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October 31, 2004

What is happiness? Glad you asked...

Everyone strives for happiness right? Maybe so - maybe no. What exactly is happiness?

Happiness: a condition or state of well-being, contentment, pleasure; joyful, cheerful, untroubled existence; the reaction to having nice things happen to one.

Doesn't sound that bad to me. Let's start with what some famous people have to say on the subject...

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. -- Albert Schweitzer

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. -- Albert Schweitzer

Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient. -- Aristotle

That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. -- Henry David Thoreau

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis. -- Margaret Bonano

The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances. -- Martha Washington

It is not that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we do for ourselves. -- Chris Doelle

So why then are so many people miserable? There I have no information - because there I have no experience. I was sitting at the dinner table yesterday with my brothers and mom, discussing what terrible childhoods us kids had growing up. I was kidding with her about getting beat up by my brothers and forgotten on birthdays etc... (inside joke) and she said "you just never complained... in fact, you never said much of anything - you would just sit quietly and smile." I joked that I was catatonic from my traumatic childhood, but eventually let her off the hook by admitting it wasn't that bad.

It retrospect however, a recent discussion of happiness reminded me of the conversation and the fact that I really have no basis for understanding unhappiness. Sure, I have been upset, pissed off, angry, etc. but not for very long at a time. In fact, it is these lowest moments of my life that have become some of my funniest stories. They always lead to funny stories. Look at the stories on my website. Of the dozen or so that I have written, the two I like the most and the two that get the best response from readers are "The Great Potato Fire of 1990" and "Beware the Topos," both bad events turned to funny stories.

And before you decide that my life is rosy, lets look at the facts. I built a great business only to have it crash and burn resulting in a personal bankruptcy, I have a herniated disc in my back that knocks me out of commission more and more lately, I am overweight, I have high cholesterol, my dog just died, I pretty much screw up every relationship I am in, my house is mess, I have a broken pipe in the attic, I have an uncontrollable compulsion to save every worthless knick-knack that comes through my hands, I am behind in my work... it goes on and on.

So what is the point of this ramble? Don't ask me... I just write here. Also, don't expect me to understand when you break out the violins. Call me naive, call me insensitive - but don't save me a seat at the worry table - I am just not wired that way.

Posted by CDogg at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)

Best costume EVER!

Here it is... the best Halloween costume ever. Or is it? Could Tony Vasquez really be North Korea's Kim Jong-Il in disguise? You be the judge.

Which is the real Kim Jong-Il?

Posted by CDogg at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2004

Reverse the curse? No... just a break...

Today's headline...

Posted by CDogg at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)

Comedy with Strings

Team America: World Police was a laugh riot. I was expecting more of a liberal, right-wing bashing anti-America theme... but as Dave says, "It pretty much bashes everyone." The lyrics to the theme song can't be printed here, but they rock.

You will hate this movie if you are a left-wing radical. You will hate this movie if you are a right-wing nutcase. You will hate this movie if you are easily offended by just about anything.

If you are level headed and enjoy parody at anyone's expense... you will love this movie.

RATING 8 out of 10

When I first started watching Mean Girls, I have to admit, it was because off the high babe ratio. Early on in the film, it appeared very poorly written, as it relied heavily on voiceover and explanatory exposition, but after the lame setup, it turned out pretty decent. Lindsey Lohan is becoming a hot commodity (pun intended) in the film world. Lacey Chabert, the little squeaky one from Party of Five, is all grown up and after disappearing for the past few years, has tons of projects in the works as well.

The Lorne Michaels production is chock full of current and former SNL stars. Tina Fey does a good job as the 'normal' teacher, while Tim Meadows and Ana Gasteyer just collect paychecks, but Amy Poehler does agreat job as the wanna-be, young, hip mom. Those moms have always cracked me up.

RATING 7 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2004

I found the limit on the Netflix queue

That's right - I have hit the limit for movies in my queue on Netflix. It appears that 500 items in your waiting list is, in their estimation, enough. I guess I am just going to have to speed up my viewing if I am going to get through them. :)

Posted by CDogg at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)

DirecTV actually did something right...

I called DirecTV today to cancel my service. My reasoning was that I just don't watch much television - sure, it is on all the time, but that is more for noise than anything else. Well, after finally reaching a human, I made my plan known and was asked, "Can you tell me why you are cancelling?"

"I don't watch it that much," was my response.

After she dug a bit deeper, and I revealed that on top of all that, I was really pissed that new customers get more receivers installed as well as a free Tivo service, she said, "Oh, I can help you with that."

Long story short, I am not only getting a dual receiver delivered and installed free tomorrow, I am getting Tivo installed for free as well. Well, the Tivo is actually costing me $4.99 a month, but she lowered my base bill by $15.00 a month also without taking away any channels.

Sure, it is more than I would pay if I had cancelled, but with Tivo, I will actually be able to watch the things I want and no longer be subject to the network's programming schedule. I know, I know - I sold out and didn't stick to my guns... but I did get a heck of a lot more and am paying a heck of a lot less each month than before I called.

Moral: Call your satellite service and threaten to quit, you too will probably get a sweeter deal.

Posted by CDogg at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2004

Wayback - January 26,1988

Today I went to all of my classes and had a pretty good time. I went running for about a half mile and then ran up nine flights of stairs. I got a 2.78 GPA last semester and I enjoyed it overall, being my first semester away from home. After this semester is over it will be five years since I've graduated from high school. Our intramural football team finished 6-2 overall and in basketball we finished 4-6. This semester we will play flickerball and double volleyball.

I apparently took a four month break in my journal entries that included the Christmas break. The post about my first semester away from home and five years since graduating high school is a bit misleading. I was attending Victoria College and The University of Houston: Victoria Campus part time while working at my parent's stained glass studio right out of high school. It was after four years of this that I decided I needed to attend fulltime and headed off to Stephen F. Austin.

Posted by CDogg at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)

Are you ready for some geocaching?

Okay, by now you have seen several references to geocaching in my blog and maybe even taken the time to click on the link to the site to see what it is... well, let me give you a quick lesson: Geocaching 101.

Geocaching is an adventure game played by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world using a techie gagdet called a global positioning system (GPS) - those nifty devices that use satellites to triangulate where you are in the world. Onboard navigation in cars is now the most frequent use for this technology although like most whiz-bang things, it was invented by the military to conduct warfare more efficiently. As one geocacher put it... geocaching: the most fun you can have with 12 billion dollars in military hardware (without getting to blow things up.)

People all over the world (200 countries and counting) hide little "caches" of treasure all over the "geo"graphy and log the GPS coordinates to the website so that other geocachers can go locate them. They are usually in out of the way areas so that non-players "muggles" won't happen upon them accidentally and destroy or raid them. Often they are hidden in interesting, strange and sometimes even scary places. Where a cache is hidden usually plays a large part in how enjoyable it is for the finders.

The rules when finding a cache are simple:

1. Take something from the cache
2. Leave something in the cache
3. Write about it in the logbook

I have been geocaching for over two years now and in that time have found a few dozen of them across Texas... don't worry, there are thousands... a quick search on the website with my zipcode as the starting point lists over 100 within ten miles!!

I hid my first one June 5th of this year and it has been found 11 times with about 6 failed attempts. The feedback I have received from the finders has introduced an entirely new level of fun in the creating and hiding of a cache. To that end, I am about to create my second one...

Here I am at the Army Surplus store picking up ammo cans. (They make great containers for caches because they are easily hid in underbrush and their rubber seal prevents the contents from getting wet in bad weather.) Thank you again to the military for providing our entertainment.

I was running errands to the music store while we were filming today and it is right next door to the surplus store... These cans will become brilliant hidden caches... if I can just think of a cool place to hide them...

Posted by CDogg at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

Commanding Heights

The documentary Commanding Heights: The Battle for World Economy is a tour de force. This six hour, three DVD series was originally aired on PBS this year and is based on the book of the same name by Daniel Yergin.

If you have an interest in economics, world affairs or simply why countries do what they do and their relationship to your life in the United States, this is an excellent source of information. Learn about the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, the WTO (World Trade Organization) and their efforts to regulate economic conditions throughout the world. No weird conspiracy angle, no pro-capitalism slant - just straight facts. Good stuff.

RATING 9 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)

Nip/Suck

Okay, before you fans of the TV series Nip/Tuck decide to jump all over me for my dislike of the show, let me remind you - there is a reason they make chocolate and vanilla... different tastes.

The reason for the preface is that I checked out this series because I received so many glowing recommendations. My first impression was that it looked lame, but after hearing so many people rave about it (not just generally public, but people whose opinions I actually value,) I got the first disc of season one from Netflix.

Well, in a nutshell, I hate it. It got off on the wrong foot (or should I say cheek) by hitting me early on with shots of a butt implant. You might be one of those people who likes to watch operations on TV, but I hate them. I realize N/T uses prosthetic body parts in their shots, but it does look pretty realistic and pretty graphic.

The characters were boring too... the ladie's man playa... his robot-like business partner that leads the caricature of a normal (boring) life. Even robot man's kids are cardboard. There is eye candy galore and even the ugly folks are pretty people with "ugly" makeup. I just can't get into it. I shut off the first episode long before its midway point and will be taking N/T off my queue on Netflix. For my money, there are just waaaay too many quality things to watch with my time.
RATING 5 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2004

Wayback - October 1, 1987

Got my Physical Fitness test results back today. I have 17% body fat. I guess I'll try to work out more. My goal is to get around 10% body fat. Our football team climbed to 4-0. We won this one 16-0. I'm still pissed at the way our offense is going. They won't listen when I tell them BALL CONTROL & DEFENSE WINS GAMES. Luckily, we had a lot of defense tonight. We still lack ball control. We had it in our first two games when we scored 21pts each, but the last two we scored 14 & 16. They think you have to go long to score, but our scores have proven that a drive is better than a try at a long one. Next Tuesday, we play a good team so they better get their stuff together. Well, later on.

Geez, I don't know what is more troubling to read from this post - the fact that I was unhappy with 17% body fat or that I took football that seriously - haha.

Posted by CDogg at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2004

Movie catch-up time...

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was actually a pretty darn good film. It was predictable as all get out... knowing the premise of the film from the previews, it was pretty obvious how it would turn out from the moment Jim Carrey's character first opens his journal exposing that pages were missing. If you missed this in the opening minutes, perhaps it is because you don't watch a movie as critically as I do, but for my money - the storyline was pretty darn transparent.

What was good about the film however, were the character development and acting skills. You really empathized with the lead characters and were genuinely concerned about resolution. Kate Winslet did her best job to date as Clementine. Tom Wilkinson also did a fine job. I have always thought of Kirsten Dunst as a pretty good actress, but her performance in this film was flat. It always seemed like Kirsten playing a character poorly and never convinced me that she was Mary - the character from the film.

If you want to see a slightly offbeat romance - check this film out. You should probably pay attention if you don't want to get confused, but if you do focus, it is quite easy to follow... and as stated above... to predict. In the end, it doesn't matter because most films are predictable and as long as it goes where you want it to... all is forgiven.

RATING 8 out of 10

Next up is Walking Tall. WT is inspired by the Bufford Pusser saga of the same name. For those of you who do not remember the story of Sheriff Bufford Pusser - don't worry... this film has nothing to do with the original. (Although, you should check out the original Walking Tall for the story of the real Bufford Pusser as portrayed by Joe Don Baker.)

This time it is the story of Chris Vaughn (The Rock) returning home to find his small town overrun with cookie cutter bad guys. As per usual, action-hero, The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) kicks in some teeth, blows some things up and generally causes mayhem with his own brand of justice. The other thing that survives from the original Walking Tall is the trademark ass-kicking stick.

This is a fun movie. If you want typical action-hero schlock - you have found it. Once again, I think that Dwayne Johnson has been sold short in the script department. His WWF/WWE character portrayals as The People's Champion and The Rock have proven that he can act. Not only is he a huge ripped behemoth, he can actually act. You get to see glimpses of it in other action flicks (Scorpion King, The Rundown) but he is never allowed to really show it. Do not look for any deep dialogue, great direction, or even decent acting in this film either... look for things to get smashed and bones to get broken. You will find plenty of both.

PS Johnny Knoxville has turned into a pretty darn decent actor himself. Check him out as Vaughn's quirky sidekick.

RATING 7 out of 10

Rounding out this triple play of films is Hidalgo. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) portrays a worn-out wild west star who heads to the middle east to win the greatest long distance race in the world. He confronts enemies, fights his inner demons, and attempts to triumph over both. Sounds impressive, huh? Its not. It is campy, juvenile, overly dramatic, poorly directed, uninspired, boring and tired. To further muddle an already lame script, it ventured off into the same old "the poor Indians were slaughtered by White Man" left-wing rhetoric. Sure, we know it happened and it was sad - but do we have to relive it every single time there is an American Indian portrayed in a Hollywood film? Can't someone either assume we all know it or maybe find an original way to run that same flag up the pole?

Mortensen however, did a fine job of acting.

Great family adventure if your kids are under 12.

RATING 5 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

Precious Pets - SCUM Alert!

Fox 26 News ran a piece stating that Precious Pets at 12579 Whittington Drive in Houston has been investigated countless times in the past few years for selling ill puppies to the public and then turning a deaf ear when the puppies die or require huge vet bills.

Joe Hernandez is reportedly the owner of the shop and claims that the report by Fox 26 News is false.

Fox reported numerous incidences of puppies sold with Parvo, Mange and other illnesses. The SPCA has received dozens of complaints against Precious Pets in the past few years, but they haven't found any 'criminal' violations. (That is largely because pet shops are not regulated and in order for their to be a criminal violation, there would have to be clear evidence of dead or abused pets - illnesses like Parvo do not show outward signs until it is too late.)

What can be learned from this? Do NOT buy ANY pet from one of these puppy mill petshops... that includes those cute stores in the malls. Most of them get their stock (and that is all they are to those people) from puppy mills. They build a certain amount of 'loss' into their stock. What is a simple matter of economics to them, is actually lives of abused and neglected puppies.

When you are ready for your next best friend... please consider a shelter adoption or breed rescue... in lieu of that - seek out a reputable breeder.

Posted by CDogg at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)

October 17, 2004

Austin - Day Three - The Ride for the Roses

Well, this is what we came for. This is the reason I have been in Austin the past two days. My back is screaming, "Hey bub... you really don't want to do this," and "you already donated, the ride is just symbolic... you could be a spectator today." In fact, up until the moment I actually lined up at the starting line, I was in doubt about whether I should do the ride or not. But when I saw the hundreds of riders wearing a SURVIVOR sign on their backs listing when they were diagnosed, I knew that my herniated disc was nothing compared to what they went through. I was riding.

I rode the mountain bike because of its dual suspension and more upright posture figuring it would be easier on the back than the rigid road frame. I was right, but the weight of the bike and the huge rolling resistance from full knobby tires made this probably the last time I will ride a mountain bike in a road event. It saved my back in comparison, but probably made it five to ten times more difficult.

Imagine a voiceover ala NFL Films.... Like a gladiator of old, the proud warrior straps on his gear in preparation for the battle ahead.

You can see below in the parking lot that thousands have already assembled.

A quick stop off at one of the volunteer booths to get the "IN MEMORY OF" sign.

I had to play with the color and contrast on this shot to be able to read the sign... it had a glare in the photo. It reads "In memory of Pops & Sam :)"

There are thousands ahead of me already by the time I get to the line. See that screen waaaay off in the distance? It is actually a huge video wall about 30 feet wide and it is at the start area... we are talking a LOT of people.

And lest you think I started at the tail end... there are still a few thousand behind me.

The ride itself was pretty cool. It was very well support by an army of great volunteers. They were all extremely helpful and kind. They did everything from traffic control and logistics to manning the rest stops and most importantly, waving and cheering with encouragment at nearly every corner of the route. They are the ones that make this a great event.

Coming from the Houston area where the only hills are overpasses, the biggest shock of the ride was the elevation change. There were constant rolling hills that destroyed any semblence of pack riding. That, coupled with the constant onslaught from what seemed like a perpetual headwind, made it quite a test.

The last ten miles or so were a series of these steep rolling hills. With the heavier frame (both mine and the bike,) I would literally fly down these hills, blazing past anyone near me... but as I climbed up the next one, I would granny gear as low as I could and fight to push man and metal up the grade. During these last ten miles, I noticed that I was passing the same girl on the downhill side each time and being passed by her on the uphill. It became an expected event on every hill. We exchanged chuckles at each passing with things like "hello again" or "see you on the way down." As the course leveled for the final push... we started talking a bit. It was typical "Hi, I'm..." banter, but it was cool to put a life story to the jersey and helmet.

We finished together and Tony snapped a quick picture of Cathy Parks and I. She really helped the last miles fly by because my mind was not on my aching back and not on my burning legs, but instead on catching her on the downhill. Thanks Cathy, and I hope you enjoy many more rides. (She said this was her first one.)

There you have it... the Ride for the Roses weekend is complete. My back is wrecked, but it feels like it will bounce back faster this time than usual. It was a good weekend and the thing I came away with from the time wasn't some grand view on life or new-found dedication to fighting cancer... instead, it was a simple realization that Austin is actually pretty damn close to Houston and offers a host of cool things and places... I will definitely be going back more often.

Posted by CDogg at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2004

Austin, Night #2

I am going to take this a little at a time as I have a ton of pictures and info to relay, but my back is hurting me and I want to take breaks away from the chair...

The day started with me geared up for the convention center... note that smooth media pass!

We then headed to the convention center where the bulk of the days activities took place. We had to park at the very top of the parking garage (and it was a big one) because there were so many people.

Once inside, we checked out the TONS of booths and information...

It was a freakin' madhouse as there were thousands of people there and acres of trade show. I was ready for a rest after we finished the packet pickup. We missed Bobke (Bob Roll,) but did get to see Chris Carmichael (Lance's trainer and namesake for CTS - Carmichael Training Systems.)

After our first go-round at the convention center, we went for a bike ride. Here is Tony on top of the garage before we took off...

Here I am on a small bridge crossing the river a couple miles down the hike/bike trail ...

We picked up a geocache while we were riding... there are TONs hidden around this area, but we really didn't have time to do much hunting. We discovered another cool park area - Barton Springs while finding the cache. After the find, we grabbed a USANA bar for lunch and headed back to the convention center.

PART II

Okay... back at the convention center one of the highlights was signing a banner that was being presented to Lance Armstrong. As you can see in the upper left corner, I signed it in memory of Pops (my dad) and Sam. I also wore a memorium sign during the ride listing the same thing.

As the day turned toward evening, Tony and I went to check out the state capital building... here we are screwing around...

The building itself is amazing. Completed December 8, 1888, it stands taller than the US capital building by seven feet (this was by design.) I have some great shots of the building, I will only put a couple here for space reasons.

That pretty much ended day two.

Posted by CDogg at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2004

Finally, real blogging on the go.

Tony and I are checked in at the hotel and we actually have high speed internet access in the room. That means, I can blog as I go! Sweet!

Well, on the way to Austin, we passed through Brenham and figured since tonight we didn't have a lot planned, we would take the tour of the Blue Bell ice cream plant.

We took a picture with their first delivery truck.

Ooh boy... we are having fun now...

We were disappointed to find out that although normall tours run all the time, they were cancelled today. Oh well... we needed to get back on the road anyway.

Posted by CDogg at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)

Austin, Night #1

Tony and I met up with Alison to grab some dinner. She wasn't feeling well earlier today, but seemed pretty good (other than a cough) tonight. We picked her up at her apartment where we met her roommate Christina (sp?) who was gracious enough to loan me the DVD Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (look for a review soon) and Mean Girls from Alison.

Here she is on the stairs that caused the ankle injury...

We went out to the Boatyard Grill and enjoyed a good seafood dinner...
(I'll fix the redeye when I get home... I don't have any good photo editing software with me.)

After dropping Alison back at her apartment, it was off to 6th Street to see what the night held. We found a place called Coyote Ugly (a knockoff of the movie,) and got these shots.

The staff did the normal dance-on-the-bar thing...

and then it was time for the body shots...

Back on the street, we met King and he played a bit...

We got a bike ride back to where we parked in one of those bicycle rickshaw things by Jessica... she says this is the best job she has ever had.

Posted by CDogg at 05:18 PM | Comments (2)

October 14, 2004

So much for a grand day...

Well, that great day lasted just about long enough to finish blogging about how good it was going to be.

Right afterwards, Littlefoot in his euphoria over the great day knocked a plastic bottle of barbeque lighter fluid off the grill which having sat in the sun all summer was extremely brittle. It shattered as it hit and spread about a quart and a half of lighter fluid all over the concrete patio. The smell was overwhelming as it completely engulfed the house. Then to make matters worse, Littlefoot ran right through the puddle before I could get it cleaned up... and apparently lighter fluid is not comfortable on little doggie paws because he went ballistic.

I attempted to clean up the lighter fluid, but really only managed to spread it around - with it being such a cool day, it will probably not dry for hours. Next job was Littlefoot... I took him to the bathtub for a nice shampoo and he fought me all the way - until I started working the shampoo into his affected paws. Apparently, it is still irritating him somewhat as he is doing the four-footed peel out walk up and down the carpet, but at least he has stopped whimpering.

Oh yeah, and I have a vending machine that is stinking so I gotta get that remedied. (I am thinking that a coke burst in it and it just needs cleaning.)

Posted by CDogg at 06:23 PM | Comments (0)

Is this great weather or what?

Sure, my video project is in the toilet (not literally) and I haven't slept in the past two day (literally,) but after the rain stopped and the sun rose this morning, I was greated with what looks to be a pretty awesome day.

I am still working on salvaging some sort of deadline on my video project (which crashed again when power went out about 4am) but because the front and back doors are wide open, the sun in streaming in and most importantly this great cool weather has cooled down the oven that is my house. (with 11 computer systems running full time, it tends to stay pretty warm in here.)

I put the baby gate barring Littlefoot from bolting out the front door...

and with the back door open, I can hear the birds chirping, watch the butterflies and lizards and hear the gurgle of the pond...

Littlefoot seems to be enjoying it too. (Pennie... those chairs are calling to us.)

If this is some sort of cosmic payback for all the shizzle that has rolled downhill in the past few days - I'll take it.

Posted by CDogg at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2004

Fun with computers...

Things are getting pretty hectic around here lately. We have a video project that we have been working on for about seven months and everytime we get it finished, the client changes their minds about what they want. This is all fine because we get paid by the hour... the problem comes with their deadlines. We will hear at 8:30pm on a Friday night that they finally reviewed the master sitting on their desk for the last month and decide on some 'minor' changes - and, oh yeah - we need it in Canada by Sunday morning. NOT going to happen. The minor changes usually require a complete rerendering of the project as well as burning of DVDs - we are talking days of computer time.

Well, this project is again on one of those "gotta have it yesterday" deadlines and now we are having major system problems. One of the main editing stations has suddenly decided that what should take four hours to render is now going to take "about a day." Those are not my words... that is the freakin' program... where it used to show an estimate like "Time Left 45 minutes" it actually reads "Time Left about a day." We moved a bunch of stuff over to another editing station and that takes hours in itself to move those files and just when we worked out all the bugs about how it should find its source files on the network... I am chugging along... 40 minutes remaining on the first of eight renders and THE FREAKIN' POWER GOES OUT!!

Heck of a time to learn that the battery backup works, but not real good... It let through enough of a surge to reboot the machine... yeah, now it has to be started over once again.

In addition to the troubles with this project, we have two others that have pretty short deadlines. One client wants 75 DVDs made by the end of the week... I had to tell him it will be next week. We also shot another project yesterday and have a very short turnaround time because in two weeks we have another three day shoot which will eat up ALL our storage space and tie us up for a month.

Here is Davad S. and David P. shooting some content for a streaming website yesterday.

As of this blogging, I have just restarted the current project rendering for about the tenth time. It says it has two hours until it is completed, so I am going to run some errands... I am praying it will be either finished or still running when I get back.

Posted by CDogg at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)

Ross was right...

Ross Perot was lambasted as a whacko, a nutcase, a strange little man... but whether or not you believe these reports (from both the left wing and right wing media,) you cannot argue that he was right. He was right when he said that NAFTA (the first big free trade agreement our country signed) has caused a "giant sucking sound as jobs head out of the country." Now the liberals and conservatives use it as political currency as they exchange jabs about the "outsourcing of America" as it is now called. Since 2001, there have been in excess of 3 MILLION manufacturing jobs lost to the US and sent to foreign subsidiaries of our mega companies.

Before you jump on the Kerry/Edwards bandwagon - remember, it was Clinton that signed NAFTA and Clinton that expanded the scope of NAFTA to include other countries and other jobs. John Kerry vowed to give American workers a "fair playing field" if he were elected president. Kerry said President Bush is "selling their jobs out to large corporations" and vowed to close tax loopholes that reward companies for moving offshore. He should know -- he voted for NAFTA. He may also have had his wife's company in mind; she's the heiress to the H.J. Heinz fortune, a huge multinational company that gets most of its earnings from its overseas operations. But tax loopholes have little to do with the job exodus. It's cheap labor.

But wait, don't wave your Bush/Cheney bumper sticker and say "I told you so." Bush has done nothing to stem the tide of these jobs which are still flowing out of our borders. He has instead touted the growth of the "service sector" jobs. True, we have had a small growth in service sector jobs, but that sector is made up primarily of restaurant jobs - jobs which on the average earn less than 50% of manufacturing positions. Where else is it legal to pay someone $2.01 an hour? Ask a waitress. Republicans weren't always "free traders." Protectionism was a big part of the Republican platform when the party was founded in the 1850s. Beginning with President Lincoln, Republicans continued as big protectionists throughout the latter part of the 19th century. Republicans joined the slop-trough once big business was allowed to purchase candidates and now they gorge themselves side-by-side on the money stream with their Democratic "enemies."

So what is the point? The point is that the independents are the outsiders in national politics. They are the only ones who do not have a vested interest in the status quo. They are not funded by big business - heck, they are barely funded at all. They are maligned by the media as crazy because big business owns the media.

STOP listening to the media. STOP listening to your party line. STOP believing things just because Bush or Kerry told you so. START looking up the facts. START taking responsibility for changing the corrupt system that has taken over the greatest country on earth. START asking questions - especially of those who ask you to follow them.

Posted by CDogg at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2004

I don't have enough brain...

Posted by CDogg at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)

The Most Important Documentary in Years!

Super Size Me is a documentary that looks at the role that fast food plays in the rampant obesity in our country. Morgan Spurlock takes on a fast food exclusive diet for 30 days and fills us in on the painful steps and sickening conclusion. Spurlock does an excellent job of showing us the immense danger of eating fast food even as much as once every two or three weeks.

One of the scariest aspects of this film is the look at the foods served in school cafeterias. Our nation's children are being served the same garbage available at these grease pits. One cafeteria employee admitted that she does not cook anything anymore, and the her only cooking utensil is the box cutter used for opening the heat-n-eat boxes of junk food. Spurlock does a superb job in providing facts, figures and interviews that add weight (pun intended) the gravity of the issue (another bad pun.) And most of all, he makes his points without the total disregard for truth that someone like Michael Moore puts in his so-called documentaries.

This film should not only be required viewing for EVERY school age child, it should be shown once a year throughout their school life. Also, any adult who watches this and continues to eat at these toxic dumps is putting their head in the sand... and their life on the line.

An interesting side note, in 2004 after one failed attempt to sue McDonald's, Congress passed the "cheeseburger bill," which makes lawsuits against fast food companies illegal. This is clear evidence that the fast food lobby sees the writing on the wall, understands that they are doing something wrong, and doing something about it. The fast food lobby has spent over A BILLION dollars a year to make sure that 1 - they are not the target of lawsuits and 2 - agendas that help their product infiltration are promoted.

RATING 10 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

Want more silliness?

I found a site that will rate your site in terms of good and evil depending on the choice of words throughout the page. Here is my rating as of right now... I assume it will change over time as the words change...

I guess that means I am not that bad...

ADDENDUM: I ran the Germatriculator immediately after this post and the number changed slighty to 38% and 62% (I guess that means this was a good post) :)

Posted by CDogg at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2004

200 things...

This is one of the latest crazes going around the blogging world... you basically take this list and highlight which of the 200 things you have done... a total waste of time - but fun.

The things I’ve done in BOLD:

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (nothing like Everest)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive (although I did do a Hummer and owned a BMW)
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease (don't ask)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby’s diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states (getting close)
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight(its been a while)
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers (not that I can recall)
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy (all the time :)
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office ( I plead the 5th)
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. …more than once? …more than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone’s heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being (if I tell you, I have to - well, you know)
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name (last name)
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them (hey, college life was rough..)
183. …and gotten 86?ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office (if school elections count)
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

There you go 109 out of 200 items... if you add that to the 30 or 40 that I am not interested in ever doing, it is a pretty good chunk.

Posted by CDogg at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2004

Sacrilege

The Alamo is typical Hollywood left-wing, revisionist history. It takes the story of a valiant stand at San Antonio by the fledgling Texians against the overwhelming odds of Santa Anna's army, and turns it into a cheap "war is bad," "these guys you think were heroes, were not that special" left-coast retelling.

It is clear why the movie tanked in Texas and for that fact, the entire country. Nobody likes their heroes defamed, and to take one of the most enduring stories in our "NATION'S" history and give it such a hack treatment is deplorable.

We are not idiots, we know that Davey Crockett was really just a man, but this is supposed to be a movie... not a documentary. AND, if documentary realism is what they were going for - then their obvious political slant is out of place. Billy Bob Thornton gave a decent enough performance, but the rest were really pedestrian at best. John Lee Hancock's writing and direction show his lack of skill at both.

RATING 4 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)

October 07, 2004

FORGET the Titans!

Friday Night Lights is possibly the perfect football movie. And NO, I did rate rate this film highly because I was an extra in the scenes against Dallas Carter. It appears that even using freeze-frame on the DVD, it will be highly unlikely that I will be seen at all.

Peter Berg scores another directorial hit with his portrayal of Texas high school football in the 80's. Berg's choice of shots exists not for the sake of diversity itself, but to move to story forward with the appropriate emotion. Some of the shots evoke as much feeling as the acting itself.

FNL is not the bubble-gum portrayed in Varsity Blues and it is not the sugar-coated message-driven world of Remember the Titans. It is a dusty, reality-driven look at the characters in the biggest life drama of a depressed oil bust town. It doesn't go overboard and portray the events as life-and-death. It does however, show the incredible life lessons taught in football and the gravity of decisions when amplified by this stage and those lights.

Billy Bob Thornton was brilliant as coach Gaines, primarily because he just played the role. The film did not require Thornton to carry the film. He is just another character in what is a true ensemble piece. You can lose track of him as a star and simply understand him as coach Gaines - and that is good acting. He was reunited with Lucas Black from Sling Blade who is apparently all grown up. His acting skills although great as the young boy in Sling Blade, have also grown up. As quarterback for the Permian Panthers, Black scores. Tim McGraw, who I tend to think of as a poster boy for the "new country music," gives a surprisingly good performance as the heavy-drinking, hard-assed, former state champion, father of Garrett Hedlund's Don Billingsley character. (Incidentally, another great performance.) Derek Luke delivered powerfully (albeit too strong at times) as star running back, Boobie Miles.

It appeared that the character of Brian Chavez (played by Jay Hernandez) was either never fully developed in the script of was left on the cutting room floor as he was nowhere to be seen early in the film and he just sorta popped in more and more toward the middle until the end where the scenes seemed to imply that he had been a bigger part of the team and the other boy's lives that we were shown.

This one is "buy the DVD" worthy.

RATING 10 out of 10

Posted by CDogg at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)

October 06, 2004

THAT was a good day of baseball!

Wow, 12 innings... numerous lead changes... a big hit by ARod to tie it up... and a sacrifice fly by Matsui to score Jeter and win it!

Add to that "The Rocket" pitching deep into the game for the Astros and getting his first win in the opener of a postseason series in his career... big homers from unexpected heroes (Berkman, Beltran, Ausmus and Lane all went deep)... and the Astros down the hated Braves!

Overall, it was a darn good day for baseball...

Posted by CDogg at 08:02 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2004

Veep Debate

Wow... this one wasn't nearly as funny as the first Presidential debate. It was just party politics as usual. Cheney defended the President's policies in Iraq, Edwards ripped those policies. Cheney touted their lame prescription drug benefit - Edwards said they would do more. Cheney had well-thought-out responses to questions - Edwards did one of three things to questions 1) state what was wrong with the current administration 2) say they would do more or 3) change the subject to something he wanted to talk about.

Cheney clearly won the debate, but lost a lot of credit with me as he continually turned the discussion to fearmongering. His constant comments about terrorists coming into our cities were designed only to frighten the voting public into voting for Bush. Edwards had some very strong comments about closing corporate loopholes, making lawyers accountable for frivilous lawsuits and giving Americans the same health care coverage as members of Congress, but his (& Kerry's) record does NOT back it up. It is another example of Clinton politics... make promises based on what is really needed and desired by the public and then never deliver.

If Kerry/Edwards gave us any reason to believe that they would follow through on their domestic policy, it might be worth taking a gamble on them... unfortunately, they flip and flop constantly and this is another example. They will later be able to say "we were for ...." until the tide changes and they are able to claim, "we didn't vote for ..."

This debate makes me realize even more that both parties are representatives of what I call the Big Business Party and this is just a charade to make us thing we have a choice.

Posted by CDogg at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)

Moore Crap - Part I

Well, I did it... I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 - the slam-job by Michael Moore... and all I can say is - WOW! Where to begin? Those that remember Bowling for Columbine will remember that it is fraught with inconsistencies and outright lies... Moore is up to his old tricks again with Fahrenheit 9/11.

Well, this is going to take several posts to cover... let me start at the beginning. First off, you will notice that this 'movie' review does NOT have my standard movie ticket icon, nor does it have a rating system. That is because it is not a film. To call it a documentary is even incorrect - it is a propaganda piece.

F911 starts out with a celebration of Al Gore's victory in Florida. Gore is shown celebrating with Ben Affleck, Robert DeNiro, and Stevie Wonder with a large sign behind them that reads "Florida Victory." The deceit comes in the voiceover by Moore. He uses past-tense in stating that Gore had won the election and goes on to point out how the election was overturned. The problem is that this scene is from long before the polls even opened in Florida. It sounds minor, but after 2 hours of minor lies... you see the pattern of deceit created by Moore.

It goes on to state that the networks had called Florida in favor of Gore and announced Gore as the winner of the election and "Then something called the FOX News Channel called the election in favor of the other guy….All of a sudden the other networks said, 'Hey, if FOX said it, it must be true.'" What they fail to say is that FOX was one of those networks that called it wrong and that the networks called the results before the polls were closed in Florida before recanting... a move that could have changed a lot of potential votes as listeners in Florida might have felt their was no point in voting. The area of Florida that still had open polls was the panhandle area - a stronghold of Republicans. And at 10, which networks recanted first? CNN and CBS - not FOX. This is an obvious slam on the FOX network because of their right wing leanings. In fact, FOX did not retract their call of Florida until four hours later!

Moore’s editing technique of the election night segment is typical of his style: all the video clips are real clips, and nothing he says is, narrowly speaking, false. This is the essence of the Moore technique: cleverly blending half-truths to deceive the viewer. Moore as usual takes some valid points and twists them so as to be deplorable. Shame on you Michael Moore. (Get used to that phrase, you will see it over and over in this series of segments.)

Posted by CDogg at 06:22 PM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2004

A brilliant waste of time...

Hey, looking for a waste of time? I have found the best 'waste of time website' since... well, it's just a big waste of time. It is called "Whatever Happened to...?" Want to know the whereabouts of Joe Millionaire, M.C. Hammer or even Baby Jessica? (the one that fell down the well) You can spend countless minutes surfing for those whose 15 minutes of fame has passed before you get bored and decide to get back to work.

Want another waste of time... how about the Country Quiz? You click on the most appropriate answer from a series of questions and it tells you what Country you are...

Here is the result of my test:

You're Texas!
You aren't really much of your own person, but everyone around you wishes you'd go away, so you might as well be independent. You're sort of loud-mouthed and abrasive, but you do have a fair amount of power. You like big trucks, big cattle, and big oil rigs. And sometimes you really smell. But it's not all bad, you're big enough to have some soft spots somewhere in all that redneck madness.

Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

They also have one called The Book Quiz... I won't tell you which one I am... haha.

Posted by CDogg at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2004

Rainaissance Festival

It wouldn't be RenFest without a little rain - luckily, that is all we had... a little rain. The festival held a little something for everyone...

There were pretty maids...

... buxom midgets...

...village idiots...

... and even some of Carlos' good friends.

Here Pennie and Dave listen as a Scotsman plays bagpipes with an ear-wrenching lack of skill.

My back was feeling rotten so I had to cut my day short. I feel bad for putting a damper on the fun - hopefully, I wasn't too big a pain to everyone else. We do plan on going again and hopefully this time my back won't ruin things. I still haven't made it all the way to the fireworks - although the rest of the gang did.

Posted by CDogg at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)

Arguing is good - now, don't give me any lip!

Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning is the latest college course I have completed via audio CDs created by The Teaching Company. The course answers the questions, "How can we find the truth and resolve conflict with rational argument?" and "How can we persuade others?"

Although it sounds like a quarrelsome course, it is actually a study in effective communication. It is only American English that has put a negative connotation on the word argue... its original meaning is simply "to discuss for purposes of reaching the truth." There is nothing negative in that - in fact, the pursuit of effective argumentation can be seen as a noble cause. Sweet! I now have justification for my contrary nature. :)

Posted by CDogg at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

October 02, 2004

So you like living in a Democracy?

Polyarchy - a system in which power resides in the hands of the wealth of the nation, the rest of the population is fragmented and distracted, but allowed to participate in the selection of their elected representatives.

Who do we get to choose from? We have our choice of two Business Party candidates. That is not to say that there is no difference among Democrats and Republicans - it is just to say that they are factions within the same party. They do have differences, they have different views on how to keep the Business Party in power. Some want to do it through government handout programs, some want to do it through tax cuts... the bottom line is that they both intend to keep big business in control.

So is this a great conspiracy? Not at all - it is the way the system was set up originally. The United States was never set up as a Democracy. Scholars will be quick to say we are designed to be a 'representative republic," but polyarchy comes closer in definition. James Madison in the Constitutional Convention made it clear that "the primary goal of government is to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority."

So what do you do? Well, short of getting yourself into the opulent minority... I guess you decide which faction of the Business Party aligns mostly with your beliefs, vote for a third party, or don't vote. What you do NOT do however, is to pretend we are in a free democratic society.

I will be voting independent - not because I think Ralph Nader's platform is more closely aligned with my beliefs, but because I know that the ONLY thing that moves the Business Party toward my beliefs is public opinion. It is public opinion that gives them their reins and lets them know how far they can go in feeding off the fruits of our labor. Every vote for an independant candidate is a percentage point of public opinion telling the Business Party to rape us, our environment, our resources, our country and our future a little bit less. At the end of the day it is the ONLY thing that affects their decisions. (And while they aren't looking, I will be sneaking into the opulent class.)

Posted by CDogg at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)

October 01, 2004

Songs About Good Music

Music review time! You knew it had to happen right? I mean, I review movies, tv shows, restaurants, events, politicians, books, even friggin' college courses... why wouldn't I take one of my biggest interests and give my opinion? Maybe because I haven't purchased and album in years... NOT that I would do something as wrong as download music off the internet, but the whole review thing never comes to mind when you are looking at an MP3 instead of a shiny new CD case.

Maroon 5 scored HUGE with "Songs About Jane." This album has some great songs. They are one of those bands that sounds familar when you hear them mentioned, but you have trouble putting your finger on what songs they sing. They sing some great ones... Harder to Breathe, This Love, and the awesome ballad She Will Be Loved are great singles that are on the airwaves now. In addition to these three, which are clearly selected as the most commercially viable, the rest of the album shows a great range and excellent lyrics. Check it out... this is one of those albums like the Counting Crows first one. It will not be one that comes to mind as one of the greatest of all time, but will never leave your collection because it is just great music.

Posted by CDogg at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)

A Fest-ing We Will Go

Well tomorrow is the opening of the Texas Renaissance Festival just north of Houston. We try to go a couple times each year and relax a bit. I will be sure to bring my camera and try to catch some of the better moments.

Scheduled to appear are, Dave, Pennie, Jenni B, Chris, Mari, Tatiana, Carlos, Manny and one or two more... it should be a lot of fun. I predict one or two adult beverages will be consumed, an occasional stupid joke will be told, and a dumb idea or two will be acted upon.

Posted by CDogg at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)