The Power of Clean

I've been very fortunate that my job has been willing to work with me in terms of my availability. Child care would be $250/wk. The downside is that my schedule and Tiff's alternate. We rarely have family time, our marriage is stretched thin, the chores get piled up, and the kids/animals are barely fed and clothed. It's all reactive - putting out one fire after another.

We're both tired, frustrated, depressed, and generally unhappy. Fortunately there is a non-chemical answer to this condition, one that would benefit many people in this country: a drill sergeant. Maybe it's the years of band leadership that developed this alternate personality, or maybe it's a quality that I've always had. Either way I'm a tough guy, and when the going gets tough the tough get going.

Gotta put on my boots and kick some butt. Chores, get ready for a pounding - the house is getting clean. Kids, turn off the TV - it's time to read and count. Tiff, get in your robe - you're getting a long, deep massage.

Sometimes you just have to put on the blinders and bulldoze your way ahead.

Ethics and Morality

Gamer - Widescreen Subtitle AC3 Dolby Dts Reality and video games merge in this high-concept sci-fi action thriller from Crank creators Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. In the not too distant future, mind-control technology allows humans to control the actions and movements of other humans, allowing reclusive billionaire Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) to create the ultimate video game. It's called "Slayers," and it's a mass-scale, multiplayer online first-person shooter that's as controversial as it is popular. In the world of gamers, Simon (Logan Lerman) is a rock star; miraculously managing to keep his character alive week after week, he racks up frags like Billy Mitchell jumps barrels. But unlike Mitchell's Mario, Simon's video-game avatar is a living, breathing human being named Kable (Gerard Butler). Defying the odds to keep Kable running and gunning though even the most explosive battles, Simon captures the imagination of a global audience. Torn from his family, thrown into prison, and forced to fight against his will, Kable realizes that his only hope of ever seeing his family again is to somehow escape the game, reclaim his identity, and expose Castle's dehumanizing technology on live television. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Art is a reflection of life. I recently watched Gamer, a movie and piece of art reflecting the human condition.  The movie, like Golding's Lord of the Flies explores the relationship between the realms of beasts and higher life-forms, or more appropriately the struggle all humans have with being both beasts and higher life-forms.

Golding guides the reader through this struggle by transporting the reader to a mysterious island untouched by such concepts as ethics and morality, good and evil.  Some of the boys escape reality by donning masks - a disconnect between the id and super-ego.  Let us assume for my purposes that the super-ego is established through socialization rather than some inherent or God-given quality.  Although I believe that socialization is a God-given instrument designed for the sole purpose of developing the individual super-ego.

Gamer examines the internal human battle through the use of games, ever-evolving real-world fantasies accessible to all rather than an individual dream-scape of ink and paper, finite and dated.  I speculate that the game World of Warcraft generates more revenue in one year than Lord of the Flies has produced since it's first printing.

The success of games is that they provide the opportunity to escape the real world and live vicariously through an virtual persona. This persona, I believe, is an accurate depiction of an individual's id. Since the gaming community, particularly RPG's and MMO's (and, of course, MMORPG's), accepts and embraces both good and evil the id is allowed to romp freely.

The Sim's 3 is a game available today in which the player maintains a virtual person in every aspect of human life from where they live to what they eat, when they shower, what they wear, and with whom they mate.  What if these people were real, not a series of 1's and 0's processed by a complex machine?  Gamer explores this very concept.

In the movie a player controls all actions of a real person who has voluntarily traded his/her civil liberties for money and literally mindless slavery.  The players in the movie are responsible for maintaining their playee much like The Sims 3.  The writer/directors of Gamer, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, delve into the consequences of freeing the id as the players delve into despicable depths of depravity in a world where real and virtual have lost meaning.  The "real" people are virtual sociopaths restricted to the confines of their audio-visual cocoons whereas the real virtual people are condemned to continuous drugs, sex, and violence in the actual sunshine world only to be relieved when the "real" people should rest due to exhaustion and/or boredom.  This is what I found disturbing.

How long until human fantasies become realities?  I'm not referring to deep space exploration and genetic manipulation - those are technological possibilities.  I mean how long before the laud of life and liberty are lost, and we embrace the cocoon of the machine?

-Kyle Warren
10/25/2010

eFoods Direct

A while back I did some reviews of a sample sent to me from eFoods Direct (eFoodsdirect.com - Long term storable food!).  The reviews were posted on a blog/website concept I was trying out.  I didn't think the money I was paying was worth it, so I ended that project.  I didn't backup the entries, so I lost all the reviews.

I bring that up because I want to share some free food with you.  eFoods Direct will send you a free sample pack.  Click any of the links here and click "Taste it" on the home page.  You'll get some meals such as those listed here.  It's been quite a while since we tried the sample pack, so I'll post the pics and give a brief review as I remember it.

 I'm not a fan of dried bananas, but these were really good.  Dried pineapple and mango are awesome.  The soup was good though somewhat silty.  Considering that this meal can be stored for five years and the only step in preparation was to boil water this soup made for a good meal.

The creamy potato soup was 100% awesome.  This is a meal that I'll order simply to have on hand in a pinch when the cooler weather comes around.  If you've got some bacon and butter you're in for a treat.

If you have a pot, some water, and an energy source you can prepare a hearty meal for your family that is nutritious, filling, and simple.

The money shot.  I almost always enjoy soup more with crackers or bread, but I was pleased to eat this soup alone.  Since I plan on having this on hand for an emergency it's comforting to know that I'll have foods around that won't require items which may not be available in an emergency.

There was another meal that I have completely forgotten about except that once again I was surprised how good it was.

The foods prepared by eFoods Direct (Get your supply of storable food at eFoodsDirect.com!) are all vegetarian (so as to be easier on the digestion in a potentially stressful environment) and made with high quality ingredients.

Why am I interested in storable foods?

1) Cash, even gold, will be useless in an emergency.  Food (and water) will be more valuable than diamonds.
2) Taxes can kill, but food, or lack thereof, will do it quicker.
3) Our farms are homogeneous to the point where a single virus could destroy entire food supplies.
4) In a dying, stagnant, recovering, whatever it is economy like we have now there are no guarantees that our jobs will continue to exist.  Most people I know will go bankrupt in two months should they lost their jobs.  Bankruptcy is one thing, but hungry children is another.

How many Katrina victims could have survived if they had adequate water and food supplies?  I'm not Mormon, but I think they've got the right idea about being prepared for the worst.  That said, check out eFoods Direct and order a sample pack.  At the very least you'll get some free food - the best kind.

Samsung Intercept

Samsung Intercept

So part of working for Best Buy Mobile is getting sweet deals from the carriers. Recently I got deal from Sprint that included a Samsung Intercept (Samsung Intercept Mobile Phone - Gray Steel). Coming from an older Windows Mobile Phone (AT&T Tilt) I am really pleased with the abilities and speed of the Intercept. Being that this is an entry level Android unit (and I got it virtually free) I really can't complain that it gets a little sluggish when there are more than 10 apps running!

Xentris Window Mount

One of the things I really like is the Google Maps Navigator Beta. This nav system is absolutely free but performs almost as well as a Garmin or Tom Tom. Considering the price difference and convenience of not having to carry around multiple devices, the Google navigator is probably going to destroy the GPS manufacturers. To compliment my new phone and safely use the navigator I picked up a windshield cell phone mount (Xentris Wireless Vehicle Windshield Mount for Mobile Devices - Black). The pic here is of the vent mount unit, but the link and purchase info is for the windshield/dash mount.

V-MODA Faze

While I really enjoy my Motorolla Bluetooth set (Motorola S9HD Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headphones - Black), I find myself forgetting to charge them. They've never fallen off while running or mowing, and they've got incredible sound quality. But if they're not charged up they don't make any sound at all. To compliment my S9HD I picked up a the V-MODA Faze (V-MODA Faze Headset for Apple iPod and iPhone). So far I've been pretty happy with them. Sound is good (not as good as the S9HD, but they're also half the price), and I've had no complaints from people I've called. Driving is safer and more comfortable with the S9HD especially when using the windshield mount, but overall the Faze is worth the money in my book.

Other things to consider if you're picking up a Samsung Intercept:
1) INDISPENSABLE - ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD for Samsung Intercept Mobile Phones - Clear  If you have a touchscreen phone of any sort you must get a Zagg Invisible Shield.  At work we've taken our keys and smashed them into the Zagg shield to no effect.  One of my guys had a customer that accidentally dripped solder on his phone.  The Zagg shield was ruined, but the phone had zero damage.  Now I don't recommend that anyone try to damage their Zagg shield, but if you want protection for your screen that will outlive the phone itself, the Zagg Invisible Shield is the way to go.  Your local Best Buy Mobile will install these for a fee.  They're like window tint, so if you want to save yourself the time and money have them install it for you.


2) Rocketfish Mobile Snap-On Case for Samsung Intercept Mobile Phones - Black Matte also in Blue

3) INDISPENSABLE apps: M:iQ (in your phone's browser type in "m.miqlive.com")and Advanced Task Killer (download from your Android Market)

M:iQ is kind of like Mobile Me, but for free. You can back up your pics, vids, calendar, contacts, etc. and access it anywhere you can get online.

Advanced Task Killer (often called ATK) is necessary because Android apps don't usually turn off when you exit them.  When you hit your home button the app continues to run in the background, killing your battery life and possibly your data plan.  ATK, as the name implies, kills apps.  You can set which apps are to be left running and kill the rest.

An argument for gun control

We should exercise greater control of our guns (the title is obviously a play on words).  Once the scaredy-cats learn feel comfortable with the fact that gun-carrying citizens are as accurate in judgment as they are with a firearm it shouldn't be hard to convince everyone that it is right and proper to provide citizens with a means to defend against attackers. After all, it is the fear of what people do with guns that leads to the desire to limit who can or cannot own/carry a firearm.

It doesn't get much better than this

I just grilled a rib-eye so perfect I nearly teared up as I was eating it.  It was expertly seared so that the inside was red as a tree frog's eye, but the blood was cooked to clear juice and infused with the stuff of rich Texas mesquite.  I almost couldn't eat it.


Add in some fresh HEB French-like bread , Ranch Style beans with sweet onion, and cold Miller Lite, and you get the meal that caused the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept."


Did I mention that I'm wearing my boots and talking like the What-a-burger dude?  (I called Tiff "Darlin'")  I swear the ground on which I walk melds with my being and produces the deepest tones.

Against the Grain

For whatever reason, I've always found myself at odds with the establishment. It's not that I'm just an immature, uncooperative punk, but it may seem that way. One of my core beliefs is that improvement is always possible. How can you improve something if you don't challenge it?

Many people adhere to the whole "if it aint broke, don't fix it" philosophy, but it precludes that one can perceive if something is broken. For example, throw ethics out the window and look at slavery in the preindustrial USA. It was accepted that slavery was the best way to provide affordable goods and services. It wasn't broke, so there was no reason to fix it. But then some very smart people realized (this is the condensed version, btw) that machines can work longer and harder than people, so slavery magically became "broke" - and machines fixed it. However, note that machines fixed the system before it was broken.  Businesses that chose not use machines were destroyed by those that did.

How would you feel about your government if you've got a musket with bayonet, a sack of black powder, and some lead while your the enemy has high-velocity rifles, semi-auto hand guns, and a combat knife.  You've got cannons; they have Gatling guns.  You've got cavalry, and they're giving you the finger in their tanks.  Sound ridiculous?  That was reality for the Polish army in WWI.  Yeah, Poland fell fast and hard.

Take a look at our economic problems.  If we were constantly evolving our views and practices on banking and business we probably would have avoided the whole economic collapse.  However, our current system is a reactionary system in an impossible fight against a proactive business world.  Why is it that the government can spend so many trillions of dollars on various things like war and social programs, but when our heart and soul (our businesses) comes to a halt everyone scratches their head and acts like our laws of physics have just been broken.

In case you didn't know, our laws of physics are constantly being broken.  This is because as we learn more and more we begin to comprehend how our "laws" are merely "perceptions."   Take for example when it was discovered that light does in fact have mass.  This blew out our preconceptions of the universe and rewrote physics.

What I'm getting at is that just because a system is in place does not mean that it is incapable of increasing efficiency.  So many people I know would say, "My way of life is the way my parents lived, and their parents, and their parents, and it works."  Okay, but couldn't things be better?

Look at research on behavior modification.  We have discovered that rewarding people (kids, adults, seniors) for good behavior produces better results than punishment for bad behavior.  Why?  Because punishment teaches the punished that they should avoid getting caught where rewarding makes the rewarded seek their prize.  If you are actively trying to be good, you'll have a better chance of others thinking you're good than if you're trying to fool them into thinking so.  So for thousands of years our race thought that imprisoning and beating people reformed them.  Guess what - thousands of years of human beliefs were wrong.

I'm not even really on the same topic as I started.  It's that good of a rant.

Anyway, there is a reason for my rhyme.  If I challenge you or your beliefs it is not to be a turd.  I'm exploring your opinion and comparing it to others.  What if my challenge strengthens your belief?  What if my challenge causes you to abandon your belief in favor of a newer/better one?  What if my challenge causes me to reevaluate my position?  Was it not a benefit to be challenged?  So when someone challenges you, don't get offended.  Instead, thank them for helping you.

Also, try out eFoods Direct (eFoodsDirect.com - An old, new way to eat!).  They've got great tasting, store-able food at great prices.