tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66628832012-01-26T07:35:02.086-08:00"Take something you love, tell people about it, bring together people who share your love, and help make it better. Ultimately, you'll have more of whatever you love for yourself and for the world." - <b>Julius Schwartz, DC Comics pioneer, 1915-2004</b>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.comBlogger8451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-1421055504409247212012-01-25T10:09:00.000-08:002012-01-25T10:09:59.480-08:00

The President of the United States cannot really make any laws. Executive Orders are pretty limited in scope and use. Therefore, the President must challenge Congress and the people by being the "big picture" guy and leave the details to those who can write laws. In last night's State of the Union address, the President laid out what I thought were generally fairly bipartisan challenges and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-7328319036895896652012-01-17T05:03:00.000-08:002012-01-18T07:39:46.211-08:00

What Americans need is for the General Accounting Office to release the base figures for each program the government spends money on, the amount of money received from all taxes in an average year, and then show, preferably in simple graphics, the discrepancy. At this point, the people could then see the huge issue with constantly lowering taxes and why corporations getting a steady stream of tax

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-91966941011378306382012-01-04T11:48:00.000-08:002012-01-04T11:48:41.186-08:00

American politicians cannot understand the internet. They are primarily old, white males who are taking literally millions of dollars from the entertainment industry to put SOPA in place and end the Internet as we know it today. In addition, the restrictions put in place are so nebulously explained and so widespread in content that it would allow the RIAA, MPAA and others to effectively control

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-9392538256991811342012-01-03T12:20:00.000-08:002012-01-03T12:27:23.314-08:00

My annual round up of movies I saw in the theater over the preceding year. True Grit (1/13/11) An excellent movie. Deserving of the awards it reaped. I felt that Hailee Steinfeld deserved more credit -- she was the centerpiece of the movie and held it together extremely well. I look forward to seeing more from her. My one complaint was that I sometimes couldn't understand Jeff Bridges. The

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-6855386057926157472011-12-28T06:40:00.000-08:002011-12-28T06:41:25.424-08:00

I was percolating for awhile in my head an idea for a super-hero story. I was originally going to write something, and then an opportunity presented itself to create it instead as a roleplaying game. However, I did not have the idea as fleshed-out as I would have liked, and I could not sustain the story. I have since then continued to percolate on the idea, hoping to gel some things and go back

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-40190085944083186052011-12-21T09:39:00.000-08:002011-12-22T08:30:56.643-08:00

My wife and have followed through on our plan to replace her old, pink, flip-style phone with a newer smartphone. We are also transitioning this phone to be primarily my phone and she will continue using her Blackberry as her main phone (which is what she uses 90% of the time anyway). We got the phone on Monday, and I've been slowly setting things up and configuring it to work with our home

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-45884652862977008092011-12-17T06:38:00.000-08:002011-12-17T06:39:14.953-08:00

My wife called Medi-Trust today to refill some prescriptions. The person to whom she was speaking made a comment about how most of my prescriptions were lapsed or no longer valid. She politely disagreed with him, tried to discuss the situation, but he said the last time they had a refill for me was last year. Step in the angry American. I had been in to see my doctor in mid-October and my wife

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-3465160136266502342011-12-14T05:41:00.000-08:002011-12-14T05:41:46.251-08:00

Those who know me well know that the majority of my dreams are dark, harsh, and full of violence and death. That has been true for as long as I remember. I've had these types of dreams since I was a small child, and they exacerbate my sleeping issues, as I rarely want to rush to sleep because of what awaits in my dreams. My dreams are so nightmarish, that I rarely share them with others and I

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-87838627550768493382011-12-05T06:55:00.001-08:002011-12-05T07:15:26.420-08:00

In the vast majority of houses I've been to the person living there has something on the top of the tank to their toilet, items on their counter, and/or some sort of shelf or storage container above the toilet. Because of all of this, I am surprised at the number of people who leave the lid of their toilet up. Do these people never drop or knock anything off from one of these locations into the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-2563524607771645782011-12-02T06:25:00.001-08:002011-12-02T06:38:03.683-08:00

The vast amount of oil is transported via ship. At any given moment there are dozens of ships on the seas transporting the crude to refineries. It takes these ships from days to weeks to go from their points of origin (North Sea, Africa/Middle East, South America) to America for production. It takes days to refine the raw crude into various oil and gas products, and then ship it via tanker truck

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-71656269018499378032011-11-06T13:32:00.000-08:002011-12-02T06:34:31.428-08:00

DC Comics recently "rebooted" its comics universe by canceling and then re-issuing all new #1s. The idea behind this was intriguing, and it brought me back to comics after 5 years away. Overall, I think it is a good choice. However, I do not think they went far enough with the concept. The editors, I'm guessing, were afraid of changing too much and alienating long-time fans. So you have some

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-28246416436604584822011-11-04T08:12:00.000-07:002011-11-06T05:28:35.369-08:00

I have been consuming copious quantities of some pretty strange things lately. For example, I got on a kick where heavily buttered bread was all I wanted to eat, and was practically all I ate for about a week and a half (went through a few loaves of bread in that time). Then, suddenly, it was salami and provolone. Not on a sandwich, I've been just taking the cheese and meat out of the bag,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-23542849463048433752011-10-18T06:19:00.000-07:002011-10-18T06:23:36.674-07:00

This time, it was T-Mobile. I went online to t-mobile.com in order to check my cell phone's balance. The screen has a section for the minutes balance and for the dollar amount balance. The minutes was listed as "0" while the dollar amount balance was correct. I called customer support in order to ask why my minutes balance was 0. First, getting a live voice on the phone was difficult. Pressing 0

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-35794495027506013442011-10-14T08:16:00.000-07:002011-10-18T11:37:42.110-07:00

Frequent readers of this blog will note that I have had issues with Bell Aliant (BA) in the past. Well, they've done it again. On July 19th, my wife and I called BA to ask some questions about our existing account and about getting fiberop internet installed. We spoke with Lance. During that call, we tried to canceled my cell phone line. Lance explained that he could not cancel it immediately

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-86916715640113065902011-10-12T10:56:00.000-07:002011-10-12T10:56:12.170-07:00

My best friend just let me know his father, Eric, passed away. His dad had been sick with leukemia for awhile, and was home on hospice care. When my wife and I went back to California a few weeks ago, we made sure to make time to visit with Eric. It was tough seeing him in the final stages of his life, but I am thankful that I got to talk with him and share some time before he passed. Eric was

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-8872420956454890702011-10-05T13:38:00.000-07:002011-10-05T13:38:33.850-07:00

Just once, I'd like to see a celebutard speak their mind and not back down from it. Hank Williams, Jr. and Johnny Depp are the most recent ones to make stupid statements and then have to backtrack fast when it is pointed out to them their statements were offensive. Williams equated President Obama and Majority Leader Boehner having a "golf summit" to Hitler and Netanyahu meeting. While he may

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-44370949157338946962011-10-04T04:51:00.000-07:002011-10-04T04:53:39.193-07:00

Am having some trouble with my stomach, throat, digestion. My GP decided it was serious enough to both provide me with a new medication to try and to get an endoscopy to see if there was anything physically wrong. As luck would have it, my GE had an opening and could get me in much more quickly than my GP thought, so I had that done yesterday. I've had two other endoscopies done in the past, for

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-37062784241440232022011-09-30T05:05:00.000-07:002011-09-30T05:05:56.230-07:00

We just got back from a short vacation visiting my friends and family. While the visiting itself was great (thanks, all!), the vacation time itself was spent traveling a lot. As anyone knows who has done it, traveling is strangely tiring. Although you sit on your ass in the plane and the car, you wind up tired as hell whenever you arrive somewhere. The trip down was a "me" travel experience;

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-53793993452173693642011-09-21T06:33:00.000-07:002011-09-21T06:33:42.138-07:00

People have an expectation of privacy. While many claim we have a Right to Privacy, the Constitution itself doesn't grant that, and the Bill of Rights only grants privacy in certain circumstances. The Ninth Amendment has a vague, open-ending statement that some interpret as protecting privacies not enumerated in the Bill of Rights. But, as a whole, the people have a certain expectation of privacy

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-78448731487952179802011-09-20T07:09:00.000-07:002011-09-20T07:09:41.844-07:00

The flaw I see in the reasoning of movie executives is that they think The Dark Knight did such bang-up business because it was so "dark," rather than believing it did so well due to a combination of excellent acting, a good story, and Heath Ledger's untimely death (and superlative acting). Movies, especially comic book movies, do not need to be darker. Captain America, Superman, and many other

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-73317846062358585172011-09-12T12:23:00.000-07:002011-09-13T08:35:13.559-07:00

Since World War II, the way in which America has overcome depressions and recessions are with infrastructure building and scientific advancement. So, why has it taken the President so long to propose a jobs bill that proposes one or the other? We got out of the Great Depression primarily due to infrastructure building, including such worthy endeavors as the national highway systems and Hoover

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-64397954310868110192011-09-08T06:48:00.000-07:002011-09-08T06:48:55.313-07:00

*NOTE: SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY READ THE SERIES OR WATCHED THE MOVIES* I decided to reread each Harry Potter book and watch each movie, one after the other. My original goal was to compare and contrast the books to the movies and see what and how much they changed and/or dropped in translating the books to film. However, along the way, my focus changed. I came to realize that Ms. Rowling

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-20660790983062799082011-08-29T07:43:00.000-07:002011-08-29T07:43:37.920-07:00

There has been a rash of gun violence across the US again, and people are picking up their banners and rhetoric about banning guns and the need for more and stricter laws. There are a few points that the majority of people don't seem to grasp or understand: There are, literally, thousands of gun laws already in the books. There are hundreds of gun laws in each state and hundreds more at the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-79671956732678819172011-08-15T09:03:00.000-07:002011-08-15T09:04:59.498-07:00

ZIP.ca is a Canadian version of Netflix. Recently, there was a big postal strike that affected mail delivery across the country. While the postal strike and negotiations lasted for over a month, ZIP is giving its clients 13 days of "make-goods" for our inability to return watched, or receive new, movies. What I think is funny is that, when I contacted them directly via their online support Chat

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-54252319695624214762011-08-02T07:46:00.000-07:002011-08-02T07:48:32.793-07:00

Yesterday, my wife and I were returning from the movies. As we neared a particular intersection, I saw one vehicle coming toward us. Once that car passed, I started to go. A sharp intake of breath and a, "Geez John!" from my wife and I slammed back on my brake. At that moment, out from behind the passenger-side post came an entire other vehicle that I would have hit dead-on had I continued going.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-30865810411658508342011-07-29T18:08:00.000-07:002011-07-29T18:08:31.537-07:00

I have grown to hate something since I moved to my present location, outside of the US: ISPs are now using your IP address to "better service" customers by providing them with pages and language preferences typical to the IP address location. The problem is, that I'm an American living in a foreign country. I don't want to see the Canadian web page or have my pages default to UK English

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-13883848719745412512011-07-19T12:06:00.000-07:002011-07-19T12:18:21.405-07:00

Being a parent is hard work. You are responsible for making this little human being into a worthwhile and productive member of society. I am not a parent, but I watch other parents (especially my friends who are), and I observe which parents have respectful, intelligent, and productive children and which do not. This shows me that there are many different techniques and styles of parenting, and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-82817834647262983972011-07-06T06:05:00.000-07:002011-07-06T06:19:46.315-07:00

Every economist, and every person who has tried to balance their own personal budget, agrees that there are only two ways to cut a deficit: Cut spending Increase funding (in the case of gov't, increase taxes) Often a government can do one or the other. Sometimes it has to do both. When you are looking at a 14.3 trillion dollar deficit, you have to consider both, as there simply aren't enough

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-37620642108423011662011-07-05T08:37:00.000-07:002011-07-05T08:39:35.916-07:00

In addition to replacing the toilet in the main bathroom, I completed some other home improvement tasks recently. They are small things, and inexpensive to do, but have made a big difference. I had noticed that our main closet in the bedroom had a lot of space above the one shelf and a lot of our crap on the floor. It struck me one day that we should put in another shelf above the first and get

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-71731844509094590682011-07-05T08:07:00.000-07:002011-07-19T12:25:37.943-07:00

Before I moved in with my wife, she bought and had her father install a new toilet. The toilet was nice enough, but soon after we discovered that it had some issues. First, one of the openings in the porcelain through which the water was supposed to exit was slightly misshapen and caused water to spray out over the seat and making it nearly as far as the wall at times. Second, it didn't do a

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-20484532037574077142011-07-04T12:57:00.000-07:002011-07-04T12:57:17.456-07:00

A teaspoon amount of something is not a lot of material. However, when it is a teaspoon amount of earwax syringed from your right ear, it seems like an awful lot. Well over a week ago (closer to two weeks now), I was shaving in the shower and got a little water and shaving cream in my right ear. As expected, my ear closed up and I became temporarily deaf in that ear. I finished the shaving and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-88583817262617655862011-06-24T08:40:00.000-07:002011-06-24T08:41:25.678-07:00

Electronic formats for books, comics, texts, etc. are currently being price, in a majority of instances, at the same or very similar levels as physical copies. In the 1980s, the average paperback cost between $2.00 and $4.00 to purchase from a brick and mortar book store, the only kind of book store that existed. This price was enough to cover the physical, printing, publishing, royalty,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-88297078423902354992011-06-23T07:53:00.000-07:002011-06-23T07:53:22.064-07:00

For some reason, lately I've been musing about an incident that happened when I was a boy. The family had gone out jeeping, which was a favorite activity during the summer months for our family. We often went with friends of ours, who also had a jeep, and sometimes we went alone. On this particular occasion, my father was driving our blue Jeep CJ-5, mom in the passenger seat, with me on the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-77857049077952613492011-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:002011-06-22T08:44:43.787-07:00

Not so long ago, I found the Blogspot option to turn on "Reactions" on my posts. This allowed me to add simple buttons that readers can press to say (after I edited them) whether they Liked or Disliked a post (I used to have Netural as a selection, too, but no one ever seemed to use it, so I removed it). This new feature helped me understand that, while I thought only about four or five people

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-81235514243542038382011-06-07T04:27:00.000-07:002011-06-07T04:27:12.630-07:00

So, there is something about all these political and celebrity scandals that I simply don't get: if you keep it in your pants, and don't film it or take pictures of it, none of this happens.These scandals are all entirely self-made by what I can only assume are self-destructive people. My thinking on this is pretty simple: if you want to have sex with people who are not your wife, you should

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-5305601858219558082011-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:002011-06-02T16:11:52.426-07:00

What America needs is a great Moderate leader to come out of nowhere. This person needs to be erudite, well-read, versed in politics in some fashion, and charismatic. He or she needs to have salient facts and a winning disposition and a virtually unassailable background. And, best of all, this person should be a third-party candidate. People laughed when Jesse "The Body" Ventura ran for governor

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-28059466855449940042011-05-30T17:15:00.000-07:002011-05-30T17:15:44.725-07:00

I used my last two RPG sessions, one with one gaming group and the other with another group, to come to a conclusion: I'm burned out (for now) on gaming. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the act of getting together with friends. I enjoyed the camaraderie and the shared experience. I enjoyed the effort each DM put into trying to make a good story and an interesting experience for me (and the other

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-17328527041696844672011-05-21T23:03:00.000-07:002011-05-21T23:03:23.342-07:00

There seems to be a disconnect between what is being said and what it means: another person has come forward claiming to have witnessed Lance Armstrong taking performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). There are a couple of things to keep in mind about this: The person did not come forward when questioned about it during the last person's attempt to discredit Armstrong. Why not? The person comes forward

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-76317823237033065662011-05-07T08:44:00.000-07:002011-05-07T09:16:27.711-07:00

I've been playing 4th Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons (DnD) roleplaying game for three years now. That means I've also spent the last three years listening to and reading about how inferior this edition is to everything else. Most of these discussions amount to people who have not read or played the new version talking trash about it. I can tell by what they say very quickly if they have any

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-53649011622122447912011-04-30T14:55:00.000-07:002011-05-03T03:34:42.103-07:00

When I first came here, my new friends often grilled me about American politics. Especially prevalent were questions about why and how Americans could re-elect President Bush with all that he did to the American people. For my friends here, who had news people who were more probative and more willing to ask the tough questions and dig after the truth than what was going on in America at that time

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-67554907352758928382011-04-24T16:25:00.000-07:002011-04-24T16:25:01.789-07:00

This last week's episode of Bones, a favorite of mine, had Bones and Booth heading out to Florida to find a body. Booth then says, "I've got a friend who can help us." At this point, the entire show is taken over by a pilot for a new show about a new character from a different set of books. They Booth and Bones characters (and a couple of others) show up briefly during the episode, and then are

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-7960303474706296442011-04-19T13:38:00.000-07:002011-04-19T13:38:17.725-07:00

I have read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights a few times. I am a big fan of the Bill of Rights, and have had debates about it. Yet for some reason I never noticed, nor had it pointed out to me, that the Bill of Rights does not actually grant anyone any rights, as most of those with whom I discuss it always believe (and I did, too, until today). If you read each of the first ten amendments

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-51537266652812353692011-04-16T12:53:00.000-07:002011-04-16T12:53:38.582-07:00

If I promise a deadline or a project, or if something happens that causes me to have issues with getting it done on time, I'm more than willing to work overtime and on weekends in order to get the project done on time or as close to it as I can. However, when it is someone else's issue(s) that causes the delay, a lack of support, an arbitrary deadline that someone else has imposed or agreed to on

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-6669214111255140612011-04-13T04:50:00.000-07:002011-04-13T04:54:34.635-07:00

I'm not sure why the sports world is consistently surprised when those players with questions marks for character reasons go ahead and do something stupid. Some, like Michael Vick, hold it together or hide it longer and better than others, but, at the end of the day, those character issues always creep up. LeBron James didn't go to college. People never questioned his talent but they did

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-38401595069183632452011-04-04T13:34:00.000-07:002011-04-04T13:34:57.035-07:00

For many years, I enjoyed being a Dungeon Master/Game Master (DM/GM) for my group of friends who like playing Roleplaying Games (RPGs). I enjoyed the creation of the world, the telling of the story, and the cooperative nature of the games. I was complimented on my GMing and the stories I told. I don't think I was all that great, but I came at it from a writer's perspective, I didn't let the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-76585860019024057582011-04-03T15:39:00.000-07:002011-04-03T15:45:31.454-07:00

I just took a survey for a prestigious North American company. When the survey got to the question about race/ethnicity, it listed several, including: Hispanic, Pacific Islander, African American, Native American, and Asian, among others. However, it listed "White" as the alternative race to all of those. Um, excuse me? There were no other colors listed in this section. Why would a prestigious

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-59165877851590646732011-03-31T09:01:00.000-07:002011-03-31T09:01:28.845-07:00

I enjoy both MMORPGs and individual games. One thing I've noticed over the years with MMORPGs in particular, but any game that involves your character "leveling up" and getting stronger as the game goes on is that game designers make it harder to use the interface by providing too many powers. I regularly play Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), City of Heroes (COH, not to be confused with Call of

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-84146171124568609562011-03-29T06:49:00.000-07:002011-03-29T06:49:53.853-07:00

I wonder sometimes what would change in America if the news reported good things, if politicians told the truth and actually worked for the betterment of the nation and its people, and if the public at large heard a consistent, positive message about the country. The closest analogy I can draw would be to Reagan's first term in office. The late '70s were a time of upheaval and grim news. America

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-37578190346447395052011-03-25T04:56:00.000-07:002011-03-25T04:56:07.378-07:00

No democracy has ever survived for long if its people didn't rise up and demand it, which is where the failure occurred in Iraq. We went in there and gave them democracy when they, themselves, weren't demanding it and fighting for it. However, many nations of the middle East are now fighting for democracy. Libya, Yemeni, Bahrain, and other locations have people fighting, and dying, in their

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-64915803424029801812011-03-20T16:28:00.000-07:002011-03-21T16:32:58.517-07:00

It is funny how quickly the relaxation of a vacation can be sucked out of you. Normally when I go on vacation I try to schedule the next day off as a travel-recovery day before I have to do anything important (like work). This year, it simply did not work out that way. We got home and I was in bed on Tuesday night (3/15) (well, really, as it was after midnight, Wednesday morning) by 1am with my

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-15225760647320341112011-03-09T16:42:00.000-08:002011-03-09T16:42:40.121-08:00

Vacation got off to a poor start, as you can read in the previous post. In addition to that, the first house we were put in was within maybe 500 yards of the local dump, so the outside smelled pretty bad. When we were inside the house, we noticed an additional smell which gave me a headache and put off my wife. We had to stay the night (having arrived after midnight), but additional issues we

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-67807055016677246522011-03-04T18:49:00.000-08:002011-03-04T18:49:33.607-08:00

As any frequent reader of this blog knows, when I travel I have an... interesting... time of it. It is always an adventure, whether (rarely) good or (often) bad. Yesterday, my wife and I traveled to Orlando. The trip was an adventure. The set path had us flying out of our home airport at 9:40 and arriving 45 minutes later in Halifax. An approximately 7 hour layover there and then we were on the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-79439494998050353212011-02-28T07:16:00.000-08:002011-02-28T07:16:16.895-08:00

I rarely discuss work on this blog. However, after the last two and a half weeks or so, I need to vent. I've been working a project since last summer/fall. It started as a three-month contract that got extended a couple of times until, right now, I'm working through the end of April. And that is likely to get extended to the end of May or June. This is all great news for our bank account, even

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-33051497271897792642011-02-14T12:56:00.000-08:002011-02-14T12:56:18.557-08:00

Beginning last year I noticed that TV shows, TV movies, and theatrical releases all seemed to have the same problem: they didn't know when to shut up. By that I mean that so many TV shows and movies were filling every possible second with some sort of music or noise. It really came to the fore when my wife and I watched a few older films over the holidays. It is my feeling that constant sound,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-69758655051831708072011-02-09T11:32:00.000-08:002011-02-09T11:32:55.940-08:00

A while back, I told you about an exasperating incidence I had with Bell Mobility. A FB contact suggested that it wasn't actually Bell Mobility calling, but some other group that uses the Bell Mobility name, gets you to switch, and then you are part of their network. As you can see in that previous article, I called Bell/Bell Mobility (I had to call both, because each side of the issue kept

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-65211292181925255962011-02-08T06:02:00.000-08:002011-02-08T06:02:54.940-08:00

I don't feel like I hit an electronics home run often. Usually, when I purchase anything electronics, I simply stop looking at my flyers and emails because I know that something better will be on sale within a week of my purchase, or whatever I purchased will have a massive price drop shortly afterward. My wife and I agreed to use one of my paychecks from my current contract to get me a laptop.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-73088884318547232242011-02-03T05:56:00.000-08:002011-02-03T06:09:57.459-08:00

There has been a huge uproar here in Canada regarding the UBB (usage-based billing) for internet use. In a nutshell, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can now charge between $1 and $4 for usage beyond very small caps on internet use. Now, that number doesn't sound like a lot until you factor in that they are charging you a dollar to four dollars for something that costs them less than a penny to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-45672064689144855812011-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:002011-01-20T07:14:32.739-08:00

Let me state right at the beginning that I am personally against abortion. I feel that there are enough options out there for both men and women, including abstinence, condom use, and chemical and surgical options, that pregnancy is an extremely remote possibility for the conscientious. However, I understand that a very sizable minority of women want and need abortion as an option, so I feel it

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-45524919991339770542011-01-11T05:09:00.000-08:002011-01-11T05:09:03.784-08:00

I usually have specific dates for each movie, as I keep my ticket stubs. This year, I had a little accident involving losing my glasses case and whoever found it at the movie theater "helpfully" threw all my stubs out (but put the case in the lost and found). So I have to guess on some of the movie dates. Avatar 1/16/10 Disappointing film. While visually stunning, of course, and with

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-31576551364806671782011-01-09T06:31:00.000-08:002011-01-11T05:13:28.358-08:00

Someone shot a Congresswoman while she was out on a meet-n-greet in Arizona. Along with the representative, a Chief Judge for AZ, a 9/11 baby, and a few others were shot and killed, and some number more were injured in the shooting. I do not condone this violence in any way, shape, or form. This is a heinous act and I hope those responsible, including family members and others who may have known

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-9753778991194116242011-01-07T05:29:00.000-08:002011-01-07T05:33:58.364-08:00

I have been wondering lately why none of the music that comes out seems to have meaning or impact on my life. When I was in my teens and early twenties, music had importance. A band like U2 came out and they not only had a message, but that message had a great beat and you could dance to it. George Michael had songs that were potent and fit into the rhythm of my life. Prince and Guns n Roses

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-40095805089937428722010-12-30T04:51:00.000-08:002010-12-30T04:51:39.994-08:00

After my bout with the migraine, my back continued to hurt to the point where I could barely walk, as every movement and step with my right leg gave me screaming pain, enough so to bring literal tears to my eyes. I emailed a friend with whom I had planned to go to the movies yesterday and canceled. Yesterday, Wednesday, I called my MIL, who is a nurse, and asked her advice about going to my GP or

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-55565800901457358452010-12-28T17:16:00.000-08:002010-12-28T17:16:29.433-08:00

Why is a customer's privacy so hard for current programmers/companies to safeguard? Recently there have been many articles, lawsuits, and news programs/segments dedicated to showing just how much of your personal data is constantly leaked to third parties (just one example, here). I find it mind-boggling that these same companies, Facebook and Apple in particular, year in and year out are the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-30647344593528956162010-12-27T16:26:00.000-08:002010-12-27T16:26:47.939-08:00

Sometimes, being me hurts more than other times. Today is one of those days. I woke up to a splitting, pounding headache. Within an hour it had turned into a low-level migraine, which caused me to wear my sunglasses in the house and avoid too loud of noises (I wasn't sound sensitive, but I didn't want to push it either). Then a spot on my lower back, on my right side, suddenly decided to swell

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-35654604306707666252010-12-23T04:58:00.000-08:002010-12-23T04:58:19.988-08:00

I think that the easiest way to cut down the plethora of frivolous lawsuits is to pass a federal statute that says that the loser and the law firm of any lawsuit, be it federal, civil, class-action, or any other type, must pay all the legal fees and court costs of BOTH SIDES of the lawsuit. Recently, a fan at a Jets game in 2008 sued a player who threw a gigantic snowball at him. If you watch

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-2691602361119025612010-12-22T07:49:00.000-08:002010-12-22T07:49:39.370-08:00

DC Comics has a nice panoply of heroes and an interesting and long history. However, it constantly struggles with the interconnectedness of its far-flung characters and the hierarchy of the characters as they related to one another within the fictional universe. The following idea came to me as a way in which to resolve some of these issues. Kryptonians and their powers are one of the toughest

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-88957114294624753732010-12-18T08:01:00.000-08:002010-12-18T08:01:57.667-08:00

When I give to a charity or cause, I prefer to do it low-key and behind the scenes. I don't like people to know, I don't share how much or when or what causes I give to with my friends or family, and I support what I support because I want to at that moment, and for no deeper meaning. I get irritated when charities then use their ways and means to continue to ply me for money. I gave what I gave

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-49737868209448725632010-12-16T09:22:00.000-08:002010-12-16T09:22:40.565-08:00

I am an avid movie watcher. It is one of my most favorite things to do. I feel that movies are America's "oral tradition," the way in which it hands down its values and stories to the next generation, and presents itself to other cultures. Lately, however, I have been very disappointed in the movies in general. Hollywood has gone soft, preferring to rehash the same old story rather than finding

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-3918992380236180972010-12-13T05:22:00.000-08:002010-12-13T05:22:03.751-08:00

Since I take medications that lower my immune system responses, I get sick a lot. If you are a frequent reader to my blog, you already know this from many past blogs on the subject. However, since moving to my present location, I have been much healthier than ever for a few reasons: my wife helps me to eat better; I work from home, so I don't constantly get hit by sick people and people's sick

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-59819077737107831022010-12-10T06:06:00.000-08:002010-12-10T06:06:24.672-08:00

I guess the big problem I have with DCU Online is that it is a massively multiplayer online game. If it was a simple first-person style action game, without being online (or, like Diablo 1 and 2 were, possible to play online with friends but not a requirement), it would be worth the $50 for the game just for the action and the graphics, both of which are well-done. However, they want you to play

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-48047063831493298752010-12-07T05:53:00.000-08:002010-12-07T05:53:18.854-08:00

The Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA) for the new game DC Universe Online (DCUO), currently in Closed Beta, was lifted yesterday. It is now safe to talk about the game. Unfortunately for Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), this means that many of us in the closed beta can warn people away from this game. When creating a game in a genre that already exists, most manufacturers look at their competition,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-3249410250790346572010-12-05T07:24:00.000-08:002010-12-05T07:24:39.666-08:00

I hate the double-standard to which America is held. Most nations deplore American's "meddling ways." They publicly denounce anything that the country does that may be construed as tampering with their country. They hate American businesses coming in and driving out the local businesses. They curse our politics and our "war mongering" ways. That is, they hate it all until a disaster strikes,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-39045316900046938502010-12-03T05:21:00.000-08:002010-12-03T05:21:23.381-08:00

The Information Age, indeed. I am drowning in information. Everywhere I go there is something new, something probative, something radical, something obscene, something political, or something religious screaming at me. The news cycle is twenty-four hours a day, which means that reports and news providers have to keep hitting it (whatever it happens to be) until you are unconscious and don't care

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-81259191917555251082010-11-22T21:46:00.000-08:002010-11-22T21:50:10.475-08:00

There is something almost magical about the first snowfall of the year The world grows quiet and sounds of everyday life are unclear Even the children's howls of joy seem somehow subdued White powder covers the world and everything seems new Fresh and clean and with my worries and cares Held in check as gossamer flakes fall through the air Cold seems less a hindrance and I breathe in the crisp

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-16879608815515546692010-11-12T05:45:00.000-08:002010-11-12T06:09:57.673-08:00

I simply don't understand why Amazon.com even has the "group my items" selection available during checkout. I have not had one order with multiple items in it ship together since September 2009. My wife and I order using Amazon quite often. When the item(s) are for us, we have to drive a fair amount to get to the location where we can have them delivered. I know we're not alone in this, as many

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-32743942205968744252010-11-10T09:38:00.000-08:002010-11-10T09:39:49.990-08:00

I'm not the most emotional person you could meet. I keep most of the "big" emotions locked down tight and don't share them or show them often. Oh, you'll see me laughing and smiling often enough, or possibly angry, but you won't see me sad or hurt very often. Movies and stories in a very specific area do bring out the tears in me, though. If I'm watching a story where the protagonists are making

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-2112843561349823662010-11-03T05:21:00.000-07:002010-11-03T05:21:41.448-07:00

The Republicans and Tea Party got what they wanted, victory over the hated Democrats in Congress and a narrowing of the margin in the Senate. They also won a number of governor positions in many states. However, looking at it historically, this may not actually have been what the Republicans wanted. In the last 100 or so years, every President who lost the House and or Senate during mid-term

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-14432290758032289332010-10-28T05:42:00.000-07:002010-10-28T05:42:47.332-07:00

I know the far right and Tea Party members in particular don't want to be abused by facts, so this won't make any difference to them as we near the mid-term elections, but I thought it interesting to note the accomplishments of our current President at the mid-term. Here's hoping he is this productive in the second two years of his presidency. ~~~ Thanks to Robert P. Watson, PhD., Professor of

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-88685896338849633762010-10-17T06:05:00.000-07:002010-10-17T06:05:38.552-07:00

The only way out of a recession or depression is to spend money. Recent articles concerning the housing market and cable companies show that some business areas or individual companies are choosing to ignore their customers, anger their client base, and/or make it as hard as possible for their clients to pay them money. The housing article is particularly upsetting. The housing market drives

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-17174395036664755752010-10-15T06:55:00.000-07:002010-10-15T06:55:05.324-07:00

My wife primarily only watches the NFL. Which means that most of the year, she has little to no interest in most other sports and pines away for the return of football season each year. I enjoy both the NFL and the NBA, so can make it nearly year-round with watching sports I like. I have tried to entice my wife into watching and, hopefully, learning to enjoy the NBA but so far she hasn't been

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-79403518223062272202010-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:002010-10-14T07:43:05.010-07:00

I am used to a certain level of service from my post office. The US Postal Service is the biggest single business entity in the world, delivers more mail more accurately than any other postal service, and it works more days per year than any other postal service. My wife and I frequently put letters in the mail in Calais, ME and they arrive in Southern California within, on average, three days.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-28778428514821416172010-10-13T04:55:00.000-07:002010-10-13T04:55:21.748-07:00

I'm torn by this recent increase in bullying and suicides by teens in America. I'm torn because I don't think it is actually an increase in the acts themselves, just higher profile acts that are making it to the national media. I'm also torn because I don't understand the thought processes that lead to the bullied committing suicide. I was bullied throughout my formative years. In grade school

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-17965470266507688932010-09-28T16:13:00.000-07:002010-10-04T11:27:25.449-07:00

If the reports are to be believed, Roy Williams got Dez Bryant back for not carrying his pads by inviting the defensive players to a dinner Bryant was hosting for the offensive players at a local Dallas steakhouse. The grand total as reported is nearly $55,000 for the meal. Let me give you a moment to wrap your head around the fact: ONE DINNER cost this rookie twenty grand more than the average

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-21181057296524339612010-09-28T06:04:00.000-07:002010-09-28T06:04:51.053-07:00

1. California sent me an absentee ballot for the upcoming November election. They sent me a full ballot, however. Reading carefully, and then going to some overseas voter information websites, it appears that if I use this ballot, even to only vote for the two federal election areas (Senator and Representative), California can claim I am a resident and tax me next tax season, even though I live

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-82973827690836307542010-09-16T05:19:00.000-07:002010-09-16T05:19:28.804-07:00

Globalization makes communication difficult. English is currently the "common language" used, but often you are dealing with people who know English as a second, third, or tertiary language, so communication issues can arise. On top of this, you may be dealing with people in multiple time zones and locations, so your window for communicating is narrow. I have an issue with my current contract. I

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-30058774749761450322010-09-14T09:07:00.000-07:002010-09-14T09:07:06.179-07:00

I've noticed lately that it takes longer for my eyes to readjust to not wearing my PC or distance/night glasses when I remove them. I notice that, similar to puberty, I have hair growing from interesting new places. Why does your body say that it needs to grow hair from the nose, ears and other strange places as you age? Didn't we go through this once already? I notice that, while I still have

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-26976372438504508692010-09-08T09:02:00.000-07:002010-09-08T09:02:01.339-07:00

I was recently chatting with someone on the instant message service within one of my favorite games. He asked everyone if they "lived each day as if it was (their) last". To which I responded, "No. That can be a dangerous thing for people to do." He became indignant and a bit self-righteous with me, proclaiming that he was doing it right now and it was the best choice he ever made. Everyone

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-75377314112138645672010-09-06T05:49:00.000-07:002010-09-06T05:53:40.517-07:00

This is the dream I had last night. Each time I startled myself awake, I fell back to sleep into the same dream, in sequence, and kept the story moving forward. **** I was a detective in a desert community. No pariah or outcast, instead I was a decent detective, well-respected, and involved. However, my one quirk was that I thought a serial "killer" was at work. The twist being that the killer

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-14530169321781720212010-09-01T09:26:00.000-07:002010-09-01T09:26:26.174-07:00

When I saw "205" on the scale, I knew it was time to be more active about weight management. For my height, that was simply too much. While it is true I have mitigating circumstances that help me to gain and keep on the weight, that number had steadily increased over the last three years in particular to an out of control amount. It's funny, because except for the belly, I don't look like I'm

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-12403832396558662010-08-17T11:21:00.000-07:002011-02-09T11:25:07.329-08:00

First, I have received three phone calls from Bell Mobility telling me that I have won a free, $800 iPhone... all I need to do is sign up for a minimum $50/month three year deal ($1800) to get it! What a deal. *sarcasm Secondly, I have to endure the heavily, heavily accented Indian who calls to inform me of this deal. I can barely understand his English, yet he claims his name is "John" (today),

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-24452635732244274752010-08-17T08:13:00.000-07:002010-08-17T10:01:02.558-07:00

A friend of mine is struggling with his blog, as he recently moved from a long-term position in London back to his home in SoCal. The blog was initially his way of ranting and raving about the changes he was experiencing and the unusual circumstances he found himself in while being that "duck out of water" in a foreign land. One of his issues seems to be that he so identified his blog with that

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-39786134704954884052010-08-11T11:51:00.000-07:002010-08-11T11:51:55.439-07:00

Imagine you know how to sew by hand. You have been sewing this way since your parent taught you and, while not an expert by any means, you feel confident with a needles and thread. You have rarely, if ever, used a sewing machine, however. Now you take this expertise somewhere where your superior asks you, "Can you sew?" You reply strongly in the affirmative. However, what they thought they were

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-16282960695492135632010-07-29T08:37:00.000-07:002010-07-29T08:37:33.812-07:00

My wife and I use Google Calendar to coordinate our events and activities with one another. It started primarily when I was on one coast and she was on the other, as it was a simple calendar option that we could both access at all times and use to see what the other was doing or had planned. One thing that I haven't seen on any electronic calendar, but that I would love to see incorporated into

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-16611333995656487332010-07-27T12:30:00.000-07:002010-07-28T17:53:24.198-07:00

There have been recent articles about situations in which people did something "anonymously," were found out, and reaped huge consequences from it. In one noted case, an 11 year old girl posted an acidic, obscenity-filled rebuttal to rumors she was dating the lead singer of a band. People on the web trolling site 4chan found out her real name, phone number, and address, and en masse decided to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-73629276498364927802010-07-25T07:22:00.000-07:002010-07-25T07:22:02.120-07:00

I am a fan of Christopher Nolan. I have enjoyed pretty much all of his movies and I expect a certain amount of quality and care if he's involved with a picture. However, I'm not going to say everything he does is gold; I have reasons for my opinions and I'm willing to back them up. What I respect most about Nolan's film-making are his choices as a director. A director can make or break a script

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-20819788108500954682010-07-23T12:41:00.000-07:002010-07-23T17:51:53.364-07:00

I decided to try a new look. I think the results show the theme I'm going for more clearly than previous designs. I had to tweak it a bit -- the original template has a lot of orange lettering involved. It looked good, but I found it to be a little hard on the eyes with the dark background. So I went for something blue that would, hopefully, be easier on the eyes against the background. I may

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-67873085309354607252010-07-21T07:07:00.000-07:002010-07-21T07:52:45.623-07:00

I would hire Shirley Sherrod in a moment. A woman who admits to having preconceived notions and prejudices, but then learned to overcome them? A woman who speaks honestly and openly about race relations and the need to move past them? A woman who has grown and changed and become a better person through her experiences? I'd hire her in an instant!But, politics being what they are today, instead we

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-31148916933129555092010-07-13T04:40:00.000-07:002010-07-13T05:07:35.967-07:00

Many Presidential scholars consider Jimmy Carter one of the smartest people to have ever been in the office of the President for our country. He is praised for his compassion and the way he handled monumental tasks and problems that occurred just prior to and during his Presidency. Yet he is considered a "failure" for the most part by the majority of Americans and was only given one term due to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-45936012098114722242010-07-09T05:16:00.000-07:002010-07-09T05:42:11.611-07:00

I knew that whatever choice "King" James made except for staying in Cleveland, he would be vilified for. I was not prepared for the vitriol I am seeing today from sports writers and fans, however.James has proven that he is no Jordan. Hell, he's proven once and for all that he's no Kobe! For all the incredible talent LeBron has, he simply does not have the competitive fire that the great

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662883.post-85442903009144319782010-07-07T09:15:00.000-07:002010-07-07T09:33:39.416-07:00

Fees for US Passports are going up by a large amount. While it is true that new technology and the addition of a lot of people to work for the State Dept to help process and review passport requests caused an increase in costs, I have severe doubts on those costs equating with an across the board 35% increase. Some passport-related items, which have always been free services, are going up by

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493644294458801139noreply@blogger.com1