I havenʼt failed 800 times. I havenʼt failed once. What I have done, is I have succeeded in proving that those 800 ways wonʼt work. Once I eliminate all the ways that wonʼt work, I will find the one way that will.

- Thomas Edison

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I did it! I finally got myself sick of fast food and I mean literally sick. I’ve been trying to eat healthier over the past couple of months and that means less or no fast food.

I’ve been pretty good about it and only eating at decent places when going out. You know, places that serve actual food made from ingredients that don’t get delivered in powder or frozen form.

Last week I decided to get some Wendy’s because I was doing well and wanted to “treat” myself. I threw it up a few hours later. Tonight, I wanted to get home to get some food but instead stuck around and ate Whataburger (a Texas burger chain). I threw that up just 30 minutes ago.

I think I’ve made myself sick of fast food which is the best thing that can happen. It really removes all temptation that may have existed.

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I use virtualization a lot. I have many Xen images at home for testing and I ran VMware Fusion on my Mac for running Linux and other operating systems. Being cheap, I had the “stolen” version.

I found out about an app called VirtualBox. It runs under Linux, Windows, and Mac and actually runs pretty quickly. I’m actually posting this from Solaris virtual machine running on a MacBook Pro.

Click here to check it out

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At the start of this month I wrote about getting rid of some excess stuff I had around here. I was turned on to this by another blogger and a Time Magazine article. You can read the original post here.

I tossed my bed but only because it was super old and not really worth selling. I sold an extra T.V. that’s been hanging on the wall for 8 months with nothing plugged in (what a waste). I offered up my books to people at work and sold the rest to a local place Half Priced Books.

I’m not sure if I’m going to part with my DVDs yet. I have around 500 DVDs at the moment and I do watch many of them often enough where I would want them around. I’ll probably remove the ones that I don’t care for and maybe remove the cases to keep them in a folder with sleeves. It’ll take up less room that way. I probably could rip them but that’s a lot of data to store.

I dumped some extra clothing into a goodwill dumpster thing. I had some old suits, ties, sweaters, etc that I haven’t worn in a long time. One suit was worn once to a prom and never used again.

I’m also looking to get my real photos into digital ones to get rid of the shoe boxes. I can always print out pictures if I want in the future. I plan to do the same with my documents by converting them all to PDF format. It’ll also provide me an easy way to search through them.

Living like a homeless person is not my goal. I just don’t want to be someone who’s too wrapped up in my possessions and creating an invisible friend, starting a gang, and shooting myself in the face seems a little too harsh for my taste (Fight Club reference).

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Congress is looking into regulating oil speculation which is the cause for the sudden increase in price per barrel. I’ve read that experts believe oil shouldn’t be more than $60 U.S. even though it’s close to $140 right now. This is because demand in the U.S. is actually down probably because of the poor economy and high price of gas.

It’s good that gas surged this year because it lets people know how vulnerable they are to this sort of thing should relations with a large oil exporter such as Russia or Saudi Arabia go sour.

Oil companies should hate these surges because it gets people thinking more about alternatives. While they may rake in the profits now, they may see a sharp decline if alternative power sources get cheaper, more efficient, and feasible.

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I interviewed three weeks ago for a position that I’m just now getting the offer for. That seems like a really long time. I was certain that I didn’t get it after a few days had gone by.

The question now is do I take it? I’m still unsure about the whole thing and am taking the weekend to decide.

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I received an email back from Seed magazine. They were very nice and admitted the error. Here’s the reply.

Thank you for your interest in and your email to Seed.

The information regarding the possible diversion of U.S. funds to the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran was reported in a February 6 letter and February 7 hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce concerning, among other things, U.S. nonproliferation efforts in Russia and the Iranian
nuclear program. Having reviewed some of the relevant documents and testimony myself this afternoon, it seems clear to me that although the writer was justified in claiming that there were concerns that U.S.-funded Russian research institutes were providing aid to the Bushehr nuclear facility, he was incorrect in claiming that the GAO raised them in their January 2008 testimony to the House committee. Rather, the concerns were inferences drawn by Representatives Dingell (the Energy and Commerce chairman) and Stupak from multiple documents, including information‹which was not in the December 2007 report nor in the printed version of the January 23 GAO remarks to the committee‹provided to the committee by the GAO following the January 23 hearing.

The House committee’s dossier including the two relevant GAO-provided documents on Russia and Bushehr is available at http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110nr201.shtml.

Thank you for bringing this error to our attention. I hope you agree with me that, although there was a mistake in the article, the essential argument holds.

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I’m becoming very skeptical about what I read. I’ve just read an article in SEED magazine which stated the U.S. funded Iranian nuclear development via a Russian proxy setup by the IPP in order to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Of course I was really intrigued because that’s a pretty huge goof if it were true. The article referenced a 2008 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published in January so I looked for myself.

A PDF of the GAO report can be downloaded here but no mention of Iran was made. I also checked a few other reports by the GAO on the IPP just to make sure the didn’t get the dates wrong but still nada.

I wrote SEED an email about the story to see if I can get more information. Hopefully they’ll be nice and respond. The moral of the story is that you can’t always trust what you read, hear, or see.

Click here to read the original SEED article online

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I can’t stand being in an office. Everyone’s such a fucking pussy. People look at you crazy if you raise your voice or use profanity.

If you fuck up, I’ll say “you fucked up”. Don’t try to come back with some retort about how I’m somehow wrong. If I’m your superior, I’m always right even if I’m wrong.

All of my menial jobs were so simple and nice. There was no crying or complaining. If you didn’t like conditions you quit or shut the fuck up.

I like what I do which makes it hard to leave. I just wish I could do what I do without all those pesky people around.

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A dude in McCain’s camp admitted that a recent terror attack would help the campaign. I’m actually in agreement with that statement but it’s still fucked up.

It’s not really fucked up that Mr. Black had the idea because his job is to put McCain’s ass in the oval office but it’s fucked up that this is how people think and vote.

Terrorism has been used recently to push through all kinds of legislation because people are too pussy or too stupid to push back. As 9/11 fades into history, we need a fresh terrorist act on a similar scale or at least in our own backyard to get people’s fear levels up again. News cycles fast and as we get thrown more and more information, we’ll soon forget about the things we’re supposed to be scared of.

Anyhow, here’s a snippet from the article

Charlie Black, one of McCain’s most senior political advisers, said in an interview with Fortune Magazine that a fresh attack “would be a big advantage to him.” He also said that the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, which he called an “unfortunate event,” helped him win the Republican primary by focusing attention on national security.

“His knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who’s ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us,” Black told the magazine.

Click here to read the full article

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People who suggest that global warming isn’t true or isn’t caused by pollution are complete dolts. They may in fact be correct but are still wrong. Here’s why.

Pollution is bad. Even if it didn’t raise the global temperature by a fraction of a degree, it’s still bad. Hell, even if it had no negative ecological effects, it’s dirty and deteriorates the aesthetics of our planet which is bad.

If attributing pollution to global warming acts as a catalyst for people and companies to clean up their activities, that’s a good thing regardless how valid the argument is.

I think I’ve spoke on this topic once or twice before but thought I’d rehash it once again. If I’ve learned anything from the current administration, it’s that repetition works.

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I’ve stumbled on a page with some really “great” quotes from different experts who thought they could predict the future. Here are a couple of gems

• The Internet will catastrophically collapse in 1996. - Robert Metcalfe, internet inventor
• Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. - Lord Kelvin
• All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk. - Ronald Reagan, 1980

Click here to read more

The truth is that no one can predict the future and I think it shows not only stupidity but arrogance and bravado when someone tries to do so. The smartest person in the room is the one who’s able to admit that he/she has no fuckin’ idea.

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In Mexico we have a word for sushi: Bait.

- Jose Simon

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It’s an election year so there’s much to blog about. Turning on the news, I’m hit with a ton of coverage on both sides of the fence. Generally, I find it all shit. A politician is trained to say anything and everything to get themselves elected. They pander their asses off to get the votes they need and then do whatever they want once elected.

My suggestion is to screw the traditional forms of media and grab data from reliable and unfiltered sources. I’ve been perusing the senate.gov website looking at the voting records of McCain and Obama and found some interesting links I’d like to share.

The first one is the extension of the FISA act. You can read the details here. There are a few interesting sections like Title II which says service providers like ATT are cleared of all wrong doing if they were spying in order to combat terrorism between September 11, 2001 and January 17, 2007 as long as the president said it was OK. This means if your ISP spied on you during that time and the president is cool with it, no harm to foul. Obama voted it down and McCain voted for it. You can view the records here.

McCain also voted in favor of a $5 million tax exemption for estate taxes. If you’re getting $4 million, I think you can pay a little tax you rich fuck. Obama voted it down. You can view that here.

Senator Obama voted for an amendment to put children ahead of millionaires and billionaires by restoring the pre-2001 top income tax rate for people earning over $1 million, and use this revenue to invest in various things like school construction and deficit reduction. McCain didn’t vote but almost every nay was a Republican. That data can be viewed here.

Anyway, my point is that actions speak louder than words and I’d much rather vote based on a candidates voting record rather than their speeches which are bound to be riddled with lies and exaggerations.

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Why don’t people learn from their mistakes? I’ve just read 3 articles explaining how McCain will drop out of the race and let someone else be the Republican nominee. The reasoning for this is that he doesn’t have a chance against Obama since the polls show Obama winning.

First, polls are shit. The polls also said Obama and McCain didn’t have a chance in hell and now they are both the nominees of their respected parties. According to the polls, Hillary was better at beating McCain and was supposed to win with ease but that just didn’t happen. If you’re betting based on poll data, you might as well use a windsock.

I don’t believe a Republican will win this year mostly because of all the negativity now surrounding the party from the last eight years. I think the fact that a left leaning Republican like McCain has the party nomination is indicative that the hard lining neo-conservatives aren’t very popular at the moment. The last congressional elections also suggest that the 2008 race will go to a Democrat.

What pissed me off most though is the statements people have been making like “Obama can’t win” and “McCain has to step down”. Don’t people learn that you can’t make these statements?

It was also said that the Titanic wouldn’t sink and the Maginot Line was impenetrable but those things were not so. It’s statements like these that get us into the most trouble. You could also point to the words of people like Cheney who assured everyone we would be greeted as liberators or Rumsfeld who laughed at the idea that the campaign in Iraq would take longer than 6 months and that no more than 60k troops would be needed.

The future is very unpredictable and anything can happen at any moment. Being super sure and confident shows me that these people haven’t studied enough history to know that they can’t predict the future especially based off past events.

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I was reading the monthly Crypto-Gram newsletter from Bruce Schneier and found this sentence to be hilarious. Here it is in context

I already blogged this once: an airplane-seat camera system that tries to detect terrorists before they leap up and do whatever they were planning on doing. Amazingly enough, the EU is “testing” this system.

This pegs the stupid meter. All it will do is false alarm. No one has any idea what sorts of facial characteristics are unique to terrorists. And how in the world are they “testing” this system without any real terrorists? In what happens when the alarm goes off? How exactly is a ten-second warning going to save people?

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The worst thing about getting older is all the responsibility and decision making. The real shitty part is that all the decent jobs come with responsibility.

One of my favorites jobs was being a janitor at a grocery store. It was super simple and it took almost no effort. Of course I made just above minimum wage but it was still much more relaxing than what I have now.

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I grew up in Jersey which is pretty much a shit hole. It really does have a smell to it and there are some pretty gritty areas. Here in Austin, Texas, even the “bad” parts are actually kinda nice in comparison.

I found a map that displays the percentage of income people spend on gas across the country. The lowest percentages are in the most densely populated states. The only reasoning for this of course is public transportation which is something that’s really lacking around here.

There were times when I hated waiting for the bus in 20 degree weather but I’d happily wait for a bus regardless of weather if there were one that ran through here.

Click here to read the full articles

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One who makes no mistakes never makes anything.

- Unknown

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I found this Time article about other people getting rid of all their excess stuff just like I am. My place looks weird now that I have 1500 square feet of next to nothing but it’s really easier to not have to worry about your things all the time.

If you have a nice couch, you have to worry about spilling things on it. If you drive a nice car it would suck to get a scratch. My car is bad ass because it has a million scratches and some more won’t hurt. My car is so shitty, the right exterior door handle is missing which I like to think of as a “security feature”.

Anyway, click here for the full Time article

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Where is our government when we really need them? Traders on Wall Street are artificially jacking up the price for crude oil even when demand is fairly low for the summer months. These things need more regulation to prevent this sort of thing.

According to this article Saudi Arabia wants to is looking to put a stop to this inflation of oil prices which is good but why can’t we do something to stop this?

Solutions from the Republicans like starting to drill in Alaska are fucking ludicrous. This isn’t a supply and demand issue which drilling would solve. The price of a barrel was $25 when Bush took office and is now almost $140 a barrel. What happened? Did a whole bunch of people just start consuming more? No, the traders started speculating what may happen in the future and jacking up the price. There needs to be regulation.

I’m not actually opposed to the high price of gas though. I wish the states had taxed gas more heavily over the years and spent the money on more public transportation. There are very few cities in America where you don’t need a car to do normal things like go to work or buy groceries. The higher prices would have also prevented the idiotic SUV craze in the late 90s.

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I thought this was pretty funny. I tried to contact Time Warner support this morning and found the contact page missing the phone number. Looks like the person in charge of the site forgot to actually enter the phone number.

Here’s the actual page

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Pulled over last night for speeding on my bike. I was only doing six miles an hour over the speed limit which is sorta ridiculous but the irony is that I was doing 120 in a 60 just five minutes before being pulled over for doing 46 in a 40.

Only a warning though. Guess these blue eyes and blond hair are good for something

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I’m sick of my stuff. I have too much of it. I threw out my bed, sold my television, and I’m getting rid of my books and excess clothing tomorrow. This stuff will be replaced with tranquil empty space (they’ll be pictures).

I’m tired of the cyclical nature of money and work. I work all week to buy more stuff which requires maintenance and space which costs more money. Making more money just made me spend more further perpetuating the cycle.

Sleeping on the floor and in my hammock for the past few weeks has felt great. I no longer have trouble sleeping and I’ve discovered a new sense of freedom. I suppose it sounds strange that just throwing things out would make me feel free but it does and I don’t plan on going back.

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