And now, the end of "Post Every Day" month

(gasp gasp wheeze wheeze wheeze)

Whew! Sorry, but I'm out of breath after having posted something every day for the entire month of June! I must admit that there were days in which I didn't know what to post, and a couple of times, I came close to forgetting to post something! But I did it.

Okay, I think I've caught my breath now. Later today, I'm going to post something as a way to finish out this month, as well as introduce next month's editorial statement. However, I wish to let you good folks and faithful readers (hopefully this is the same group of people!) know that, after today, I will be taking a break from blogging for about a week.

As it turns out, I'm on vacation from work this first week in July, so I thought that it would be a good time to also take a break from blogging, after having posted something every day. I don't want to burn out, after all. But I hope that my experiment has shown that it can be done. And I hope that I have inspired some of you to at least seriously consider taking up blogging. And I hope that some of you take up blogging. And I also hope that I've shown that you don't have to post something deep and profound every time you post.

Anyway, it's been an interesting and fun ride, and perhaps I'll try to do it again soon. But not too soon! So after today's later post, which will be a sort of "Weekend Wrap-up", I'll take a week-long break, and I'll see you good folks again on Sunday, July 8th.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you all again in a week!

A zorse is a zorse is a zorse, of course...

Look! It's a horse! No, it's a zebra! Wrong again! It's a zorse!

It's actually a hybrid horse-zebra, which doesn't happen often. To me, he looks like a zebra whose inkjets went dry just as he was being printed out. ;-)

How not to mug someone

If you plan to mug someone, don't leave your picture behind for others to find. It could prove embarrassing later.

"Judge Fancypants" loses 54 mil lawsuit

Okay, I didn't mean to make Paris Hilton my ONLY topic of discussion yesterday, but I was that busy! Sorry for subjecting you all to that!

What I had planned on discussing was the lawsuit of 54 million dollars over a pair of pants. Judge Roy Pearson had sued a local dry cleaners for 54 million dollars because they lost his pants (which means what - that he's been running around in boxers ever since?). Look at that number, folks. Numbered out that's...

$54,000,000!

I know that there's some very nice pairs of pants out there, but there ain't none of them that is worth no $54,000,000! WHAT in the WORLD was Judge Pearson trying to prove with this absurdity? Nothing good, that's for sure! That's why I'm calling him "Judge Fancypants."

I am glad that the court ruled not only against him, but that he also had to pay the court fees that the defendent had to spend to fight this stupid lawsuit. A motion to have Pearson also pay the defendents' legal fees is in works, and I hope it goes through, because such petty vindictiveness and abusiveness needs to be punished.

It makes me think of that old lawyer joke that states, "99% of all the lawyers make the rest look bad." Between Pearson and Nifong (see blog entry from a couple of days ago), the legal profession is looking rather bad lately.

Paris liberated!

Paris Hilton has been liberated from prison! Now they're talking about her again! They're also about to offer her boo-coos of cash so that they can interview her about her experiences in jail! Do we really want to be put through all that again? Quick! Put her back in prison before they get carried away again with all the non-stop discussion! It drove me nuts last time!

School enforces strict no-touching rule

In a move that shouldn't be surprising nowadays in our politically-correct and lawsuit-happy society, a middle school in Virginia has established a strict no-touching policy. Not even high-fives. How Orwellian, eh?

While the reasoning may certainly be understandable - the school wants to discourage both public expressions of affection as well as fighting - the application of that reasoning is rather draconian. However, it's easy to understand why school administrators would be pushed to such extreme measures, given that our society is so quick to sue over just about anything. What else can they do to cover their respective buttocks other than to make and enforce such obviously ridiculous policies?

The thing that this story represents is NOT a problem so much as it is a symptom of a larger problem, and that problem is our current legalistic scare tactics that has everyone from schools to the medical industry intimidated to virtually the point of paralysis over the possibility that someone with an axe to grind can put them through possibly years of legal and financial hell, and sometimes for the most frivolous of things. So rather than go through such legal and financial stress, it's easier to just give in - even if the result of that is a bunch of ridiculous rules.

Fixing this larger problem won't be easy, because things got the way they are over a period of many years, and it will take probably as long to correct. In the meantime, we're going to have more such ridiculous rules until such time that reason rules instead of the Mike Nifongs of the world. Sadly, it's probably going to take more Mike Nifongs to make the news before any serious change will occur. All the more reason why we have to be selective in who we vote for, folks! Remember this in 2008!

Bush gives Pope a walking stick

I was a bit surprised that this news story was news. It's in regard to the gift that President Bush gave Pope Benedict XVI. Below is a pic of the gift. It's a walking stick that was made by a former homeless man. It's inscribed with the 10 Commandments, and it was that man's means of paying his bills. It was a 'controversy' because the gift was a rather homely gift, seeing that it came from the head of the most influential country in the world and it was given to someone whose influence is also very extensive. Also, the 10 Commandments are numbered according to the Protestant understanding, rather than the Catholic one. While I can understand all that, it seems to me that it's hard to give a gift to someone like Pope Benedict that he hasn't already gotten. I don't blame Bush for trying something different, and the Pope actually looks pleased with the gift.

At least Bush didn't give Benedict what former President Lyndon B. Johnson gave former Pope Paul VI: He gave him a statue of: Lyndon B. Johnson! I literally laughed out loud when I read that! CAN YOU IMAGINE the uproar from the mainstream media would have been had Bush done that? And Saturday Night Live would have material for endless skits!















By the way, folks - this is the last week for my "Post something every day" month. I've managed to do this so far! I'm on the last lap!

Indiana Jones is back

Yep, Indiana Jones is back, and below is the first pic of how he'll look in the upcoming movie.

Check out that site for other Indy related info.

Can you already hear the familiar Indiana Jones music playing in your head? ;-)

Oldest brothers the smartest?

As a younger brother, I would like to contest this study's conclusions as reported in this article! It says that the oldest brothers are often the smartest!

Me not dumb!

Me smart! Me real smart!

Me can count to 20 without using toes!

"Slammin' " Sammy Sosa smacks 600th tater

In a bit of happy news in an otherwise dreary season, Texas Rangers' Sammy Sosa smacked his 600th career tater ("homer" for those of you who don't know the slang). I was actually watching it at the time. For a moment, I forgot that the Rangers are having a dismal season. And we won the game, to boot!

Notes on the Journey to Nerdville

I took another step on my journey to Nerdville. I just got a portable DVD player! As you can see on the image below, it has its own video screen so that I can watch DVDs right on it. However, it can also hook up to any modern TV and show the movie on that TV instead. I had recently bought some DVDs from the Teaching Company, and now I have a DVD player to watch them on! I plan to watch the lectures during lunchtime. I'll be feeding my brain at the same time that I'm feeding my body. :-D

Gotta love this cool tech! This portable DVD player is to our day and age what the Sony Walkman was back in the 1980s. My, how the times have changed! When I've used the DVD player, I'll let you know how it does.

Vatican's 10 Commandments for drivers

Pay attention! This comes from the Pope! Most of what's below is plain ol' common sense, but as we all know, common sense ain't so common.

Vatican's 10 Commandments for drivers:

1. You shall not kill.

2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

7. Support the families of accident victims.

8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

10. Feel responsible toward others.

Sports!

Hey! It's been more than half a month, and I ain't talked sports yet! Maybe that's because there's very little good news in our neck of the Texas woods.

The Mavs bowed out early this time around, and the San Antonio Spurs instead ended up taking the championship. And most importantly, Michael Finley finally got his championship ring. He deserves getting at least one. Even though the Spurs are the whiniest team in the NBA, I still prefer that a Texas team won the title than for some East coast team to take it. ANY team but an east coast team - or the Lakers. And a Texas team winning the title will only get into the craw of those East Coast boys, so I gotta love it. >:-D

And then there's the Texas Rangers. Yes, take the Rangers. Please. (badaBOOM!) Thing is, the Rangers are supposed to be this bad AFTER the All Star game! To suck so badly so early into the season is going against the script! SIGH. We have a new manager, and the players had allegedly loved him. Well, the love is gone. Maybe it wasn't important whether they loved the manager. I'd take a manager they hate if it meant winning games! I'm ready for Mark Cuban to buy this team, but why would he?

SIGH.

Well, at least football's coming up...

Father's Day

Today is the Father's Day special here at The Blog @ Araujo Arts. Come in! Come in!

We got your sports, your beer, and your outdoor grilling. So pull up a seat and take in the festivities! Oh, and don't forget to call dear ol' Dad and wish him a Happy Father's Day.

Aaah! Watch that grill! Dang! Almost burned that hamburger patty!

Pity Poor Pluto...

Bad enough that last year the planet Pluto got demoted to a new category of "dwarf planet", it turns out that it's not even the biggest one of those. Why are astronomers putting the native Plutonians through this? What have they done to deserve not one demotion, but two? I tell ya, if I were a Plutonian, I'd sue whoever decides this stuff. I mean, all these years, Pluto was out there as our official furthest planet, and then BAM! Suddenly, out of the blue, it's now a "dwarf planet".

Who could suffer such a demotion and not be affected? How would you like it if you went around minding your business as - for example, an accountant - and then suddenly you get the word that you're now a "dwarf accountant"? Nothing about you has changed; you're certainly not any smaller - you're actually bigger, truth be told. But just because some bozo in some ivory tower has nothing better to do, you're suddenly classified as a "dwarf accountant". What would your clients think of you if you had to change all your business stationary to say:

Michael David Pencilpusher: Dwarf CPA

They'll read your card, they'll look at you, and then can't figure out what's "dwarf" about you. When you try to explain that some yahoo in a secluded European villa suddenly decided that that's your new category, you'll no doubt get some strange looks. And you'll also lose clients as a result. Sure you may gain some clients out of pity, but who wants to be known as a "pity accountant"? Then - AND THEN - throw on top of that that you now discover that you're not even the biggest dwarf accountant. I tell ya, how much can an ego take?

Thus, then, you have an idea of the plight of poor Pluto. You know who I think started all this? My guess is that it was the natives of Neptune. The Neptunians have always been jealous of Pluto's role as the most distant planet. Here Neptune is many times larger than Pluto and has pull (gravity-wise) in the solar system that's passed by only Jupiter and Saturn, and yet people pass over it because it's the second furthest planet. So they wheeled and dealed to get some goods on Pluto that would cause it to be demoted. And there you have it. The Neptunians will deny it, of course, but this has their grubby little fingerprints all over it.

Pluto should do what the rest of us on Earth do and get a lawyer.

Halfway point of "Post Every Day" month

Okay, folks. It's the halfway point of "Post Every Day" month.

Nope, that's it. That's the whole post. :-)

(Hey, c'mon! I've been posting for two weeks straight!)

Man fails school exam for 38th time

This dude is determined, if nothing else. He has tried - and failed - to pass his school exam for 38 times. He does not want to get married until he passes it. He's now 73. Why don't his teachers just give the man an "A" for effort? Let the man live out the rest of his life!

And not only that, once he passes, he intends to marry someone under 30. Hmm. That might take awhile too....

I'm gonna pray for this man that God will finally reward his perseverence. AND that he finds a wife.

Memorial to Communism's victims erected

This article notes the erection of a monument to victims of Communism. I've never understood the appeal of communism, especially among those who refer to themselves as open-minded intellectuals. I would think that someone who was open-minded and intellectual would see that communism is actually the antithesis of open-mindedness and intellectualism. I base this on the fact that, historically, Soviet Russia and Communist China, along with Communist Cuba and left-leaning and communist-sympathizing Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are hardly supportive of openness in their respective countries. Just recently, Chavez shut down opposition media outlets.

Communist countries do not support the freedom of speech, of expression, of protest, and many other freedoms that we take for granted. Does that sound like a system of government that would encourage the sort of environment that an open-minded intellectual would support, much less be fostered in? One example of the difference between a communist system and a free system was dramatically displayed when a man who had been in a coma since Poland was still under communism, and woke to a free Poland. He went into a coma with rationing and stores with nearly bare shelves. He awoke from a coma to find the world transformed, with store shelves holding more items than he thought possible. And all that in just the 20 years that he had been in the coma.

And last, consider the stat in that article that states that an estimated 100 million lives were lost to communism. 100 million! That's much, much more than the lives lost to Nazism! How can an open-minded intellectual view such a bloody system as something to emulate? What part of state sanctioned mass murder do they not understand? Whatever communist sympathizers see in communism must be DAMN good and blinding them to its faults. And if it's that good at blinding supporters to its faults, then I want nothing to do with communism.

Communism has been a colossal failure on a scale unprecedented in human history. What's needed is not just this monument, but many, many more monuments in other countries around the world, especially since communism still exists, and because there's still open-minded intellectuals under the delusion that communism is somehow going to save mankind. Save mankind for what, I wonder? Maybe those open-minded intellectuals should think about that. Maybe they should talk to that man from Poland to get an idea of just what they want to rescue mankind from. If communism is an example of open-minded intellectualism, let me be closed-minded and stupid!

Imperial Rome reborn

www.romereborn.virginia.edu

The link above is to a virtual recreation of Imperial Rome. What my computer could show looked impressive. Unfortunately, the image was small, and the music hesitant. I don't know if this means that the program is memory intensive to the point that my computer can't handle it. While my computer may not be the latest top-of-the-line model, it's no slouch, either. Maybe some of you can check it to see if your computer has trouble running the program smoothly.

Something else I would have liked is to be able to scroll the streets of Rome on my own by using my mouse and its scroll wheel, rather than letting the program do all the camera panning. If the programmers are going to go through the effort to recreate a virtual imperial Rome, they should at least allow us the chance to "walk" the streets on our own. After all, this is the only way we'll be able to wander the streets of old Rome!

Other than that, this recreation is nicely done. As a history buff, I really enjoyed it.

Roller coaster stuck for 30 minutes

The poor folks in the pictures below were not only stuck for 30 minutes on the roller coaster, but stuck upside down. According to the story linked here, there was an outage nearby that caused the roller coaster to get stuck. I know that I'd hate to be in that situation.

Okay, I tried to avoid discussing this (hint: PH)

I'm touching briefly on this topic, and if you care to not hear anymore about Paris Hilton, then please stop now. Come back tomorrow for a new post, for this is still "Post Every Day" month, and you will only have to wait until tomorrow for me to talk about something else. :-)

First, I had my fun with my "Liberate Paris" post, but I also noticed that quite a few people enjoyed Paris' recent re-incarceration a little TOO much. Yeah, I agree that she is a whiny little brat who showed her true colors Friday. But when you think about it, who's really to blame for the way Paris currently behaves? You got it: Mommy and Daddy. Granted, Paris is an adult now, and is actually responsible for her own behavior now, but Paris didn't get this way on her own. She had to be raised this way to get used to getting away with what she had been able to get away with. Hopefully, Paris' very public and very embarrassing tantrum likewise punished her parents over the way they failed to raise their daughter.

I'm not intending to make this a post so much about Paris as it is about how children can be raised the wrong way. It also goes to show the importance of proper parenting. Parents raising their children right will go a long way to help their children live responsible lives. The one lesson that parents need to learn first is how to tell their children "NO" and to stick to it. When the lesson that there are limits in life is learned in front of a judge, then it's a lesson that the parents failed to teach their children. I'm hoping that this whole public spectacle will have taught other parents at least that much. Granted, parents can do just about everything right in raising their child, and the child could STILL go wrong, but the odds are much, much better if the parents help instill discipline in their children than if they don't. It's amazing that this lesson keeps being in need of learning over and over, but if the need for it still remains, then we need to keep teaching it for as often as we need to.

As for Paris herself, she recently stated that she will begin "learning and growing". I hope so, and I'm totally sincere about that. In fact, I'm praying that she truly will be "learning and growing". This appearance before the judge is a wake-up call. She's been fortunate so far that she hasn't killed herself AND others with her drunk driving incidents. In a very real way, that judge just may have saved her life. The way Paris was going isn't one that leads one to become a better person, and God bless this judge who had the clarity of thinking AND courage to make the right stand and hold Paris accountable for her actions. One day, I hope that Paris thanks that judge for his courage, because that judge has done more for her in that one ruling than her parents have in Paris' whole life. Time will tell if Paris comes out of this a better person. I hope and pray that she does, because she can then turn around and help save the lives of other young women who are following her path to destruction.

In other words, this story just may end up having a happy ending. For the sake of Paris, let's hope so.

I'm on YouTube!

That's me in the background holding the "Liberate Paris" sign. As you can see, I was upset over the decision to have Paris serve out her sentence, because now it means 40 more days of Paris Hilton "news" coverage! Can you blame me for being upset?

Animated Bayeaux tapestry

This day and age brings animation styles that in the past would have been very time consuming to impossible to create otherwise. An example is this video made out of the famous Bayeaux tapestry. Just consider it a little history lesson for those with short attention spans. :-)

I have a new cause: LIBERATE PARIS!

I have a new cause, ladies and gentleman, and it can be summed up in two words: LIBERATE PARIS!!

And then maybe they'll stop talking about her!!!!

GAAAHH! I'm going nuts with all this news coverage!!

---------------------------------------------------

Someone just asked me how bad the news coverage is about Paris Hilton. I told him that I'm starting to miss the press coverage of Rosie O' Donnell!!

Man in wheelchair pushed down highway by semi

I don't know what to make of this story, other than to say that I'm glad that the dude in the wheelchair was no more than shaken up by the experience. A man's wheelchair got stuck in the grill of a semi, and he had gone 4 miles on the highway before the driver realized that someone was stuck on his grill. Fortunately, a police officer saw the situation and stopped the truck before it had gotten much further.

"Dispatch, I got a wheelchair clocking 60 on Highway 80. Am taking pursuit."

Democrats try to push embryonic stem cell research

Once again, the Democrats are trying to push embryonic stem cell research through, despite that embryonic stem cells are yet to work. ANYWHERE. Before I continue, let me ask this: Is the Catholic Church opposed to stem cell research? If you answered 'yes', you'd be wrong. The CC is not opposed to stem cell research, just *embryonic* stem cell research. I'm only mentioning this because most news articles that mention stem cell research and the CC's opposition to it almost without fail do not make this important distinction. Almost always, the message that is conveyed in the article is that the "CC is opposed to progress."

So I ask, and I know I've asked this before, why isn't more money put in the non-controversial - and workable! - adult stem cells and stem cells obtained from umbilical cords? The usual line is that such stem cells aren't as flexible as embryonic stem cells. Well guess what, folks? The flexibility of embryonic stem cells is still *theoretical*, because they haven't proven to work! So what embryonic stem cell researchers are actually comparing are ghost statistics. And yet, these con men are able to push their ghost statistics onto our lawmakers so that they keep trying to pass funding for this ghost research. And as with any con game, someone out there is making a ton of money.

Thing is, adult and other non-controversial stem cells work NOW. No, they don't match the "success" rate of the still-theoretical flexibility of embryonic stem cells, but with more research, they might get very close. Already there's promise that such stem cells might help in battling diabetes. Not only that, embryonic stem cells may not ever live up to the "hype". Right now, such stem cells have shown to be more successful to causing cancer rather than cures, so this means that it might be years - even decades (if ever!) - before embryonic stem cells provide more cures than cancers, much less becoming the miracle cure that it's been hyped up to be.

In the meantime, the non-controversial stem cells could be having all that success in cures, and that day could come faster if the people in positions of influence would stop listening to the honeyed words of con artists and invest their money in that research instead. The best thing we can do is let our representatives know our preferences in the type of research that we want our tax money to be going to. It's time to stop listening to con artists, and invest our money elsewhere.

I say that we let embryonic stem cell researchers try to get their research money from private sources and see what kind of success they have. If private investors aren't willing to invest in this type of research, why should our tax money go to it?

Man tries to board Popemobile

A man tried to board Pope Benedict XVI's Popemobile as it went along St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. Fortunately, not only was the Pope not hurt, he didn't even seem to notice the man trying to grab the back of the Popemobile - so quickly had the guards grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground.

What this shows, though, is that the Pope needs Pope Goons. He needs goons for protection in situations like this. Don't get me wrong, the Pope's security force is cool and all that, but the Swiss Guard's uniforms look too nice, and such dirty work should be the job of Pope Goons.

Here are the Swiss Guards' uniforms. See? Who wants to mess that up taking down somebody? Nope, you need a guy who looks like someone you don't want to mess with.

Friendship Quiz

From my e-mail: Below are my answers, followed by just the questions so that you can cut and paste them for your answers before e-mailing them to your friends.

-------------------------------------

FW: Subject: Friendship Quiz

The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those You Know.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My mom. She's Juanita, and I'm Juan - although I go by John

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I don't remember. It might have been last year when the Dallas Mavericks lost 4 straight in the NBA Championship after winning the first two games.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? More now than when I was a kid. I had terrible handwriting, but seeing the usual doctor's handwriting always made me feel better.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Ham.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably. I'd be hard to talk to, though, since I'm hard of hearing.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Only with people who could take it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I've done a lot of dumb things in my life, and bungee jumping is one thing that I wouldn't do.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Honeynut Cheerios.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes, otherwise I couldn't get them off!

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes, but I bathe every day to take care of that. Oh! You mean strong in another way! I think I'm more strong mentally than physically. Being a cartoonist does not do wonders for your physique.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Plain ol' vanilla.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I guess how they're dressed. I never thought about that.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I wish my hearing was better.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? That would probably be my grandmother, whom I didn't appreciate enough when she was alive.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Only to my e-mail address. And if you do send it to me, I promise that I won't post it here.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black shorts, no shoes.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A hamburger.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My fingers typing on the keyboard.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? What is this, a beauty pagent? Why not ask me what my turn-offs are? I don't know what color I'd be! I never thought about being a crayon!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? A tossup between a real Christmas tree and "the new car smell".

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom. She said, "Hello son-who-is-named-after-me."

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yeah. Marge is cool. :-)

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football.

27. HAIR COLOR? For what's remaining, black with gray temples.

28. EYE COLOR? Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Batman Begins. I actually prefer it to Tim Burton's Batman.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Gray.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? It's about to be summer.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Banana pudding, especially with vanilla wafers.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND: Any candidate running for president right now.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND: Paris Hilton (read the recent news to see why)

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? None. I mostly read news mags.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Nothing but the color green.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Nothing.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? "Here's the money I owe you".

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can read text that is upside down and backwards.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Fort Worth, Texas

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Any candidate for president. Maybe we'll finally get a straight answer from them!

----------------------------------

Forward to your friends! See if they stay your friends! ;-)

FW: Subject: Friendship Quiz
The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those You Know.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
27. HAIR COLOR?
28. EYE COLOR?
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND:
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND:
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?

"Dr. Death" is out of prison

Jack Kevorkian, aka "Dr. Death", is out of prison after having served his 8 year sentence. And he ain't a happy man. During his time in prison, he sees that his pet cause of assisted suicide has not advanced beyond the state of Oregon. And folks, let's pray that this man never sees his pet cause advance any more than it has already. Pray, actually, that it retreats to the point of going away.

You've heard the term "assisted suicide" before. It's also called "death with dignity". This was especially brought to light in 2005 when Terri Schiavo was all over the news. To refresh your memory, Terri was the woman who was disabled and lying in a hospital while her husband and her parents fought over who would care for her. Her husband won out, and Terri was subjected to a slow death by starvation for two weeks until she passed away. As I often tell "death with dignity" advocates, tell me what's so dignified about being starved to death for two weeks. I've said before in this blog that I find such practices barbaric.

No doubt, Kervorkian would reply to my observation above that he could have prevented the whole public spectacle of a starvation death by the use of his "suicide machine". Why wait over two weeks, when the matter could be settled in minutes? But ultimately, it doesn't matter if death is brought about in two minutes or two weeks. And it doesn't matter if it's called "assisted suicide", "physician assisted suicide", "death with dignity", or "passive euthanasia", it's still different labels for the same thing: the deliberate ending of a life deemed "not worth living".

Does the phrase "life not worth living" sound familiar? It's from your history class - specifically Nazi Germany - who used the term to justify the extermination of those they deemed as useless; usually the mentally and physically disabled (this was before they had moved on to the Jews and other races that they later killed in the Holocaust). The promotion and acceptance of euthanasia promotes exactly that: life not worth living.

Proponents of euthanasia will NEVER state it that way, but that's what they mean. And they'll appeal to your compassionate and sympathetic side by saying that "we are only trying to end the suffering of those who are close to death and are in terrible agony." Don't buy it, folks. It may start out as being only for those close to death, but it WILL move beyond such people if we let it. Maybe if I tell you who would be the immediate beneficiary of the passage of laws that legalize euthanasia, then you'll have second thoughts about it: the health insurance industries (HMOs from here on).

Think about the times that you've gone to the doctor or the emergency room, and later found out that your HMO didn't cover this or that, and you later got sent the bills. If you're like me, you got bits and pieces of bills that arrived after your HMO had filtered your bill and decided that it wouldn't cover this or that. Why do you pay for that health insurance? It's to help cover your medical expenses, right? And as much as you pay, they still won't pay for some of your medical needs. They are, after all, a for-profit organization, and they have their bottom line to consider.

Now think about how HMOs would put legalized euthanasia to work for them. If they are a for-profit organization, and the bottom line matters to them, it is a short stretch for them to decide that they won't pay for expensive medical procedures if you're close to death anyway, so they opt for "death with dignity" to cut their expenses. Oh? You don't think that a for-profit organization would put profit ahead of morals or ethics? What side of Enron and WorldCom are you on, anyway?

Folks, if euthanasia is legalized, don't doubt for a second that the lawyers for HMOs would fight for the right to decide the "death with dignity" option for when one of their clients starts to become a financial drain. If you're a liberal, then the idea of a corporation and lawyers working together to protect their bottom line should make you wet your pants. Actually, it should make anyone wet their pants. But it's not just because HMOs would benefit that we should oppose legalized euthanasia - however it may be defined.

All life is of equal worth, and it should be treated as such, from our conception to our natural death. And yes, we do all die. And not being in favor of ending life before its natural end does not mean that we must extend it indefinitely, beyond when that life would have naturally expired. But I don't think our culture is in any danger of trying too hard to keep someone alive - rather, it's more inclined to expediency and convenience. Instead of looking for ways to get past the moral and ethical dilemmas of when to end the support of a life that's close to death, we should be examining WHY it's so important for us to find ways to get past the moral and ethical dilemmas of when to end the support of a life that's close to death.

We are, after all, talking about a human life, no matter how frail and fragile it is. The strength of the foundation of our civilization is determined by how we treat the least among us, and right now, we have a pretty sorry track record, what with legalized abortion and all. So I ask, if we have that great a difficulty of seeing why legalized abortion is wrong, what makes us think that legalizing euthanasia will help set us right? We were rushed into legalized abortion by Roe vs. Wade, which cut off very needed discussion and debate. Now even some supporters of Roe are seeing that (though the majority of them still don't support overturning it).

So if rushing into Roe was wrong, why would rushing into legalized euthanasia be right? So far, we haven't rushed into it, much to Kevorkian's annoyance. Good for us. And I say let's keep disappointing Jack Kevorkian. Even though a human life may be in a coma, that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. Miracles do happen, as we recently saw in the news of the man who awoke from a coma after 19 years. His story should be told at every debate over legalized euthanasia. Read his story, and see the sort of love story that we would have missed had that man's wife given in to pleas to end his life.

And then after that, maybe you'll see why we need to keep Jack Kevorkian's dream from ever coming true.

Editorial Statement for June 2007: Express Yourself

Editorial Statement for June 2007: Express Yourself

For the entire month of June, I shall attempt to post something every day. Granted, it won’t always be something deep and profound – although I’ll certainly try, but I have a point in doing this goal of mine to post something every day: I want to encourage more of you to take up blogging. I sincerely believe that there are more writers out there than we know of. In fact, you could have a talent for writing and not know it.

The beauty of the Internet Age is that anyone can take up blogging, and it doesn’t have to cost you a thing. This site, for example, is a perfect place to take the practice up. Not only that, you will have an audience to read your stuff and give feedback on. Of course, not all of us are going to be brilliant at writing. In fact, most of us won’t be. This isn’t meant to discourage you, but rather, I want you to go into this with the right set of expectations. Writing, like any skill that involves self-expression, takes practice.

If you were just writing for yourself then you’d have no problem, because you would always know what you’re talking about. But writing in such a way as to convey your thoughts and ideas to someone else takes practice – especially if you’re trying to persuade someone to your way of thinking. There’s good ways and bad ways of presenting your view. For example, you could say “Do it my way or ELSE!” How willing would your listener be to do things your way – and even if they did, would they do it willingly?

Another way to present your view is to say “Here’s what I think and why…” Then you present your views and arguments in favor of your views. If you did your job correctly, then your listeners will be more inclined to do things your way. That’s the skill to hone when it comes to writing. There’s a lot of truth to the saying “The pen is mightier than the sword.” In our day and age in which thoughts, ideas, and concepts are reduced to bumper-sticker philosophies, it’s even more important to develop writing skills. This is because knowing how to write involves knowing how to think.

Any yutz and yahoo can write, “Hug a tree.” or “Guns don’t kill people. People with guns kill people.” but to know how to defend such ideas is another skill altogether. Note that I gave a liberal and conservative example. It’s because it is liberals and conservatives who are the most guilty of splitting the issues of our time into this liberal/conservative division. But life is not divided solely into liberal and conservative. In fact, most of life falls in between these two extremes.

People who filter their whole lives and thinking through a liberal or conservative litmus test have some sort of psychological issues that they probably should be dealing with, and the more intensely they live such politically ideological lives, the less they are able to lead normal lives . Life isn’t liberal or conservative – rather, life is BOTH liberal and conservative – and all of the points in between. Life is too short to be painting yourself into some ideological corner. Such people are like Les Nessman of the old WKRP sitcom, in which Les had taped off on the floor where the walls of his office were going to be erected, and he expected others to respect those walls, right down to knocking on his “door” before coming into his “office”.

It’s because of such people that we need more writers. We need more writers to express the views that are had in what we can refer to metaphorically as “flyover territory” to describe the gap between the two ideological extremes. By my little experiment to post something every day, you’ll see that you don’t always have to post something deep and profound. It could just be observations of recent news events, or some joke that you got by e-mail. But I do hope you try to take up blogging. You don’t even have to write every day!

By the way, so far for June, that’s 3 for 3. :-)

PSA: Help prevent theft at gas stations

This YouTube video talks about a way that thieves will steal your valuables, including your purse or wallet, that takes only a few seconds for them. Watch the enclosed video of an actual theft taking place. This message is especially for those of you using SUVs because they tend to be taller than most cars, and especially the ladies who tend to leave their purses on the passenger side of the front seat.

Also, this is from quite a few e-mails, but it's worth repeating here regarding identity theft. If anyone calls you or e-mails you saying that they're from the government or certain corporation stating that they need your social security number for whatever reason, DON'T give it to them!

One recent scam reported about a phone call from an angry person stating that you missed your jury summons, and unless you cooperate, you're going to jail. When you're sufficiently terrorized into compliance, the angry voice then asks for your social security number so that they can change the date of the summons, and the warrant for your arrest will be removed. The key here is being asked for your social. These guys are sneaky! Such simple steps can go a long way in preventing a lot of problems for you.

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This has been a message from the Araujo Arts Commission on the Prevention of Identity Theft. Right now it's a commission of one, and we call it the Araujo Arts Commission on the Prevention of Identity Theft rather than its acronym, AACPIT, because AACPIT sounds like you're spitting up something, and we don't want you to gross anyone out when you're trying to deliver a PSA (public service announcement, in case you didn't already know). Anyway, the Araujo Arts Commission on the Prevention of Identity Theft will post these warnings periodically as a service to the community, and because it makes us feel good, and we like feeling good.

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By the way, for my blog, June is going to be "Post Something Every Day Month". So far, 2 for 2!

MP3 Multimedia Wristwatch

From Amazon.com comes this cool looking wristwatch that is also an MP3 player. Only in our day and age, folks!

Here's the specs on it:
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Product Features

* Does Not Contain Driver CD! Wristwatch style with plastic band 512 MB memory USB 2.0 full speed data transferring AVI (Xdiv) vid

* E-Book format: TXTHigh-quality 1.3-inch OLED widescreen Default clock interface SRS (WOW) 3D sound e

* Specifications: LCD screen: 260,000 pixels OLED widescreen Resolution: 160 x 128 FM Frequency: 76 -

* Playing time: approximately 4.5 hours for audio, 2 hours for videoEarphone output: 20 mw/20 mw

* Frequency response: 20 Hz ~ 20 kHzSNR: 85 dBAudio format:MP3: (sampling rate: 16 ~ 48 KHz; bit rate:

Technical Details

supported_standards: MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis

Hardware Platform: PC

Item Package Quantity: 1

component_type: MP3 Player

digital_storage_capacity: 512 MB


















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I'm tempted to get it because it's so unique. However, I have a question about one of the technical details above. Maybe one of you folks can explain to me what an "Ogg Vorbis" is. To me, it sounds like the name of a caveman.