Remember your tuning fork


Its been a while now since I last saw 2006. He’s been gone and I haven’t seen him again. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was saddened by that. 2006 beat me in the face and kicked me to the ground. Though it really was my fault. All 2006 wanted was for me to look him in the eyes and show him some respect.

He and I had our problems. It was rough getting to know him because I wanted it my way and he wanted it his way. So when we fought it never ended pleasantly for me.

2006 taught me that I didn’t want to beat him bad enough.

Only when I took that lesson to heart did I realize that I couldn’t defeat him because I never looked at him; I knew nothing about him; I didn’t respect him.

I knew I had to become him to study him; to defeat him.

It saddens me that I haven’t seen him again. But what can you expect when I took from him all he had.

But he did tell me that he’d be back if I ever forgot about him and what I learned from him.

“There is a natural frequency in all that surrounds us,” he said to me. “Its resonance is more powerful than all your passions and desires.”

“Remember your tuning fork,” he said.

Savings accounts offer shitty rates


Savings account interest rates offered by banks really suck. You would think that in the middle of a credit crisis, banks would raise their interest rates to provide an incentive to consumers to deposit more money in their savings accounts.

I’ll avoid the US government / FED Reserve rant this time.

In any case, you’ll be happy to hear that the only banks that offer around 2% are the ones that are about to fail. Who needs that drama, right? The frustrating part is that not too long ago, I was getting upwards of 5% interest in my savings account.

So, I’ve been pondering, and wondering, and yondering (shut up it rhymes) about what to do with my money. It just really doesn’t feel right to me to have it sitting in a .10% Bank of America savings account. What on earth does .10% buy anyway? I can’t even call someone who cares with that.

I know what you’re going to say; No! CDs offer shit rates too.

See the problem is that growing up we learn all about how to make money but very little about “how” to save money (other than to put it in a savings account). I mean seriously, where is the incentive to save when you’re saving at .10%.

In fact, the most important lessons of money management of all, those revolving around the open markets, were conveniently ignored because nobody knows about it and everyone is afraid of it. The markets are evil places where wealth is destroyed after all. *gasps in horror and shudders with fear*

Because the issue here is that the banks don’t need to offer competitive rates in order to increase their liquid balances because they get free money from you through your taxes, so we’ve got to find another fairly stable entity that will offer competitive rates.

Why, I am talking lending to the US Government of course. More specifically, I am talking about Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS).

Even more specifically, I am talking about the Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP) which has a Distribution Yield of 7.54% (5/14/2009). Yes that is correct; you are all being molested by inflation and you don’t even know it. Now the yield does fluctuate with inflation, but you’ll be happy know that inflation has been reliably there in the past, so you’ll average around 5%.

So we’ll go ahead and do some basic newbie math ignoring the effects a monthly compound increasing the principle using a $1000 balance.

This is Ally Bank, formerly known as GMAC Bank, a colossal failure of a bank (yield fluctuates with stupidity).
$10,000 (principle) * 2.25% (rate from ally bank) = $225.00 (interest)

And this is Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP) running at an average of 5% (yield fluctuates with inflation).
$10,000 (principle) * 5% (made up rate from TIP) = $500.00 (interest)

Now I know what your next question will be. But what if the TIPS become worthless one day? Well, considering that they’re issued by the US Government, the same entity that issues your US Dollars, if the TIPS became worthless, so would your US Dollars and your pitiful 2% shitty bank yields. Buy gold instead then.

In conclusion, learn to manage your money.

I’ve moved to HostGator — BlueHost is real bad karma


BlueHost just wasn’t cutting it anymore. They’re response times are far too slow and unreliable. Simple administrative tasks would become cumbersome. HostGator is far more reliable as proven through mon.itor.us. The differences aren’t negligible.

If your posts are missing (NightElve) I apologize but its because you posted after the data migration took place already :)

BlueHost
BlueHost

HostGator
HostGator

BlueHost
BlueHost

HostGator
HostGator

If you need help with computers, etc., email me


I’m noticing that many people are using computers, technology, internet, etc. with very little understanding of them. When these people run into a problem they have no idea what to do. Maybe its an error message, or the computer just freezes a lot. The point is, things get frustrating really fast.

garfield_computer

If you’ve got problems or questions related to computers, technology, internet, etc. that come up, check with me. I can’t “fix” these problems for you for free, but I can help you show you where you need to go, what you need to do, or what you need to buy. I think that’s better than automatically paying hundreds to some idiots to just re-image your computer for you.

This is for anyone out there; those can read it and those who can’t. Just email me.
wayubi@gmail.com

For those of you more advanced, I’ll even help you with your programming, how about that :)

Escaping the Internet


I have dreamt of the idea of escaping the Internet many times. To live a life free from technology is a romantic surreal concept that I can only visualize through my imagination.

Ever since I developed the concept of social networking using computer networks back in 2002 on the “Beyond” site I had been a huge proponent of this concept. Back when only perverts and nerds used social networks I imagined an efficient means of communicating with software accommodating for the finer nuances of communication.

I once had a friend long ago in another life who one day logged off and with that disappeared for good. That was the nature of the network. I was always angry at this not because he left but because he left me behind.

The Internet is not a place for the weak willed or depressed. The Internet is a strong-minded woman with many nuanced stories and incredibly persuasive arguments. The only way to survive her presence is to take her up on her offer of another cup of tea and hope she tires of you as you have of her long ago.

We all understood that the Internet was an impersonal yet persuasive zone that we could not leave despite our desire to escape it. The concept of social networks was born with this idea that since we cannot leave this wasteland perhaps if it was infused with some personification by means of the masses then we could bear its imprisonment and possibly find our way back to the outside world.

The original problem of longing to escape the Internet was never addressed however for as the only means of freedom, the promise of the outside world, became assimilated into the Internet so was lost the only means of help getting out.

I realized then that I was the dimwitted when another of my close friends logged off for good. It has been a long time since I saw the AIM screen name flash across my screen. The domain was not renewed and is now used to sell spam. The pages are barren and the IRC channel is without her.

online casino net

I am not angry this time but rather am happy for them to have the strength to escape it all. I wish I could do the same and do have my laundry list of excuses but the truth is that I am not ready for that. What would I do? Where would I go? This prison of mine is too comforting to risk leaving.

To escape the Internet remains one of those dreams that will have to be engaged one day to make progress in life. Until then I wish to say Hello and Good Luck to those that escaped the Internet.

Why I am voting for Barack Obama


Barack Obama

I voted for Kerry and I voted for Gore. I didn’t vote for these guys because I thought they were such stellar gentlemen that they were exactly what we needed, but that I thought the bush was exactly the opposite of what we did need.

We all know by now what a detrimental failure the bush has been. I would hate to say I told you so but to all those who knew me back in 2001, I told you so and am disappointed you didn’t listen.

The fact is that the bush displayed from day one this unwavering certainty that he knew exactly what was best for everyone else and anyone who disagreed was just a naïve fool. He was the decider; the commander in chief of not just the military but the citizenry as well; and that didn’t sit right with me at all.

Initially those who disagreed with the bush were just liberal American hating atheist terrorist sympathizers. As the years passed by and as more and more of us disagreed with him it was because they just didn’t “get the big picture”; they were elitist educated theoretical philosophizers who didn’t live in the “real world.”

But we who are so afraid of elitist presidents elected a bush of a president with an incredibly elitists attitude twice in a row. We elected to be condescended to; we elected to have our affairs handled for us so that we didn’t have to involve ourselves in any worldly affairs. We want to be treated like children.

We don’t want to realize that this farce of a nation is in fact multicultural kettle of division and hatred.

Because, if we acknowledged that fact we would have to accept that the idea behind America, the land of oppressed minorities and the last bastion of freedom and democracy is in fact a fairytale.

And so we received what we asked for; a president that “knew best.” In Afghanistan he failed to catch bin laden. In Iraq he killed far too many more than you should have swallowed to create a failed state. In Palestine he asked for democracy and got Hamas whom he refused to recognize. In North Korea he swaggered and stalled and woke up to nuclear detonations. In Russia he saw Putin’s soul and failed to see in it an invasion of Georgia.

The bush you all chose to be ruled over by because “he knew best” is in fact impotent arrogant fool.

You all elected a man who appealed to your insecurities. You let him scare you of your shadow. You let him pit yourself against your friends, neighbors, and your fellow man. You allowed him to conjure up images of evil men bent of destroying your way of life and in response gave him permission to commit enormous atrocities throughout the world.

Instead you destroyed your way of life all by yourselves without the help of a few cave dwellers. And now you all feel insecure in your life, your job, your future. For that choice of the bush you all have failed.

Gone are the savings, the equity, and the investment funds. Gone are the jobs, the consumption, and the luxuries. Gone are eating out and movie theaters and cruising the streets on 99 cent gasoline.

And if it’s not gone for you, then you’re not paying attention; you’ve already failed the same as when you elected this bush.

Security is regained by looking your fears in the face and giving it the floor to scare you. By giving it the opportunity and standing firm as it realizes it failed in its task to shake you. Ah the famous cliché of fearing fear itself. For its only by accepting that you have nothing to fear of illegal aliens with their malicious intent to steal your jobs, gays with the desire to destroy your marriage with your wife, liberals and their craving to take your wealth away from you, and of course terrorists who want to shatter your freedoms since its oh so un-islamic, that you’ll find a sense of liberation.

Barack Obama

I am voting for Obama because he does not seek to divide us but rather, he unites. He does not demonize our differences, but rather welcomes and celebrates them. He does not condescendingly decide what is best for our future regardless of what we think. He appeals to our individual greatness and asks us to continue to achieve to higher and greater levels. And finally, He listens.

That is why I am voting for Barack. Because he listens to his fellow citizens like a president should and doesn’t rule over his subjects like that king of a bush did.

The day IT came and installed my firewall


I still haven’t exactly figured out how or why it happened, but somebody must have called IT to install a firewall to protect me from the outside world. I suppose it was for the best initially because exposing my reckless behavior unprotected would have led to much longer and undesirable consequences later on in time.

I’ve been sniffing ports for quite some time to better understand how to compromise this firewall. But I haven’t had much luck yet. Brute forcing through it has just led to much frustration and aborted attempts at self expression.

I don’t believe IT is out to get me. In fact I believe IT has my best interests at heart and for that reason can’t allow me to compromise the firewall. So with that realization I think there may be a far more soft touched answer that I need to come upon.

My firewall just kicked in again and is prodding me to erase all I’ve written. I will quickly post this now to pre-empt it. Good luck on the other side.

Just say no to fill in the blank


So I’ve got to say that I must confess that I’ve had an epiphany earlier today. Sure it may not seem like much to most who’ve mastered the art of moving without thinking, however this task is somewhat more difficult to those of us a little bit more considerate of the effects that each of our actions would have on all matter around us.

And so it went that I was hungry but would not budge. The temptation of clicking on the Windows Start Menu was just to great to pass by. Visiting frivolously the same websites, myspace, facebook, google reader, and gmail, in a for if else then next while as if loop was just too exciting to pass up.

Then it stopped. I got up, refused to engage in meaningful and ever so unconstructive banter with myself to debate as to whether the action I wish to take is an action that is more important than the Start menu clicking phenomenon. And as if to disobey myself, I simply left the house, and headed to El Pollo loco, with no questions asked and no consideration given to the incessant need to delay myself.

It was very interesting I have to say to move as an automaton without a thought to question the movement. Is that what it feels like to be a robotic human, eating, shitting, sleeping, and fucking through space time without a care in the world?

Mind blowing …

How do I refresh myself?


Tell me someone, since I’m at a loss for ideas. How do I refresh myself? I have no F5 button that I can press so I’m somewhat confused with this idea.

A refresh would be a wonderful thing right now. I’d be able to easily clear all the leaks from my memory and retain that which I find to be of value. Everything else could be easily recycled into the bin or even better: trashed.

So the predicament remains; how do I refresh myself? Would uploading a new photo on my myspace profile make me a new man? Somebody I can front off into the online frontier with a new air of confidence about me? Perhaps if I splashed some new skins across my page with some hip new colors? What if I spammed leafs of mary jane and bob marley across the various sections of my page?

Would that refresh who I am into a new being that can set forth on this brand new journey?

I’m at such a loss for ideas that even this blog has to end prematurely for a lack of further ideas.

Jack Lalanne


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ALT 43
IRON 174
TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY 305
IRON SAT 57
CHOLESTEROL 218
TRIGLYCERIDE 93
HDL 48
LDL CALCULATED 151
CHOLESTEROL/HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN 4.5

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