sync with the person in front of me.

Me? Oh no. I didn't stay here and let my dreams slowly die in the same backwater town I grew up in, like you did. I'm just home for the holidays. Well, it's nice seeing you. Bye.

As a former bouncer at a bar, I don't think that there is anything funnier than turning on the ugly lights at 2am and watching the looks on peoples faces, as they realize what they are about to sleep with.

Yeah I ****ed you. When we make eye contact in a bar the least you could do is nod and lift your beer.

I think I edited most of the bad language. Hope you got a laugh!

You scare me....

2009-06-11T14:07:00.007-05:00

Many of you know that I am not a huge Obama supporter and have many issues with his policies and political beliefs. One other person who seems to share my views is the former Vice President of Proctor & Gamble, Lou Pritchett. Here is an open letter he wrote:

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don’t understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and ‘class’, always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the ‘blame America’ crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer ‘wind mills’ to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use ‘extortion’ tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O’Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

I concur.

Zack Morris is back!!

2009-06-10T11:00:00.005-05:00

So, apparently Mark Paul Gosselaar went on the Jimmy Fallon show as "Zack Morris". Fallon is trying to get a Saved by the Bell reunion together. Pretty funny stuff.

Where have all the greenbacks gone?

2009-06-10T09:27:00.022-05:00

It's that time of year again. Time for the mid-year family budget review. As Molly and I continue to plan for future events like large purchases and our big planned China vacation next year, it becomes more and more imperative that we track and review our family budget.

The most recent review of the budget, which we updated this week, found that we are spending WAY too much money on eating out. We used to be in the rut where we would rarely go out to eat. To the point that I would often hear complaints about how we "never go anywhere". It seems, though, that in the past 6 months, we have really stepped up the restaraunt trips, to the point where we are spending somewhere between $250-300 per month on eating out. When you add that to typical grocery expenses, it really adds up to a big number in the "Food" line-item.

Also, we found that we really should have more extra money at the end of the month than we currently do. It seems as though every single month, there is always a big, unexpected expenditure. Car repair, a ticket, a trip, an impulse purchase, new furniture... If we would simply stick to the budget we set-forth, we would have plenty of money to boost our savings and save enough to make our China trip amazing.

It's not all bad though. A few months ago we paid off the last of our credit card debt, and have been able to re-allocate the money that we were spending on that to things like savings and IRA. That was a big accomplishment and the result is that we are now much more careful with purchases than we had been before. Instead of just buying something with the credit card, and paying it over a few months, we are saving-up for purchases and buying with cash. It makes the finance side of me a very happy camper.

If any of you haven't done a family budget, or haven't updated yours in a while, I highly advise you to do so today. Here is a great, free little excel workbook which will give you an easy template to follow to put together your yearly budget.

(Click on the picture to go to the page with the free download)

You can also check out Mint.com. It is an excellent online budget/financial planning and tracking website.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

2009-06-10T08:08:00.007-05:00

In the funny/weird news of the day category:

The world record for the largest number of people dressed as Smurfs has been smashed in Swansea. The Welsh city was turned blue as a group of 2,510 people, the majority of whom were students from the local university, crammed into the Oceana nightclub to almost double the previous record.

Wow. I thought I had some major time on my hands. How do you find and convince over 2,500 people to color themselves blue and dress up as smurfs? I have to assume that facebook was somehow involved.

Needing a Vacation FROM Vacation

2009-06-09T12:27:00.004-05:00

As most of you probably know, Molly and I took a one week vacation to the mother-Island of Puerto Rico with my sister and her boyfriend Steve. The trip was, for my sister and I, to see family and introduce them to our significant others. For Molly and Steve, however, the trip was meant to simply be a relaxing vacation.

Therein lied the problem.

My sister and I were so hell-bent on going from San Juan to Arecibo to Sabana Grande to the Phosphorescent Bay back to Arecibo back to San Juan, etc etc that we never really had any time to truly relax. Nearly every morning we were up by 6AM (1st morning was thanks to Steve for leaving the curtains open in the hotel room) and we immediately were on our way out to the door for one activity or another.

While that lead to us seeing the MOST of Puerto Rico and family as we could in 7 days, it also lead to us being dead tired, and returning to Houston feeling like we hadn't been on vacation at all.

I think in the future, I will leave much more room in the trip-plans for "Nothing". There is much to be gained on vacation from simply laying in the sun, reading a book or listening to music, and just relaxing. THAT is what vacations are for.

Welcome to Vega's Blog

2009-06-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

Seeing as how Molly has her own website, and I have grown increasingly tired of facebook status updates and "tweets", I have decided to create my own blog. Now, you may be asking yourself, what the heck is Daniel going to be blogging about exactly? Well, I figure this will be a blog about a few of things.

1) I will tell you about what is going on with Molly and I. Travel, family, work, school, etc.

2) I will give brief opinions about some of today's current events. Some of you know my political views well, and for those who don't, you soon will.

3) I'll let you know some of the funny and interesting news, stories, articles and life-events which are currently going on around the world, and in Houston.

Hopefully, a few people care about what is going on in our lives and can enjoy some of the things that randomly pop into my head.

Cheers to All,

Daniel

Kalidasa

2009-02-17T21:18:00.000-06:00

"Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life, and in it's brief course lie all the verities and realities of our existence; the bliss of growth, the joy of action, the splendor of achievement, for yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope, look well therefore to this day."