Wine extract keeps fat mice healthy

Check it out everyone! Let's go drinking.

"Obese mice on a high-fat diet got the benefits of being thin — living healthier, longer lives — without the pain of dieting when they consumed huge doses of red wine extract, according to a landmark new study."

"Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is working on a high-dose resveratrol pill."

"Such supplements are available at health food stores and on-line, but not at dose levels equivalent to what the mice in the experiment got — roughly equal to 100 bottles of wine a day in humans."

Smoke if you got'em!

The taliban has been hiding in a "forest" of 10-foot high marijuana plants from US troops. Very interesting. Obviously they aren't smoking the stuff if they are getting that high. I smell a new Cheech and Chong movie coming on. Or maybe Half Baked 2!????

Anyways, the story is actually kinda funny and you just have to see the plants to believe it.
Story Here

Pic Below:

Snakes on a Plane

If you haven't seen it, go... now. It's awesome. Snakes on a plane is my #1 pick for the summer. This summer's movies blew goats but here's a movie you can see. Follow my simple steps for maximum enjoyment:

1. Spread the word about the history of the S.o.a.P. phenomenon.
2. Find out local showtimes.
3. See if there are any audience participation shows (they have them like the Rocky Horror Picture Show)
4. Finalize plans by sending the Snakes on a Plane phone message.
5. Go to the show.
6. Eat, drink, and be marry. Do it with someone you want to do it with.

Where are all the brilliant men and women of the US?

For many years now the United States has chugging along pretty well. Since, oh I'm not sure, I'm going to guess the 80's, after President Reason, things started going a little south. Hmmm... maybe even before then. But wait... hear me out.

I'll just start off with my main thought. Where are all the brilliant men and women of the United States? Where are all the heroes? And when I say heroes, I'm not talking about the kind of heroes that we have serving our armed forces, our local police, our fire departments. I'm talking about our great leaders. The brilliant men above men.

Where are our George Washingtons, our Abraham Lincolns, and our JFK's? Where are the leaders that are brilliant, valiant, cunning and witty? Where are the movers? The guys or gals that move us as a nation? That make us want to give everything we've got. The great motivators.

Why is it that our enemies have leaders that can move millions with just their words, yet our nation despises our leadership?

I know that somewhere in our country there are men and women with great minds. People with thoughts that could change the world. Yet, they hide. Or do they? I don't know. Do they feel like their thoughts don't count? Are they held down by the crappy bureaucracy that seems to plague every aspect of both out public and private sector.

I just want to know, what the fuck is going on and why doesn't anyone just get up and say, "damn it something needs to change", before our country goes the way of the great empires like Egypt and the Romans.

Yes another add..

... but this ad actually shows the internet as a series of tubes. I'm sure some big scientist said it was ok, but I don't know. I think this is awesome and pretty funny as hell. I can't see to go anywhere these days without the series of tubes joke being thrown around.

Dad, what would happen...

I was on the net browsing around and I saw this ad at the top of the page. What the heck!?! It seems like a pretty depressing ad. I'm not sure if I like it.

Hundreds of Human Genes Still Evolving

Those that know me, know I'm really interested in science. I mean, I have a B.S. in Computer Science, so already you know I lean that way.

Daily, I read articles about advancement, discoveries, research, ideas, etc. and today I found something interesting. This article here talks briefly about many genes in humans still evolving. I already wondered if the colors of our skin of different groups in the world was due to evolution. According to this article it is. It basically explains why I'm a white dude who likes milk and can drink a lot of beer.

New Car!!!

I love my new car!! That's right, I finally got one. I've been wanting one since I was at my last job at Wal-Mart (the home office, not some store in boonies).

I got a 2007 Toyota Camry. I originally wanted a Chrysler 300, but I could only afford a used one, unless I wanted a new one without anything extra.

I did get the base Camry CE model, but the standard package has everything I need. Power windows, power locks, 2.4 L 4-cylinder engine, CD player with MP3 playback, aux audio connection (for my iPod), insanely huge amount of space.

I don't have a pic of my actual Camry yet. I get some soon. Here is what the base model looks like and below that is what I'm planning it to look like after I get some new rims and get it lowered about 2 or 3 inches.

Blog Book

I'm always coming up with ideas for the next big thing. A lot of them I don't share but with a few friends. That way I don't have someone else take my idea for themselves (yes, I've had it happen to me in the past).

One of my ideas was to create a service, a web site, that people could use to turn their online blog into a book. I've been working on this idea for over a year probably. Due to time and money limitations (of course!!), I didn't get very far. I got the technology started to do it, but before I could build the web site, I found several site that do this now.

The first is BlogPrinting.com. I'm not sure how good they are, but they're there. I did notice that they said they had certain limitations on people who use Blogger.com. So already I'm not too sure if I like them. ;-)

The other was BlogBinders.com. From what I can tell, I really like their service. It is almost exactly what I was going for. So since I wasn't able to get this idea off the ground, I guess I'll at least publisize someone who has. I think being able to get your blog as a hardcopy is a good thing. It's a way to back up what you have online. It's a nice conversation piece, plus I think it would be great to see a physical journal that you can touch.

Putting my profile pic in here

I'm just including a pic of myself here because I'm too lazy to post it on my hosting server. I'm gonna use this pic on my profile portion of blogger, but I figure I'll save a little bandwidth too. I'll let blogger use their bandwidth. That's what I pay them for.... oh.. wait.. I pay nothing.. nevermind. Anyways, this is me.

By the way, my lovely wife Audrey took this picture.

Hyperactive Beatboxing

I'm sure everyone has seen this as it was right on the msn site this evening. But I liked it so here it is. Check out the Hyperactive Beatboxing Video

Code Monkey Song

I have a friend that refers to himself as the coding monkey. He's my best friend, and I love the fact that you can find all this code monkey or coding monkey shit all over the web. T-Shirts, dolls, etc, you name it. Well, some other guy found this Code Monkey song, and I have to say I love it. So go there and give it a listen. Awesome!

Heck, I even found an online Gaming and News Talk Show that was nice enough to create a little music video for the guy. Check it out here.

Damn mosquitoes.

Damn mosquitoes.
I'm getting fed up with where I live. I mean I like my house, even though it is old and every time I fix something, something else breaks. This I can live with, but I can't live with the fact that I cannot go outside. Those things swarm to you and eat you alive. I a matter of seconds I'll have at least 10 to 20 (no kidding) mosquitoes fighting to suck my blood out. My kids cry all the time about them attacking them, because they end up with bites all over. My little daughter even seems to be allergic to them and gets blisters all over where her bites are. So my wife called up a few places around that specialize in mosquito obliteration. Ends up I have 2 options, pay $250 every 3 months or pay$1,500 for some system that mists the yard and keeps those suckers away. I don't know what the mist will do to you of course. Probably cause cancer, but hey... no mosquitoes.

Fart Ad on Hotmail?

Whenever I check my email on hotmail I see all sorts of ads on there. There is this really annoying one of a wolf or something whose head gets real big then small then big, etc. Ok, well, this time, I get one of those Flash ads that pretends to be a game. Usually, they are something like shoot a monkey or whatever but this one was for using a lighter to light a fart from a person's ass. How sick is that? But hey, it gives you a spot at winning a mobile phone. Gimme that lighter, biatch!

Bye Binsk, see ya soon

The first person ever to post on my blog was Robin Alexa (a.k.a. Binsk). Her blog has kept me entertained, and has inspired me to get in touch with the peeps out in blogger land. She said that she is going to be away for a while, but she'll be back. So don't fret my blog friends, the world isn't falling apart. It's just taking a much needed break.

Late night

Just so everyone knows things are going pretty good at work. I say that up front because inevitably I run into my old friends and they tell me to stop bitching and whining about work (yes, I'm talking about you Kumar!)

Anyways, I'm up late working on some "side projects". My mind is always full of ideas. If I was one of those lucky people to know some rich billionare that wanted to fund a few of my ideas, I would be a happy man. Also, the world would be a better place, because most of my ideas are for improving society, but unless I see some money, the ideas stay in my head. I've been screwed many a time by letting someone else know of an idea only to see them reap the benefits. No more!!

Anyways, if you want to see what kind of punk my friend Kumar is, then click here for an audio clip of him prank calling some poor family.

Big Oil

For years we've sucked down tons of gallons of gasoline. We haven't cared because gas was cheap. Nobody listened to environmentatists because they were "overreacting". Although, now things are changing.

People don't want to pay $3/gallon or more for gas. The environmentalists aren't crazy! There is global warming, and it's speeding up to a point that now we are actually seeing their effects. To top it off, the world is becoming hostile more and more in the middle east. People want an answer. They don't want to give they're money to hostile countries. They don't want to pay a lot doing it especially. They don't want they kids to live in an environment lesser than what they grew up in. I hope that someone will push hard to provide an answer to getting off of fossile fuels.

Until then, you can see who is doing us a disservice by going here.

Back from Dallas

I came back yesterday from a week long business trip from Dallas, TX. My friend, Jeff from work, also went along. We were there for some training for some .NET controls created by a company called Infragistics.

I have to say that I enjoyed myself there. It was nice to be in a different city and kinda get away from the day to day normal life. It is also nice to eat at different restruants and just do different things. Jeff and I attended a comedy show at Improvisation Comedy Club. There was a guy named Sebastian who was headlining. God that guy was hilarious!!

Anyways, it is very nice to be back home with my family and just get back to being normal again.

How does this stuff find me?

There I was looking on line at Digg.com, then on to some shopping sites where I was on cdnow.com and while doing a search I find this band. They said they sounded like Lords of Acid which I remember from high school, so I had to check them out. I like the music, but the "singing" needs work I think. But I did like, "The Girl Next Door". Anyways, thought I'd just include it on my blog to see what others thought.

NASA’s inspector general probed

Ok, I like to read the articles on msnbc.com, but this one is the best. Not for the article though... I didn't even read it. But the title!!! You can't get it better than that. Not just an NASA dude probed... but an inspector!!!! The title conjures up images of all the little green men getting him back for all the years they've been inspected. I'm sure they used the standard anal probe nevertheless. Good times! Hats off to the editors at msnbc.com, your guys are fabulous.

Ironic Don't You Think?

Yeah I was buying a few things at H.E.B. (Texas grocery store) and while I was going to my car that night I heard all this metal banging over to my left. I quickly turned around and saw this guy with a "jimmy" trying to pop the lock on this van. My first instinct was, "cool, I get to call the cops on a car thief". Although, then I kinda put two and two together. This guy's wearing some sort of uniform. You know... like the standard blue shirt mechanics wear... and then he's trying to break into this work van. I look at the van and it says "Chubb Security Services". I wanted to bust out laughing at the irony, but I contained myself. So instead I take a picture of him to show the world. No I didn't offer to help him. What kind of guy do you think I am? I don't break into cars. ;-P

We could learn a thing or two from these little guys.

Appearently, these two are best buds. Read more.

Theory Thursday - Childhood Impact on Generalization

I know a few people that like to always blame their personality and their actions on their parents. In fact, I would have to say, yes, your childhood and what happened during it does impact you, but you always have a choice. Also, it shouldn't be used as a crutch.

Anways, I started thinking about how people think about others and how they can throw a person they know into a category. This can be generalizing people based on race, religion, political affiliation, or even just how they look.

What's with all the babble you say!? Well, here's my theory...
When a child is growing up and they see a certain individual in their life, mother/father/family friend/neighbor, etc., they make those mental connections in their brain. Unfortunelty, those are hard to break and you unconsciensly apply them to everyone. Let's say your mom was a very giving person, then more than likely you'll immediately see any woman as very giving, unless there is drastic evidence to show otherwise. Let's also say that your father was very distant, and didn't seem to care about the family. I think that you would see any man in that manner, unless there was drastic evidence to show otherwise.

The bad part is that good people get stuck with being labeled falsely. Have you ever met someone in a public place that seemed hostile toward you no matter how polite you were to them? My theory suggests that you are somehow associated to a mental representation of a past individual in that hostile person's childhood.

Ok, I'm not going to beat a dead horse, but I'm not sure I accurately stated what I'm thinking. Either way, that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

Music Monday

I know it is Tuesday but, I finally got it!!! I'm reserving Mondays for music topics. A song, video, anything music related of note. I don't feel like waiting until next Monday, so I'm posting this now. So you gotta watch this video. It is a kick ass dance song, and I love the chicks with power tools concept. It's kinda short for a dance song, but I'm guessing they made the video shorter than what you'd hear in a club. Actually, they used this song for a Wendy's commercial.

Don't click this video at work or around your girlfriend/wife.
Benny Benassi - Satisfaction (sign on with yahoo id)

Theory Thursday - Tastes Like Chicken

I've been thinking of doing some themed blog days to get the creative juices going and stuff. I got the idea from my blogger peep Binsk who does HNT, and she got that idea from some other folks etc.

I've been reading a lot about this theory that modern birds are actually the result of years of evolution of the dinosaurs and that actually some dinosaurs didn't disappear. That is pretty cool, but it made me think. That could explain why a lot of things tastes like chicken. I mean, alligator tastes like chicken (I've tried it), frog legs (I hear) tastes like chicken. I bet if you could go back in time, and eat a dinosaur that it would taste like chicken. Except, maybe a little "gamey".