Wardriving!!!

I am posting while parked illegally on some street corner in Boulder, Colorado. The Internet access in my hotel was either 10 dollars for a day, or 5 dollars for 30 minutes. Heck with that. I needed to check my email, so I went driving around town with my laptop open. Here is to people with unsecured wireless networks offering me the chance to check my email for free! P.S. My house in PB has an open network as well, stop by anytime.

misc political ramblings

This is a time of young people waiting longer before getting married and starting a family. There are some reasons for this. My reason is simply a combination of a lack of opportunity, a certain refusal to 'settle', and a desire for independence. Thats just me. There are other issues, like the increasing difficulty to support a family without a college education. In San Diego, there is the lack of affordable housing in combination with low wages. A realization that it is more fun to date than get married. For women, there are a lot more career opportunities than ever before in he history of Man.

I know there are going to be some really big social consequences of this trend, that probably won't be fully understood for many years. It is fun to speculate, so I have some predictions about the future.

1. Not really related to my discussion, but the United States government will go bankrupt. That scarry thing about this is the influence the United States has in the world economy. I don't know when this will happen, but it will eventually. The weakness in the political system in the United States is the fact that money is power, and power is money. A simplistic way of looking at this is the more money you spend, the more poeple you make happy, and the more votes you get. This is one reason the minority party in the Unites States is always the one pushing for a balanced budget. This was the Republican party when Clinton was in office, and it is now the Democratic party now that Bush is office.

2. OK, back to the subject.. Social Security is going to be hit hard by a lack of people paying into the system. The system works because the working population supports those receiving benefits. Because of the delay in starting families, I think in the long term, the birth rate is going to continue to drop, and when my generation hits retirement age, there is not going to be a whole lot of people to pay into the system. People are already aware of this situation, and it is going to get worse instead of better.

3. The minority population is going to make significant gains on white america. This is due to the higher birth rate among minority groups, and because of the continuing influx of imigrants. This is a good thing only if the minority groups get educated.

Wow, I really started to ramble...

political ramblings

This is a time of young people waiting longer before getting married and starting a family. There are some reasons for this. My reason is simply a combination of a lack of opportunity, a certain refusal to 'settle', and a desire for independence. Thats just me. There are other issues, like the increasing difficulty to support a family without a college education. In San Diego, there is the lack of affordable housing in combination with low wages. A realization that it is more fun to date than get married. For women, there are a lot more career opportunities than ever before in he history of Man.

I know there are going to be some really big social consequences of this trend, that probably won't be fully understood for many years. It is fun to speculate, so I have some predictions about the future.

1. Not really related to my discussion, but the United States government will go bankrupt. That scarry thing about this is the influence the United States has in the world economy. I don't know when this will happen, but it will eventually. The weakness in the political system in the United States is the fact that money is power, and power is money. A simplistic way of looking at this is the more money you spend, the more poeple you make happy, and the more votes you get. This is one reason the minority party in the Unites States is always the one pushing for a balanced budget. This was the Republican party when Clinton was in office, and it is now the Democratic party now that Bush is office.

2. OK, back to the subject.. Social Security is going to be hit hard by a lack of people paying into the system. The system works because the working population supports those receiving benefits. Because of the delay in starting families, I think in the long term, the birth rate is going to continue to drop, and when my generation hits retirement age, there is not going to be a whole lot of people to pay into the system. People are already aware of this situation, and it is going to get worse instead of better.

3. The minority population is going to make significant gains on white america. This is due to the higher birth rate among minority groups, and because of the continuing influx of imigrants. This is a good thing only if the minority groups get educated.

Wow, I really started to ramble...

political ramblings

This is a time of young people waiting longer before getting married and starting a family. There are some reasons for this. My reason is simply a combination of a lack of opportunity, a certain refusal to 'settle', and a desire for independence. Thats just me. There are other issues, like the increasing difficulty to support a family without a college education. In San Diego, there is the lack of affordable housing in combination with low wages. A realization that it is more fun to date than get married. For women, there are a lot more career opportunities than ever before in he history of Man.

I know there are going to be some really big social consequences of this trend, that probably won't be fully understood for many years. It is fun to speculate, so I have some predictions about the future.

1. Not really related to my discussion, but the United States government will go bankrupt. That scarry thing about this is the influence the United States has in the world economy. I don't know when this will happen, but it will eventually. The weakness in the political system in the United States is the fact that money is power, and power is money. A simplistic way of looking at this is the more money you spend, the more poeple you make happy, and the more votes you get. This is one reason the minority party in the Unites States is always the one pushing for a balanced budget. This was the Republican party when Clinton was in office, and it is now the Democratic party now that Bush is office.

2. OK, back to the subject.. Social Security is going to be hit hard by a lack of people paying into the system. The system works because the working population supports those receiving benefits. Because of the delay in starting families, I think in the long term, the birth rate is going to continue to drop, and when my generation hits retirement age, there is not going to be a whole lot of people to pay into the system. People are already aware of this situation, and it is going to get worse instead of better.

3. The minority population is going to make significant gains on white america. This is due to the higher birth rate among minority groups, and because of the continuing influx of imigrants. This is a good thing only if the minority groups get educated.

Wow, I really started to ramble...

political ramblings

This is a time of young people waiting longer before getting married and starting a family. There are some reasons for this. My reason is simply a combination of a lack of opportunity, a certain refusal to 'settle', and a desire for independence. Thats just me. There are other issues, like the increasing difficulty to support a family without a college education. In San Diego, there is the lack of affordable housing in combination with low wages. A realization that it is more fun to date than get married. For women, there are a lot more career opportunities than ever before in he history of Man.

I know there are going to be some really big social consequences of this trend, that probably won't be fully understood for many years. It is fun to speculate, so I have some predictions about the future.

1. Not really related to my discussion, but the United States government will go bankrupt. That scarry thing about this is the influence the United States has in the world economy. I don't know when this will happen, but it will eventually. The weakness in the political system in the United States is the fact that money is power, and power is money. A simplistic way of looking at this is the more money you spend, the more poeple you make happy, and the more votes you get. This is one reason the minority party in the Unites States is always the one pushing for a balanced budget. This was the Republican party when Clinton was in office, and it is now the Democratic party now that Bush is office.

2. OK, back to the subject.. Social Security is going to be hit hard by a lack of people paying into the system. The system works because the working population supports those receiving benefits. Because of the delay in starting families, I think in the long term, the birth rate is going to continue to drop, and when my generation hits retirement age, there is not going to be a whole lot of people to pay into the system. People are already aware of this situation, and it is going to get worse instead of better.

3. The minority population is going to make significant gains on white america. This is due to the higher birth rate among minority groups, and because of the continuing influx of imigrants. This is a good thing only if the minority groups get educated.

Wow, I really started to ramble...

ahh, the engineer emerges

I am not a Geek
I am an Engineer
I don't need the Force
I don't play with computers at home
I don't have a picture of Natalie Portman on my wall
I get paid for my work
I like things like elegence, standards, simplicity and proper indentation in code.
I really don't care about getting the latest and greatest toys, because I play with them at work
Got that newfangled doitall phone/PDA? Good for you. My single color phone is still kicking.
Until this blog came around

I might have to start playing with computers again outside of work. I am going to start playing with Web Services, so this shall be my playground.

Problem 1: How you do get dynamic content onto a static blog page.

Solution: Since server side code is out of the question.... I will have to make due with client side code. This means either ActiveX(the darkside!!!) or a Java Applet(do people still use these?). Forget JavaScript.

I don't know ActiveX, and I don't plan on learning....
Java Applets were designed to be secure, which means I would have to go through the hassle of signing my jar file.
I could probably host my jar on one of my friends websites...

This actually sounds like a lot of fun.

- By grace we have been saved, through faith
- we don't have to spend our time doing works to cover sin (negative works as in DO NOTs )

- Your deeds are not complete in the sight of my God
- Because our sin has been covered, we must now direct our attention towards overcoming
that sinful flesh(positive works as in the fruit of the spirit or as in the DOs).
- The steps to overcome the flesh are what ratifies on our end the covenent between us and God
- The covenent is between us an God, not in a corporate sense, but in an individual sense. It is up to each individual to ratify. YOU ARE NOT A CHRISITAN BECAUSE YOU BELONG TO A CORPORATE BODY CALLED CHRISTIANITY!!!!!!!! NEITHER ARE YOU SAVED BY MEMBERSHIP IN SUCH A BODY.
- Jesus bridged the gap between the holyness of God, and the sinfulness of human flesh
- Faith is the ackowledgement of such a gap, and the fact that there is now a bridge. THIS FAITH WILL NOT GET YOU INTO HEAVEN!!!!!
- The bridge needs to be crossed, which means leaving your old self behind. The phrase "to those who overcome..." refers to those who have stood up and walked across that bridge.
- The bridge is a metaphor for what? The crossing of the bridge is done by DOING DEEDS IN CONTEXT OF FAITH.


This is my statement of faith in raw and unformatted form.

Next up: match my life against my own statement of faith.

Tourniquet

I tried to kill the pain
but only brought more
I lay Dying
And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal
i'm dying praying bleeding and screaming
am i too lost to be saved?
am i too lost?

my god my tourniquet
return to me salvation
my god my tourniquet
return to me salvation

do you remember me
lost for so long
will you be on the other side
or will you forget me
i'm dying praying bleeding and screaming
am I too lost to be saved?
am I too lost?

my god my tourniquet
return to me salvation
my god my tourniquet
return to me salvation

my wounds cry for the grave
my soul cries for deliverance
will i be denied christ
tourniquet
my suicide


- Evanescence

To the Church of ...

I have recently been looking at the seven churches in the second and third chapters of Revelation. I don't feel like writing a long and rigerous blog on the passage. I do have a couple of points I think are interesting.

• The churches are being examined by God


• To whom much is given, much is required: The churches under trial and persecution(smyrna and philadelphia) are encouraged to stay the course. Those who 'overcome' are given greater honors in heaven


• To whom much is given, much is required: The rich and self-sufficient churches(Sardis and Laodicea) are slapped around


• The rest of the churches have doctrinal problems, and are admonished to clean house

The letter to Sardis speaks to me personally. They have no recognized deeds, and are called dead and asleep. Those who do not wake up and who do not overcome are REMOVED from the book of life.

What I have drawn from this passage is that Christians are held accountable for their actions even after they are "saved." Furthermore, after you have accepted Jesus by Faith, we are called upon to DEMONSTRATE that faith through deeds. The extreme example is the Church of Sardis who had no deeds. The implication for that church was that if they did not wake up, they might be in for a big surprise at the day of Judgement.

All I know is that the Christian church in the United States is in pretty sorry shape. This is interesting because when you start looking at individual churches, it is difficult to pin down a problem. When you look at the church on a national level, you can see all sort of shit(or at least I do.) The fact remains that the Church is simply a collection of individuals. You cannot assign blame on the national level without assigning blame on yourself and the people you go to church with. I am not interested in assigning blame right now, I am more interested in finding constructive solutions. The action item for me is to daily commit to live with kingdom vision and kingdom purpose. I think the key for me is to focus on something positive, rather than on the negative.

It was the best of times, and the worst of times

It was the best of times:

This has been the best years for snowfall in the California mountains in recent memory. Mammoth got 78 inches of snow in OCTOBER!! When I recognized the potential this year had, I went and bought a way too expensive new snowboard to replace my really beat up older snowboard.

It was the worst of times:

I have gone snowboarding only once this season - to the despised mountain of Big Bear. And that new snowboard is still sitting brand new an shiny in the wrapper it came in. As I write this post right now, I should have been testing out my new board on the slopes of Snow Summit. This is the first free weekend I have had since mid-december, and it is RAINING, now snowing, on the slopes of Big Bear. The group I was going with has cancled, and so shall I.

Moral disapproval of same-sex couples or of individual homosexuals is not a legitimate state purpose or a rational reason for depriving plaintiffs of their right to choose their spouse,

This was a quote by Judge Ling-Cohen that upheld the right of homosexuals to marry in New York City. Read the full article here

This is a loaded statement. I love it!!!! I think this sencence should be posed in the form a question. Is moral disapproval of same-sex couples or of individuals a legitimate state purpose? The second thing I find interesting is "their right to choose their spouse."

Regarding the former:

I believe that this strikes at the heart of the issue that divides the nation today. The current trend is in the direction of a resounding NO. Believe it not, I agree with this direction. Some wish for a govenment with Christ as the head. I have news for everyone, that was the Catholic Church in the middle ages. It failed for the same reason that Socialism and Communism has failed. This failure is the failure to take into account human nature, aka our sin nature. A theocratic system is only possible when sin is removed from the equation.

Regarding the latter:

In one breath, the Judge makes a statement about how moral approval is not a valid state purpose. In the next breath, Ling-Cohen then goes ahead and takes a moral position by talking about the right to choose a spouse. Why is this a moral position? Marriage between two people of the same sex has not been explicitly defined as a protected legal right by the legislative branch. I can only assume then that Ling-Cohen is speaking of a human right. When you start talking about human rights, you break into the moral domain.


My position on the matter is that it is NOT the job of government to dictate morality beyond what is necessary for the common good of society. On the other hand, it is my opinion that the opinion of Ling-Cohen is bull shit.

95 theses

95 Theses
I ran across this website when I was googling for Martin Luther's famous document by the same name. Read it with both eyes open and with a grain of salt. I have some issues with it, but I think it is pretty good by and large.

I classify this as food for thought.

The intellectual suicide of western civilization

OK, this blog is not really related to the title. We are talking about MY intellectual suicide. But hey, that title sounds better and a lot less dark.

This is simply an observation that 3-4 years ago and continuing to the present, my goal has been to search for God with intellectual purity. What I mean by that is to follow the rules of intellectual thought. I am finding out now that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I suppose someone can find God through an intellectual process( see C.S. Lewis), but it is a treacherous path frought with peril.