Flash Mobs, lastest story

Flash Mobs! I love reading about these. Funny-ass shit!

Blog update

I haven't written a blog status update in aeons, mostly cuz well...why? LOL Well, this is pretty cool. I added the picosearch thang to the right side bar menu, and I reconfigured my archives to be weekly instead of monthly, making just a tiny bit easier to find the interesting blog entry once you are on the page where the search as brought you. Anyways, that's that. :)

California Governor Candidates! Search words: 'california governor canidates'

I'm considering casting my vote for Gary Coleman or Larry Flint. They aren't taking this whole mess seriously, thank god! Actually, there may not be any candidates on the ballot when it's time for a vote. The California constitution is clear that the Lt. Governor is to be made Governor is the current Governor is removed for any reason. This means another portion of the Recall law is unconstitutional. Here's the article:

CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 5 EXECUTIVE

SEC. 10. The Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor when a vacancy occurs in the office of Governor.
The Lieutenant Governor shall act as Governor during the impeachment, absence from the State, or other temporary disability of the Governor or of a Governor-elect who fails to take office.
The Legislature shall provide an order of precedence after the Lieutenant Governor for succession to the office of Governor and for the temporary exercise of the Governor's functions.
The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine all questions arising under this section.
Standing to raise questions of vacancy or temporary disability is vested exclusively in a body provided by statute.

So that's that, right? LOL No...I'm sure this whole recall thang is going to make Florida's hanging chads look like Saints. BTW, I don't understand the last sentence of the article either.

Have fun, y'all.

Trouble with Gay Priests? Jesus people!

Back when I was a devout Christian, seeing other churches with gay priests would have been confirmation of my own religion's legitimacy over those other churches. After all, how could a church claiming to be worshippers of God accept homosexuals into their ranks. Nowadays, I'm a bit more reasonable. I shed the nonsense of dearly holding onto modern perceptions of ancient, prejudice and convoluted texts like the bible.

 
The whole renewed push by "conservative" religious people against homosexuals is frustrating. It is sad to see fellow Americans openly treating other Americans as inferiors, using their interpretation of ancients texts to justify their prejudice, in the same way they were used to justify prejudice against blacks and other nonwhite races in the past.

 
I believe that a religion has the right to choose its leadership for itself. That's part of freedom of religion. Maybe it would seem like a contraction against the bible to have a gay priest or bishop in many faiths. To reconcile, maybe it's time for religious people to accept the message of their bible while leaving behind its prejudice, as we evolve into a more mature and reasonable society.

 
Final note, this is America, land of the free. How can anyone be free when we choose to oppress one segment of our population? Let's live and let live.

 
P.S., BTW, The bible never once forbids homosexuality between women. It doesn't even hint at it. It only specifically condemns sexual relations between men. So, it could be argued that only sex between men is forbidden in the bible, and not homosexuality itself. This would mean that it is ok to have a gay priest.

Damn, been hella busy

I've been hella busy. Been going from one thang to another for days now, almost not stop sep for what sleep I'm getting. It's not stopping now either. going to need a break...anyways, I got a couple of rants brewing, so there'll be more posts coming soon!

An Ant Cures Antrax in Cabo Tourist Shop!!!

Cure for Antrax found in Cabo tourist shop, and it's an ant! This picture was taken by an associate of mine in Cabo last year. (Photo copyright 2002)

Nessie the Loch Ness Monster is Dead

Sonar was used to prove, once and for all, that Nessie doesn't exist.

Political Opinion...hey, I'm allowed! LOL

I'm neither conservative or liberal. I find the battle between the two amusing. The terms themselves are often misused to apply some stereotypes. Heck, the terms freely are applied backwards when it comes to fiscal policies. Republicans in government want a free market system where money flows freely and let the markets correct themselves (liberal) and Democratics try to regulate the follow of money for perceived stability (conservative). Not to mention the fact that the most hardcore liberals and conversatives are the biggest hypocrates. The "don't tell me what to do, but here's what you should do" nonsense comes from both ends of US politics. How 'bout no one tell me what to do, and I won't tell you what to do! :)

I believe my rights are protected by protecting the rights of others. The more rights we all share, the more free we are as a people. If you have opinions (whether from the bible dogma or liberal social dogma) about human behavior, then live it, but stop trying to force other people to live it with you.

Commuter Theme today:

Get In Front of Matt and Drive Slow Day.

Some days have themes during the commute to work and from work. Today's theme is cars getting in front of me to drive slow. It seems like there was some organized effort. A lane would open up completely, so I'd change lanes only to have someone else get into the lane right in front of me and drive slower than the crowded lane. Once, twice, three, and then four times this morning. The traffic wasn't even heavy. I only got held behind one red light because of this, so it isn't as bad as it has been on other days.

I like it when the commuter theme is more along the lines of Get Out of Matt's Way Day, obviously. :)

Sailboat racing

The first race sailboat of the season this past Friday afternoon, aboard the Spitfire in Oakland, was a lot of fun. We did well, coming in second in our class. The race lasted a little over an hour. I had just gotten over a cold, and was a little wore out, but managed to do well in my position on the boat. We saw a lot of good work on the part of all the sailboats, and one crash between two boats near the mark. It was all fairly exciting.

Trouble with California

First, this whole recall business is making California look stupid. It is proving that our system is for sale to the highest bidder. Anyone with a lot of money can come in an pretend to be a politician for a year. It's starting to get pathetic. Isis is like the third guy to come in out of the blue and try to pull something in the pass few years. Note to the very rich newbies: Either be a real political or just Fuck Off! I'm against a recall until after the budget has been hashed out for this year. Then if you aren't happy, let's get rid of Gray. Problem is, anyone who becomes governor now is going to be faced with the same issues and is politically doomed.

Second, term limits in the state legislature is leaving our leadership in shambles. Any experienced members are lame ducks, and the rest are rookies. There's no accountability because no one is around long enough to care! Originally, term limits was supposed to help minorities and women get into government, but now it is having the opposite effect. We need to get rid of term limits.

Third, is the ridiculous requirement for a 2/3rds supermajority vote on the budget each year. This is a democracy, where the majority rules, but the rights of the minority are protected. How is a supermajority vote requirement for something as mundane as the yearly budget supposed to do either? It is unheard of to use supermajorities except in cases of political crisis (impeachment) or changing winds (changes to the constitution). To use them for anything else is damn near anti-democratic! We need to get rid of the supermajority vote requirement for the state budget. Even this "55%" replacement requirement being floated around is not acceptable. It is still a supermajority requirement.

If you have any rants to add to this, please leave a comment. Gray (or it is Grey) Davis, you are welcome to leave a comment about your recall if you like too. LOL

Anthrax Detection at your local Post Office may come soon

Check this out! Of course, the reason I care is cuz the company I work has technology at the heart of the detection system. :)

There's a lot of stars out there

A lot!!

U.S. fights Fake Wars from Time to Time.

The U.S. wages two kinds of wars; Real wars and fake wars. How can you tell the difference? Here's how: If the name of the war begins with "War on...", it's fake. As in, War on Poverty (late 1960's), War on Drugs (1980's, 1990's), and War on Terrorism (turn of the 21st Century). Real wars have names like Civil War, World War II, Persian Gulf War, and Cold War. So, if you are ever in doubt about whether or not the U.S. is really fighting some declared war, just judge it by its name.

Bodega Bay again

I drove up to Bodega Bay again for a weekend get away with a friend. I had planned on snorkeling, but the weather was a bit unpredictable on Sat, so we ended up at the pool instead. It was a nice relaxing weekend. On the drive back, we stopped up at Stintson Beach. I'm going to check the rates there for a future weekend getaway that isn't quite so far, even though it can get pretty crowded.