A year

I turned 27 last Thursday. Very shortly after that was my one year aniversary here in Seattle. So far everything seems to be going well and I enjoy it here. I’ve learned a lot of things over the last year some about business and a lot about myself. Will be interesting to see how the next year progresses. Fate was kind enough to put a winding road sign up for me to view. Oh well, I enjoy a good adventure. Cheers folks.

Mariners v. Detroit Tigers

We lost but a good day for a baseball game.

Seattle Tax Day Tea Party

So a bunch of us Right Wing Extremists decided to rally together in Westlake Park in downtown Seattle and have a little party. Here are some photos, I’m currently working on the video.

[flickr]3447561287[/flickr]

See the full set on Flickr – HERE

Godzilla is on Twitter

HIGH SCHOOL — 1957 vs. 2009

From an email forward

Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck’s gun rack.
1957 – Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 – School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1957 – Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 – Police called and SWAT team arrives — they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged them with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it. Read the rest of this entry »

Seattle Anti-Porkulus Protest

Miss Liberty Belle did a fantastic job organizing this event on such short notice. I think the turnout was great considering the overall demographic of Seattle. Everything went off without a hitch including a delivery of tasty BBQ pork by columnist Michelle Malkin. The only rabble-rousers were a few (i assume) liberal Democrats who attempted to yell over top the speakers and one who even jumped on the stage and interrupted things. No broken windows or vandalism and no need for police intervention. A good old fashioned American protest.. no need for violence like other groups seem to think is necessary.

See all of the photos on Flickr – http://flickr.com/photos/e53/sets/72157613958925940/

Everyone has my permission to use these photos. Please be kind enough to attribute the photos to me and the event organization to Liberty Belle

Friday Night Lights

Television, for the most part, is crap. Short of educational channels like Discovery or TLC the entertainment put out there for younger folks has little or no value in the long run. However, once in a while I find myself inspired by a show which is the case with Friday Night Lights on NBC. I am a late comer to this program as it has been on for three full seasons (3rd season is now re-running on NBC after originally showing on DirectTV 101.) Last week I saw a message come through on twitter (@mkhammer) that finally made me decide to add Friday Night Lights to my Netflix queue and luckily for me the first two seasons were available for immediate streaming so I didnt have to wait for dvd’s to show up. One week later I have not only finished the first two seasons from Netflix but I downloaded the full third season from Bittorrent and just finished that. That’s 50 episodes in a week. Talk about a complete time suck and a 100% complete addiction to a story line that so far has been beautifully written and executed.

The series which is situated in the fictional Texas town of Dillon holds many lessons that I think would be valuable for young people and adults alike. As the series title makes clear the underlying focus of the show is the Dillon High School football program, however, the real story lies in the trials and tribulations of an entire community. On and off the field players, coaches, students, and community members alike are portrayed in a very personal way as they make their way through the most joyous occasions and the most depressing moments of life. I think the primary lessons to be taken from this show are those about believing in yourself and doing what is right and what is good. There are low times where characters are abandoned by everyone they love and there are high times like winning a state football championship after overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.

It’s certainly something that I would recommend watching or at least trying to watch. To some it will seem like a Friday night soap opera for high schoolers and some may just simply not find it all that interesting but it definitly caught my attention and think I picked up a few pointers along the way. There’s a saying that the Dillon High School Panther football team has: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Cant Loose. It’s a lot like a fortune cookie or a horoscope, you make of it what you want, but its something to think about.

The Transfer of Power in the United States of America

Despite the fact that the inauguration of President Barack Obama is not necessarily a celebratory time for me I do recognize the historical aspects of the event. Not only do we now have the first Black President of the United States of America but there is something that people usually seem to overlook. The inaugural process and transition of power in our republic from one leader to another is historic every single time it happens. I found it best put into words by Trent from The Simple Dollar blog:

The United States is an amazingly stable democracy. For most Americans, the peaceful transition of power seems like a normal, common, and expected thing. Yet, over the course of human history, such peaceful transitions of power are the exception rather than the rule. Revolutions, wars, coups, and bitter transitions are the rule in most areas of the world, and the strong-armed changes that other people face undermine the stability of day-to-day lives. Currencies become worthless. People are driven from their homes and lives. Personal property is “nationalized.” In the United States, we are quite lucky that we don’t have to face such situations – and our safety from those situations is part of what gives us such prosperity.

Today, as Obama simply and quietly takes the reins of leadership, recognize that this transition isn’t taking place at the barrel of a gun – and it’s that stability and safety that plays a major role in the stability and safety in our own lives. [via - The Simple Dollar]

That is exactly why living in this country continues to be better than living in any other place in this world.

Reflections before The One (Barry Obama) is Crowned

I rediscovered the following comment which was left on a blog post just over one year ago which was about the time my complete and utter discontent with the all to long election cycle began. I can’t help but feel completely disconnected from my government right now really to the point where I’ll spend the next four years looking over my should while I try to help where I can to rebuild what local governmental power we have left.. which is where the real power should be locally and with the people.. not with some would be political messiah in a district known as Columbia. On to the quote:

I thought the analogy put out there the last day or so about this campaign being like the guy who can’t figure out why girls aren’t going for him, when he is everything that girls say they want. The reality is that girls don’t really want what they say they want. Same thing here. All the talk among the American electorate about wanting a focus on issues and wanting a leader, not a politician, etc is just talk. When it comes down to it, the American electorate is fickle and superficial.

Fred[Thompson] ran a campaign based on believing that the American electorate was sincere. He has found out that the American electorate is as insincere and superficial as most of the politicians they complain about.

Oh well. We will all get what we deserve come November.

We have a lot to learn. Lets hope we learn fast.

2008 Wrap-up and 2009 Goals

2008 is over. What happened? The year began in a deep freeze with the most snow Iowa had seen in a long time. Spring brought an end to the low temps and heavy snows only to bring one of the worst floods in history to Iowa. In June I picked up and moved myself all the way to Seattle, Washington and started a new job focusing on Microsoft Exchange server systems.

Throughout 2008 I aquired a few cool new toys. I finished building a new AR-15 rifle, built a few new computers/servers, bought a Playstation 3, a 42″ HDTV, and a new 2008 Ford Escape Ltd.

I’ve been reviewing a list of goals for 2009 in my head and I’ll record them here for reference:

1) Get healthier. Need to quit smoking and I need to eat better. In the last six months I’ve packed on some extra pounds and I’m not really cool with that. I guess this means its time to break that out still brand new Cannondale mountain bike.

2) Get smart. I’ve wanted to read more for a while now and I just havent ever done it. I would like to set a goal of reading ten books this year. Ten might not seem like a big number to some people but its a hell of a lot more than I read normally.

3) Blog it. I should try to blog more this year but I swear I will only blog if it seems somewhat interesting. I may use my blog as a book journal as I have been told that can help keep one interested in the books he/she is reading.

4) Political action. The last year and a half was full of campaigning and was busy and annoying and everything in between. Now that the election cycle is over and my “side” lost its time to help the team get back to power and in the GOP’s case… back to principles. I’m going to try to get involved in a few different organizations and projects mainly focusing on bringing tech to the RNC.

5) Great outdoors. I’m in the great Nortwest and am surrounded by lots of great wilderness. I plan to go hiking at least three times this year. These hiking trips should consist mainly of day hikes but it could be interesting to do an overnight. I also want to go camping at least three times and would like to go snow camping sometime so that might be the first trip.

6) Auditory excellence. I need to make sure to get to at least six live music events this year. I thought it might be interesting to add the stipulation that one of the concerts should be country music and one should be some sort of mainstream Top 40 show. The rest can be metal!

7) Revive the e53 Shootout and BBQ Supafest.

Go on a vacation.

These are all things that I would like to do. They are goals not resolutions. If they dont all get done its not a failure its just a goal that wasnt reached and I will try next year.

That is all.