Jul
13

The Chef was away

And came back with a weak meal… but I guess I can play,

Appetizer
What is your favorite fruit?
Sour Sop, AKA Guanabana!

Soup
Who is someone you consider as a great role model?
My Grandpa.

Salad
If you were to spend one night anywhere within an hour of your home, where would you choose?
If I drive an hour away from here I see grass on either side… 2 hours more grass… 3 and we get the lake of the Ozarks that will probably be somewhere I would like to spend a night.

Main Course
Name something you do too often.
I guess this is the question that did not really get my brain even working… lets see, I don`t often stand on one foot, but I have done it.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I really like ___________ because ____________.
I really like to work out because it makes me feel better afterwards.

Jul
11

My Gatekeeper Catching More than just Spam

I tried to make the question as easy as possible, and then I made multiple ones where the answer was the same. My little spam blocker asks to simply type the number one, followed by the number zero. 10.

It seems that some people (I will not mention any names) have had serious issues trying to comment here lately. So unless you want to join the list of absent commenters due to difficult question… comment.

I did not even ask how you write two in binary.

** UPDATE **

I think the plugging does not work like advertised and I have removed it… so comment away.

Jul
11

No More Mutts

I talked a little about dogs in our society before, but now the issue has to be discussed because of another law that might be passed in California. In case you have not heard, mandatory neutering might be instituted in California following the great success of an ordinance in Santa Cruz.

The pet world is a complicated one, and unless you have loved a pet it is hard to express the feelings stirred by the fur balls we share our lives with. We own this animals, but more than property they are part of our lives. My Mom used my dog to illustrate the level of compassion I had inside since I was willing to sleep on the floor when I brought him home for two nights. I don`t think I have ever slept on the floor again but I did not mind doing it to make the puppy feel safe.

My first thought about the law is that is going to punish the wrong people. The second one was that less and less pets are going to be registered for fear of the $500 fine if you fail to fix your pet before they are six months. They are however exempting register breeders, but mutts for the most part don`t have a place in the new dog society.

I have been wanting to talk about Michael Vick story and his involvement with dog fighting. He ended up not being indicted and while I know little about that horrible world, I had hoped that someone turned the story into something more positive. Would a law like this really stop the dog fighting industry that seems to be growing every year?

The next group that I would like to see stopped is puppy mills. They are the “bastages” that abuse dogs just to turn a profit. Maybe not as horrible as dog fighting, but pretty close on how they think of animals as just objects that are there for our amusement. I seriously doubt that puppy mills would be stopped by any law since they are already breaking laws.

The last group I mentioned is the cat lady that keeps on taking in cats until there is a ridiculous amount of them inside her place. The animals end up living in a environment that does not provide them with much of a life anyway.

So who is this going to target then? surely not responsible owners that already know the benefits of neutering. Then again, why would a responsible owner care if they already do it?

How is this going to be enforced? does this mean that big brother now also cares about what animals we have?

I think any time that the government steps in to help us is taking away from personal responsibility. We should do the right thing because of our morals and not because there is a rule, law or a fine waiting for us. I think mutts are some of the coolest dogs out there, but I think this law would do nothing but supposedly lower the percentage of animals that have to be disposed of because of irresponsible breeding. I am not sure how you guys feel about pets, I personally feel that the this law is more about revenue than really doing much for animals themselves.

Jul
10

The Word

“The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon is one of those figures in history that everyone likes to make fun of. From naming your puddle Napoleon because of the psychological complex named after him, to just thinking he was an overall goof ball. Napoleon was a prominent figure during the French revolution as well as a very good war strategist.

The quote above is one that troubles me. The older I get, the truer it sounds.

I grew up believing that everyone was good, or at least had some good inside them. Life has taught me that a greater percentage of people are going to try to take advantage of every situation than those that try to pay it forward.

Before you try to tell me different, think of all the so called friends you have had to call to keep in contact with. Or the people that have done things for you, only to later expect something or a lot more in return. Then count those that have only appeared to want to know you while you help them with something that you are good at or its your profession.

Thankfully I have been able to meet a lot of people that have become true friends, but it still does not make it easier when you find out that some people you trusted were not truly there to be friends.

I try to keep my word every time I give it. In many situations I would have been better off not giving it rather than not keeping it. Last week while in Chicago I wanted to see a lot of my friends, but I ended up not being able to make any concrete plans with many of them… again the fear of giving my word and not keeping it.

It is not just me though, the older I get the harder it is to get confirmation from people on plans. Eric, Travis and I have been trying to get together for the last 5 years. I saw Travis this year, and I saw Eric about 4 ago… They saw each other last year(I was supposed to be there too, but work got in the way of that), but we have not been together as a group since college.

I wonder why it is that as adults, where we should be more secure of what we can and cannot do it becomes harder to give our word out. I miss the days of telling my friends, I will be there and not having anything to stop me from being able to keep my word.

Jul
08

Fire up the afterburners

This weekend went by way too fast. It was full of wonderful event, but now I have to sit down and let it all kind of simmer.

I met my new nephew for the first time. It was a pretty special moment to hold that little life in my arms… I seriously never thought my little sister would be the one having two kids before me, but I think that it is wonderful. I also get to be a God Father!

I spent a lot of time with my family and even got to see some friends, even some that were visiting all the way from Colombia. We also signed up for a Gym today and are looking forward to some sweating in the coming months. Overall it is almost too much to recount with just words… but Bea always does a great job of telling the story via pictures. Lots more to see if you are actually one of our friends ;)

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