New Wallpapers

Here's some new wallpapers that I've made, also posted to my deviantart account...
(click image for full size)



Northern Lights - 1024x768







Peaceful Aura - 1680x1050 (Widescreen)







Soul Fractal - 1680x1050 (Widescreen)

Using profit to reduce tax burden amongst the common folk

So I've been doing a little bit of brainstorming about ways to cut tax burden without services, and this is one idea that came to mind: have the govt. launch a few buisnesses of its own in relatively stable markets. These would be run just like normal buisnesses, the only difference being that the profits would go to the government.

The income from the buisness profit could then be used not only reduce the tax burden on americans, but could also be used to bolster under-funded programs that benefit the public - without raising taxes. Theoretically, if enough govt-owned buisness prospered we could eliminate tax burden completely without reducing services. (Something that I think both capitalists and socialists could go for)

Along with that - if there were enough govt-owned buisness - I would require that any new regulations on any industry be first enforced on the govt-owned buisnesses for 6 months to one year, so that the effect of such regulations could be examined - and if negative, reconsidered.

Just a thought...
that's all for now...

I've already upgraded, lol

I've already upgraded to an Intel Core2 Duo E6300 processor, lol.
I'll probably get another gig of ram on friday.

...and I'm absolutely addicted to NWN2! :)

Govt waste takes 20+ years to fix?

From Ron Paul's weekly column (emphasis mine):

You see, while waste, fraud and abuse are very easy to attack, it seems they are much more difficult to actually address within the current federal behemoth. For example, the General Accounting Office puts out a “high risk list” and describes this list as programs with “vulnerabilities to fraud, waste and abuse and mismanagement.”

There are currently 27 programs and operations on this list, up from 26 last year. But here are the more surprising facts, the list was originated with 14 programs in 1990. Of those original 14 programs, from 17 years ago, only 8 have been removed. How can it be that 6 programs remain on such a list nearly two decades later? While government is supposed to move slowly, this is ridiculous.

What GAO is saying is that a problem exists, we have been aware of it for 17 years, and it is still not corrected

http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2007/tst081307.htm

Another reason to elect Ron Paul.

New Computer!

So I've just finished ordering parts for my new computer. When the stuff I've ordered arrives (in "3-7 buisness days") I'll have everything I need except a hard drive... maybe. I have an external hard drive, and I may be able to get it booting off of that, or dismantle it and take the drive from inside it. *maybe*

So, anyways, here's what the starting stats will be.
It's not the greatest system in the world, but it'll be better than what I have

Processor (now): Intel Pentium D 805 (Dual-Core)
Processor (later): Intel Quad-Core
RAM (now): 1gb
RAM (later): 2-4gb
Video Card: BFG NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS *Overclocked* 256MB (PCIe)
Hard Drive (now): ~90gb if I get this external one going.
Hard Drive (later): 300-500gb

Awesome Christian/Hippie Van!

Check out these pics!

Cool! Blogger hosts images now too!
Source: *here*

Ack. Forgot I had a blog. Women. Etc.

EDIT: all that got nixed out.
Problem solved.

One Jerry-Rigged Laptop...

I think I officially have the most jerry-rigged laptop in existence.



The monitor is only connected by the wires, and I plan to disconnect those wires from the motherboard and replace it with a 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor/TV, which I'll purchase online next friday. Right now I have to prop up the monitor with something or it won't stand up. Right now it's being propped up by a suit case.

My laptop's keyboard no longer works, so I bought a wireless USB keyboard to replace it. I removed and disconnected the old keyboard... because my computer tends to overheat after an hour or so of gaming (or any other CPU-intense process, for example converting music files). Getting rid of the keyboard increased the air circulation, reducing the amount of heat in the system.

My computer's DVD drive stopped working a long, long time ago for all practical purposes. It reads DVDs at 0.8x, and CDs at a higher, but equally dismal speed. Burning CDs takes about 20 minutes - and fails about 25% of the time. Burning DVDs doesn't work at all anymore.

So today, I bought an external USB DVD drive, with up to 18x writing speeds. Now I can finally finish watching my South Park DVDs!

On the bright side, this complete and total break-down of my computer has forced me to get a new computer instead of a car. The wireless keyboard and external dvd-drive will be used for the new computer, they're the start of it anyways. Next week I'll purchase the monitor. Hopefully, I'll have the computer finished - one piece at a time - by the end of May.

I hate seasonal changes

allergies. allergies. and more allergies.

I hate the transition from winter to spring.
This is why I want to live somewhere where there are only 3 seasons - Sping, Fall, and Summer. I never had these issues in St George. But up here, my eyes are watering, my nose and sinuses are acting up, and i have had a headache from hell all day. I seriously hope I have time to stop by Wal*Mart before I go to work tommorrow.

Towards a Simpler Life

Lately I've been working towards changing areas of my life, towards a healthier & happier lifestyle. yes, i know - it's cheesy. I started about two weeks ago. Today, I was going to make another step - vegetarianism.

Yes, that's right. This former mountain dew beef jerky and anything fattening junky is going for a serious fling with vegetarianism - I need to cut down on how many meat, bread, and dairy products. I eat way too much pizza for my own good. Today was supposed to be the first day. Instead I've ended up getting a McDonalds meal with extra bacon for breakfast, and cheese crackers for lunch (I didn't have time to put one together).

When I ate dinner, what was it? Spaghetti with LOTS of meat. *sigh*

Now that's what I call progress!

Seriously though, I'm going to try this out. Maybe permanently, I'm sure Emily would love that. For now I'm going to try being vegetarian except for breakfast, as I really don't have time to put together breakfasts at 4:30 a.m. in the morning (when I leave for work). On the other hand, I suppose I could grab some yogurts and stuff from Evil*Mart. (No, I don't really hate them, I just think it's funny how everyone in this sorry excuse for a dot in the map hates them, but don't shop anywhere else)


OK, so starting tommorrow, I will be a vegetarian (except for breakfast)

Maybe next week I'll try changing my breakfast habits.

Quitting Smoking

So, after some thought and discussion with a friend, I'm going to take a break from smoking for a while. She's going to be quitting for a while because she wants to prove to herself that she is not addicted. That's not an issue with me, as I know I'm not addicted.

The issue for me is money. Since living in this area, I've been smoking a lot more than I usually would. It's much more accessabile in this area, and cheaper, and i've been spending about 400$/month on it. That's money that could be better spent on better things - specifically, I could take that money and visit her more often. I guess it's true what they say - if you're gonna smoke it, grow it yourself. Street prices ain't worth it.

I feel really stupid looking back at how much money I've been spending lately. 400$ would have covered the cost of visiting her for a few days, plus the cost of a hotel and car rental. I need to see her more often.

It's been almost a year since we've seen each other, though we talk to each other at least once a day on the phone. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but the strains of time & distance have been wearing down on our relationship. I need to know if we're going to take our relationship serious or not.

If not, it was time well spent - and time to get ready for NH.

If so, well, I'm sorry guys - but she's more important.
What's liberty if you can't enjoy what you love?

Hammer of Truth

There used to be (sorta still is) a libertarian-community blog owned by Stephen VanDyke called called the Hammer of Truth. I enjoyed reading it, it was (at the time) the only libertarian blog I would reguarly check out (as in daily).

Stephen was working on a project called LibertyMix which was supposed to be basically a much, much better version of the Hammer of Truth site from what I understand. Even got something like 10,000$ in donations for it's development, from what I've heard.

Then people started getting cranky (understandably) because there had been no signs of progress for months. Accusations of fraud, etc. Then finally, Stephen said it was almost ready and it was supposed to have been launched in early December. Since 12/14, a message saying that "you will hear from me in the coming days will be the directions to the signup page " has been on the HoT and LM pages. Nothing's changed since then.

Are the critics right, Stephen? Did you simply take off with the hard-earned money of your (former) readers? If not, please give us an update!

FSP Men, and FSP Women

A few days ago, Yellow Rag pointed out some disturbing, yet mostly true about male Free Staters. In her own words...

To me the FSP is something that has absolutely overwhelmed and pervaded the Condon household since my sophomore year of high school. There were dinners with scuzzy libertarian men who owned mail order bride services, were convicted tax evaders, or were just plain fucking crazy

We're friggin crazy. Not as in haha funny funny type of crazy. Crazy as in putting Ann Coulter and Nancy Pelosi into a single room type of crazy. With the exception of a few, for example Stephen Gordon, we have absolutely no tact - myself included.

I've been trying to be extremely careful when I start talking politics, and generally avoid most libertarian forums. Not because I don't enjoy the forums, but because we libertarians tend to be rabid assholes at times, and it can rub off on me. As the saying goes, "Better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

As I look down from my very very tall horse, I see libertarian males in earth toned corduroy, shirts from Spencer's Gifts (Spongebob, perhaps), the occasional cannabis leaf tattoo, and the tendency to bark instead of speak. Really, they bark, even more than the ladies.They..they like punk pop. And Southpark. Did I mention I despise cartoons?

Kyle's Mom: What?! What what what what?!

And while I'm at it: Why are the girls so pretty?

They've got to make up for us libertarian men.

Starting Over

Eh, I actually forgot about this blog.

I have more time on my hands, and less things to occupy it with, so i figure I'll start posting again. I've recentely moved back to my hometown with my father, because we're working at the same job now. (Saves transportation costs)

It's an alright job. I build electronic stuff, sorta like an advanced version of legos w/ power tools :P The day goes by quickly, as I just listen to my iPod as I'm working. Best of all, no drama!

My indoor garden is doing quite well, and I plan on harvesting within 2 weeks.
Anyways, breaks over I g2g!