Getaway Day

Well well well, I return to the blog after a little bit of a hiatus. Seems as though the GMAT got me a little side tracked this week... But I will now resume regular blogging. Speaking of the GMAT, it went rather well, I scored in the 65th percentile. Which isn't great, but I only needed to get in the 50th to get into the MACC prgram at ACU. At least I know what the test is like now, if I want to take it again for business school down the road.

Otherwise its been a typical week here in DFW, working at the old office. The Rangers continue to play well, leaving us to wonder what might have been. MY prediction for the upcoming trade deadline: Lofton gets dealt, Sosa gets cut (hopefully), Otsuka, Gagne and Tex all stay put. I just don't think Daniels will see a deal that is a no-brainer come along for Teixiera.

I'm leaving for Abilene right after work, to pick up my brother and sister from camp tomorrow morning. Should be good fun. But I'm holding back the major announcement, and here it is:

Next week...
I will be joining for one night...
The Fort Worth Police Department. Thats right, I am signing up for a police ride-along next week with the FWPD. I can't wait. This is something I've always wanted to do, but have never followed through on it. Now that I have a couple of weeks to kill, I thought, why not? Hopefully I get to watch a drug bust or a standoff. Even a traffic stop would be fun, I think.

A man among boys spoke about the Iraq situation yesterday. Read it if you've got the time.

6 Days, 5 Hrs till training camp begins.
Until next time...

Gosh I can't wait for Madden:

Of Little Green Footballs and Huge Dogs

Well another week is winding down, and I find myself in between projects at the office. Guess that means its time to blog. I'm heading out to Abilene on Saturday, to spend the day there. It should be fun. Last night, me and my brother and his friend went to Dallas and saw the much-hyped Kwik-E-Mart, created in honor of the Simpsons Movie. It was pretty cool, they really went all out on this one. I picked up some Buzz Cola and some Krusty-Os, and of course had myself a Squishie. They had life size Simpsons characters all over the store, and all the workers had on Apu shirts. It was extremely busy, fans kept pouring into the store the whole time we were there. Is it weird that I so easily give in to corporate marketing? I always seem to fall for whatever they offer, hook, line, and sinker.

Well its only July of 2007, and the presidential election coming up is already threatening to whip the American people to death. People think theirs too much coverage now... just wait until next summer. I just hope I don't get burned out on it all, because it really fascinated me. I read in U.S. news that this election is the first in over 30 years that doesn't involve an incumbent or his vice president running for the nomination. That's why this race is so interesting and crazy. I've been thinking about getting involved this year (IE joining a candidate's team), but I shall remain mum for now on who I will support. I just think this next year's election is vital for the future well being of our country.

I added a new website to the links on the left side, it has become a recent favorite of mine. The blog Little Green Footballs has become a daily stop for me as I continue to be interested in the battle against radical Islam worldwide. Check it out if you are into global terrorism issues and such.

Two books I am interested in at the moment:
Born Again, by Charles Colson
and The Cheater's Guide to Baseball, by Derek Zumsteg

This story fascinates me. Meet the Incredible Hulk of the dog world:

Bring the Heat

I slacked yesterday and didn't post, apoliges to all of my loyal readers. Of which there are probably none. Well it looks like maybe the torrentail rains that have plagued DFW this summer are finally going away, and we can go back to what ususally consists of s summer here. I never thought I'd be ready for 100 degrees and sun, but I really am. The only thing that messes it all up is the fact that the air conditioning has gone out at the office where I work. That means box fans for everyone! Not good times, bad times.

But I refure to let it get me down. I take the GMAT next Tuesday, which is pretty exciting. Its basically a harder version of the SAT, but I am going to be studying a lot in the next week so I won't be too worried about it.
Fun FActs about the GMAT:
*It cost me 250 dollars (!!!) to take this test.
*Its completely computerized, so there's no going skipping questions or coming back to them.
*Its "computer adaptive", meaning if you answer a question right it gives you a ahrder one next, and vice versa.
*There's a writing section.
I bet thats more than you ever wanted to know about the GMAT.

Trivia fact: Today and the day before the MLB All-Star game are the only two days of the year when there are absolutely no games in the 4 major sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey)

It's just like a Mini Mall:

"More than meets the eye"

Well I'm back after a good weekend, in the office(that apparently has a malfunctioning air conditioning unit today. Not good times. Bad times). Casey was in town for the week, and we got to enjoy the greatness of Joe T Garcia's on Friday night.

I got to see the newest Michael Bay epic this weekend, Transformers. Gotta say, I was impressed. I usually don't enjoy Bay's work, including the overblown Pearl Harbor and Bad Boys films. But this one was pure fun from start to finish. Maybe the guiding hand of executive producer Steven Spielberg helped make this one so good. As a fan of the original TV show and toys from my childhood, I have no complaints. I liked how it seemed to know it had cheesy subject matter to start with, and then just ran with it. The film was filled with fun characters who were enthusiastic, but also knew they were in a summer blockbuster type movie. Also, the special effects were drop dead gorgeous. Good to hear the original voice of Optimus Prime as well, that was a nice shout out to the fans. I can always tell whether I like a movie or not by how many times I check the time, and on Transformers I never even thought about it. Highly recommended.

On Saturday I caught some of Live Earth, Al Gore's concert "for a climate in crisis". I just really admire all of the performers and celebrities who showed up to make a difference. Nothing helps save the environment more than celebs flying across the country in their private jets, to get up on stage and preach to us about not being wasteful. What a moving experience.
While I believe humans do indeed contribute to the harming of the earth, I do not believe we are on a "doomsday clock", headed for extinction in the next 10 years. I think ti is incredibly arrogant to believe that humans, in less than 150 years, can so drastically affect a planet that has been going pretty good for over 65000000 years. Do we really think we know anything about the earth? It will survive. The almost "religion" of global warming scares me. But enough about that for now.



At some point this week I want to make a trip to Dallas to visit the Kwik E-Mart, a 7-11 converted into the convenience store of Simpsons lore. There are 11 of these around the U.S., and I would regret not taking the chance to pick up some "Buzz Cola" or some "Krusty-Os" as a collectors item.



If you can, check out the trailer for the new J.J. Abrams movie that's attached to Transformers, codenamed "Cloverfield". It it very, very creepy. Search around on YouTube for it, as it keeps getting taken down by the studio.

Don't Fear the Change

I decided to give the blog a makeover today. All you old-school blogging purists may not approve (is there such a thing?), but I think it looks pretty good. I'm even trying out the poll feature, starting with a DFW sports survey. Hopefully as readership gradually builds we can get some better questions up, like who will win Sing Song and things like that.

Well as I sit in the office today, I don't really have any political rants for you, only some random thoughts. Over the last few days, I have received for some reason about 5 of the same chain email, about Bill Gates deciding to give out his fortune to people who forward a certain email. Really? I thought we as a society were passed this. The government should track which people send out chain emails, and it should be marked on your drivers license. It would be like you have a disability. That way we can weed out the lesser of society. Pretty harsh, I know. But drastic times call for drastic measures.

I have been watching a lot of Rangers baseball lately, mostly because there's nothing else to do but also because there are things happening over there that intrigue me. It seems as though we will avoid 100 losses this year, and have been playing rather well lately.
But what intrigues me the most about this season, moreso than the 30-somethings having good years for us (Byrd, Wilkerson, Gagne, Otsuka, etc.) are the developments down in the farm system. Many of our positional prospects are beginning to get it together, and they are defintely a major improvement over where they were last season. Guys like K.C. Herren, John Whittleman, Chris Davis, and even John Mayberry(!) are having great years in Frisco and below. Eric Hurley is about to begin a run of dominance in AAA Oklahoma, and Kasey Kiker is pitching well in A Ball. These performances, along with our soldi draft this year, give me hope for the future and a feeling that this management team has a plan in place and we are moving forward with it. That's why I hated all of the calls for Jon Daniels' head after only a year and a half on the job. How can anyone make that judgement so quickly, especially in baseball, the sport where player development takes the longest? Besides, name me one baseball GM who hasn't made at least 2 questionable trades. In the effort to improve, mistakes will be made. The organization is committed to developing young talent, and making smart free agent aquisitions (Kenny Lofton, Gagne). Daniels knows this recent surge cannot change the fact that they are in no position to compete this year. If anything, this run without Teixiera proves to management that the team will survive if he is traded. I want to see Tom Hicks get his nerve back, and take some risks with this product. Something that concerns me that was brought up by Bob and Dan today on the Ticket, is the way Tom Hicks treats the fans like investors in a company. He is constantly talking about profitability and ticket pricing and making money, but the reality is that fans don't want to hear any of that. We care about wins and losses, not profit and return on investment.

That's all for today, enjoy seeing why NFL players are quite different than me and you:
(Adrian Wilson)

The Post- July 4th Work Beat Down

Well, sitting in the office the day after July 4th really sucks... but its raining outside anyway so I guess its good to be making money. I had a great time out at the Huston lake house for the 4th, the weather ended up cooperating and we even got out on the water for a bit. Good friends, good food, and lots of fireworks made for a great weekend. A question for another time: Why the heck is America so obsessed with blowing things up? Every dock on the lake seemed to have its own set of pyrotechnic experts it seemed. Maybe its because the burn ban that seems to be in effect every summer was finally lifted, unleashing everyone's inner 12-year old. We put on a pretty good show ourselves, even though often the threat of getting blown up is more exciting than the actual fireworks themselves.



I read an interesting article today, an Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal:

In it, DANIEL HENNINGER writes about how no matter what voters or politicans will be saying in the coming months, the elephant in the room on everyone's minds remains terrorism. The issue of our battle against terrorism will continue to be the number one issue even if no one wants to say it:

"That's right. It's not the economy this time, stupid. It's terrorism. No matter how low George Bush falls in the polls the next 18 months, "what to do about terrorism" is going to be the No. 1 voting issue in November 2008 because the Glasgow/JFK/Fort Dix/Heathrow/Madrid bombers are still going to be at play in November 2008.
This may well be the election decided by the Worry Wart Independents. But don't be surprised if a lot of them walk out of the voting booth that day and say with a straight face, "I voted to solve the health-care crisis." Right."

I think this is a really interesting topic, and one that will come into play a lot more in the coming months. I agree with what Glenn Beck has been preaching for months, that the American people don't really want to "Get out of Iraq." I belive its something more than that. We want to win. We are Americans, and we hate losing. I think the person that wins the presidency next Fall is the one who instills the confidence in the American people that we are going to win this fight, we have it in us and we have the right people in charge. It won't be the person with the best health care plan, or the best tax plan, or the best view on stem-cell research. It will simply be who can make us believe we are winners again.

Rocking some Amy Winehouse these days...

Happy Almost July 4th

Well last night I attended the first WWE Raw event since the Benoit tragedy... pretty interesting stuff. It seemed like everyone (fans included) was ready to sweep the Benoit story under the rug and get on with business as usual. Which is, I think, the only thing you can do. I must say I still dont feel like things are back to normal, but it will only take time. It will also take good wrestling and good storylines, which are absent at the moment. Still fun to go to a live event though.

I'm heading out to Heath's lake house today to spend the 4th out there. Happy birthday to Heath, by the way. Should be happy good fun time, as long as it doesn't keep raining so much.

I wanted to say something about the attempted London terror attacks that were averted this week. Reports are coming out that many of those who have been planning these attacks were in fact doctors. I hope this helps lay to rest the stupid terrorism argument that "The only reason they feel the need to attack is because they live in poverty. If we fix poverty, we will fix terrorism." This is a strike against freedom and decomcracy, not against the oppresion of the poor. Radical Islam is at it again, and no one wants to lay the blame where it should lie. Gordon Brown, the new Prime Minister of the UK, has called for everyone to not call the terrorists "Muslims" or "Islamic". No one has done more than the UK over the past decade to appease Muslims, and to make them feel comfortable and assimilated into the culture. Take a look at what thats gotten everyone. A recent poll stated that 40 percent of Muslims in Britain would rather live under Sharia than British law. And once again, after these attempted attacks, the so called "moderate Muslims" have been silent when it comes to denouncing these attacks and the "radicals" who were involved. If we as a global, democratic society are to eradicate terrorism, it begins with facing the problem head on. Just some thoughts...

If you want to hear from someone much more literate than me on the subject of radical Islam and the threat we face, pick up America Alone, by Mark Steyn. Highly recommended.

Icky Thump is rocking my world at the moment: