My Blanket Fort

This chart shows how much the Payroll Tax Cut Extension will...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:46:55 -0500

This chart shows how much the Payroll Tax Cut Extension will save you each week. Spoiler: It’s not #40dollars

The Facts On Big Money Campaign Contributions: Addressing...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:04:00 -0500

The Facts On Big Money Campaign Contributions: Addressing concerns of the Occupy Wall Street movement

(Note: You need to watch in HD and full screen to see all the details)

I'm Back, and now a rant about oil

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:39:56 -0500

I find myself wanting to rant more and more about everything and Twitter sometimes just doesn’t cut it. So I’m (once again) going to make an effort to blog a little more.

Something that irked me a few days ago was the announcement by the Obama Administration to delay approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline until 2013 (after the 2012 election). Being in the business it is easy to see why he did this, he hasn’t been very tough on environmental policy and his supporters, mostly the green ones, have noticed. So by kicking this can down the road he avoids approving a pipeline that Enviros hate for reasons I will dispel later, and he has their support for his re-election.

I will say this first, this pipeline is not crucial for US oil consumption, however it will create jobs in the energy sector, lower oil prices in the US, and move our oil dependencies further away from the Middle East. Something that everyone wants in our shit of an economy right now; jobs and lower energy costs.

A quick over view of the Keystone XL. It is an extension of the already existing Keystone Pipeline. It would pump and additional 700,000 barrels of oil a day to US refineries. (The Current Keystone Pipeline pumps about 600,000 barrels a day). The oil would be from the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta Canada. Canada is the largest supplier of oil to the US, and the last time I checked the friendliest supplier too.

So why not approve the plan. Well Enviros are afraid of a few things:

1) Building such a long pipeline will increase the threat of a failure in the line that results in an underground spill. This is might sound scary, but the US already has thousands of miles of pipelines across the country. This 3,000 km pipeline would be an increase of 1% in the US pipeline network. Pipeline bursts are rare, and in the event of one, the pumps are shut down immediately to reduce spillage.

3) The proposed route takes it through some sensitive areas in Nebraska and Kansas. Well TransCanada has already agreed to move the route to avoid these areas. So this is no longer an issue.

2) It takes energy to pump this oil from Canada to the US. This pipeline working at capacity would result in an emissions increase of 18 million tons of CO2 per year. Again, a valid point if Weather, I mean global climate change, is caused by CO2. However, just because 18 million tons is a big number doesn’t mean it is significant. Last year China’s total CO2 emissions rose by 780 million tons. That’s right folks, if we added this pipeline and operated it at full capacity, we would emit as much additional CO2 in one year as China did in 8.4 days.

Here is the best part though. If we don’t build this pipeline, Canada is still going to have all this oil and no one to sell it to. So supply and demand will drive the market and Canada will find someone who is in desperate need of oil and sell it to them. And can you guess who really needs oil, yep China. Canada will build a pipeline to their western coasts and then load the oil up on tankers and ship it to China. And then China will probably just set it on fire to add CO2 emissions for fun and laugh at the American Enviros.

Plain and simple, it is just stupid for us to delay building this pipeline. It’ll add jobs, it’ll reduce energy costs, and it’ll have a lower environmental impact than the other alternatives.

I hear that streeter: If you know me, you know that I love pop...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:01:43 -0400

I hear that

streeter:

If you know me, you know that I love pop punk. And I love covers. So when they come together like this, I really love it.

Trains and America

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:51:55 -0400

I’ve heard so many people talk about how great more trains in America would be. By this, they mean more trains like Europe. A good example is the Eurostar which I’ve used. It connects Paris, Brussels, and London all by high speed rail. I went from Brussels to London in 2hrs. It was great, cost $60, and I slept the entire trip. The drive would be close to 5 hours, maybe a little less (all on the wrong side of the road), and petrol (which is gas) costs more in Europe.

The Eurostar is only one example. Many high speed rails connect major cities across the entire continent. Imagine if the United State had such a system. Chicago to New York in a few hours. Indianapolis to L.A (probably through Chicago) in an afternoon/evening without a TSA agent feeling you up? Sounds great, deal me in.

Oh what, we can’t do that in America. You know why? Because in America we have to pander to, well everyone. It’d be racist, or bigotry, or corporate greed, or elitism, or some other crap excuse probably made up by someone who doesn’t get their way with high speed rails.

(Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying any of the aforementioned reasons are excuses made up by people who don’t get their way. But in the instance of high speed rails it is)

What I am saying though is, High Speed rails are only practical if they can travel at high speeds. This means a train from Chicago to New York, or Washington D.C. to L.A. would need to not make a stop in every state, or at every city it comes close to.

For my friends in Indiana, let me give you an example of how the debate would go if a high speed train was proposed to travel from Indianapolis to Chicago (maybe a 30 min trip).

Business sensible person: “Let’s build a high speed rail from Indy to Chicago”

Politician #1: “Great idea. Let’s see the plan. Oh it goes through my district city of Lafayette. We should build a stop there.”

BSP: “Well that would slow the trip down by about 100%, it wouldn’t make much sense.”

P #1: “But if the gov’t is going to pay for this, then we need to make it available to everyone, especially my friends in Lafayette.”

BSP: “But then it is more a high speed rail from Lafayette to Chicago, and the trip from Indianapolis, the 12th largest city in America, is essentially a connecting trip to Lafayette, not the 12th largest city in America.”

P #1: “Yes, but then the people of Lafayette, the 10th largest city in Indiana, will not be left out.”

Politician #2: “You guys talking about a rail from Indy to Chicago? Great, let’s make a stop in my district town on Crowne Point.”

BSP: “How does that make any sense? You’re not getting it. The HIGH speed rail cannot make multiple stops between major cities, especially ones that are a 2 hour drive, and a 30 min drive from the end destination. The high speed rail should connect centers of business, population, and tourism, not towns that are ‘big’ in your district.”

P #1 and #2: “Yeah, can’t do that.”

The point here is Government cannot be relied on to build high speed rails in America. Our politicians and government are more concerned with the well being of every individual and don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so every service or program is built under a giant tent, which is fine, but only when a few services or programs are offered, and when private industry can’t do better.

Example, would anyone fly in a plane run by Amtrak? Probably, but it wouldn’t be profitable. The litmus test should be simple. If this makes sense and is cost effective, a private company would already be doing it in order to make money. so goodbye postal service, goodbye Amtrak, goodbye lots of wasteful programs that could be employing real workers who are not sucking down government money, but real money from consumers.

I digress though. The point here is, everyone who is running around whining about how the government should fund high speed rails needs to stop. Then pool their money together and start a business. This business would acquire land, build tracks, buy trains, and start some high speed rail lines. A real far fetched idea for a generation that fails to really grasp the idea of sacrifice and risk and reward.

The inspiration for this post is in the below re-blogged post of the introduction of a new high speed rail line in Japan by Japan Railways (which used to be government owned but is now operated by a group of seven for-profit companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government owned Japanese National Railways in 1987, well ahead of the learning curve on what government can successfully operate and what they cannot). Looks how happy everyone is, and government did not do it, private companies out to make a profit did. Hooray for them.

thedailywhat: Smile-Inducing Ad Spot of the Day: Japan Rail...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:06:43 -0400

thedailywhat:

Smile-Inducing Ad Spot of the Day: Japan Rail informed local residents that it will be filming an ad spot to introduce the new line connecting Kyushu to the bullet train system.

Everybody showed up.

[reddit.]

thedailywhat: Weird Al Parody Song of the Day: So “Weird Al”...

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:03:44 -0400

thedailywhat:

Weird Al Parody Song of the Day: So “Weird Al” Yankovic wanted to include a spoof of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” in his upcoming album — with all proceeds from the sale of the song and its subsequent music video going to benefit the Human Rights Campaign — but her management told him Ms. Germanotta would need to hear it first before final approval.

He sent her the lyrics, but was told she would need to hear an actual song. So Weird Al went to work producing a finished product for Lady Gaga to listen to. “Now, I never do that – never,” he writes in a blog post, “[b]ut because I was really excited about this parody, I decided I would faithfully jump through as many hoops as Gaga deemed necessary.” He cut his family vacation short and spent day and night in the studio in order to deliver the mixed and mastered track in a timely fashion to Gaga’s people.

A few days later he finally heard back: The answer was no. “As of this posting, I still don’t know specifically what kind of problem she has with the song (obviously I take a few jabs at her, but y’know, it’s satire – that’s how it’s supposed to work),” Weird Al says.

As the parody legally meets the criteria of “fair use,” Weird Al has decided to upload it to YouTube, and release a free MP3 on his site. “A conventional release for the song and video would have…raised a nice chunk of change for the HRC – an organization which I have to assume Gaga supports. Hopefully, if fans enjoy hearing the song online, they’ll make a donation anyway.”

[alyankovic.]

Founders

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:00:01 -0400

The other day while I was driving I heard some guy referencing our founders and how colonist all carried guns, and ammunition, and blah and blah and blah. Why is everyone so concerned with our founding fathers and what they did on a day to day basis and how they would view today’s government? Are we so incompetent and uneducated to formulate our own ideas and views of government based on our founding documents. We don’t need a WWFFD (What would founding fathers do) bracelet to help guide us.

Our founding fathers would shit a brick at the global economy we have, the media scrutiny, the technology we have, all of it. Our founding fathers, after our democracy was established, only had to please white male land owners in order to be elected. They only had to appease educated men, not like today. I could go on and on, and probably on some more, but I won’t.

The point I’m trying to make is, if you want to be a part of the discussion, develop some of your own ideas. Use ideas of the founders, make those ideas evolve around the world we have today, but please for the love of God don’t say “The founders did this” or “The founders wanted it this way” because you have no idea if that is true.

2011 - The Year I Start Running Again

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:32:00 -0400

This was one of my New Year’s promises, because 2010 was the year I stopped running due to long work hours and shitty 45 min commute to work that normally ended with me having no desire to workout once I got home.

So 2011 is going to be the year I start running again, well that plan went on hiatus in February when I sprained my ankle badly playing indoor soccer. I then tried to stayed off it and ride my stationary bike in the basement.

Now the weather is nice , and my ankle is nearing 100%. I have started playing soccer again, so I decided it was time to start running again. I am starting to build a little streak, and hope to keep it going as long as I can.

It is tough when you are sucking serious wind on a 3 mile run and remember the days you could run 3 miles in under 16 minutes. However, I just say to myself “There were good days in the past, but there can be good days again in the future if I work hard during the tough times.”

I think that quote is applicable to a lot of things, but for now it feels good to think while I’m running. I mean, I’m 25, and have a strong body, so I believe days of 3 miles under 16min can happen again.

I agree with the context part, and if the President still thinks...

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:05:35 -0400

I agree with the context part, and if the President still thinks Nuclear energy in America is worth investing, then I also agree with him

joshsternberg:

motherjones:

“There’s no reason why, technologically, we can’t employ nuclear energy in a safe and effective way. Japan does it…”

— Barack Obama, speaking at a town-hall meeting in 2009. Read more in Kate Sheppard’s story, “Obama Touted Safety Record of Japan’s Nuclear Industry.”

Well, context is important, right? This is a false analogy. Japan has had safe and effective nuclear power that only fell apart after a 9.0 earthquake. Unlike, say, Three Mile Island which had a partial core meltdown due to both mechanical and human factors. If you want to make the argument that having a nuclear power plant so close to a fault-line is irresponsible, I can buy that. But to make the argument that investing and exploring in nuclear energy is a bad idea because the Earth opened up and destroyed these reactors is a false choice and dangerous journalism. But, what do I know - I’m not a nuclear physicist or even a journalist.

I hear that tonyhinchcliffe: The Unfinished Death Star…like me,...

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:14:32 -0500

I hear that

tonyhinchcliffe:

The Unfinished Death Star…like me, appears young and incomplete…but remember, this battle-station is fully operational.

Jobs and Baby Boomers

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:41:35 -0500

A few months ago I was unemployed and searching for work. Naturally I hopped on a handful of job search sites such as Monster and Career Builder and found a handful of job openings in the field of my choice. Now while I’ve been in and out of campaign and gov’t jobs since graduating in 2007, they all contained similar job experience, needed skills, etc. And they all got progressively more demanding as I gained experience. However, all of the job openings I found, I was unqualified for. I didn’t have enough experience for any of them.

After a few conversations with friends doing the same thing as me, I came to a conclusion: It’s total bullshit. Without being too winded in my comments I’ll point out the bullshit

If you’re looking for someone to fill a spot and they need 10 years experience, then don’t post on online job sites. Higher within or find someone through networking. People with 10+ years of experience are not on Monster.com
If you’re looking for someone with 5 years experience, don’t make that a necessary qualification. Baby Boomers are retiring and dieing (the ones who smoke). The people who will replace them are college graduates with a few years experience. The workforce is changing, and if you want new employees you’re going to have to hire recent college graduates
Who do employers think are on these sites looking for jobs? If you’re posting on here for 5+ or 10+ years of experience employees, you’re fucking desperate. So time to lower the bar, but you’d be surprised who you’ll find in the pool of recent college graduates.

And finally….

Holy shitting shit Monster and Career Builder, even I can see the bullshit made up jobs, pyramid schemes, and make believe companies that are probably fronts for sex and slave trades. Get them off your site

Just some thoughts….

Settling America

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:48:23 -0500

Just a thought here. Christopher Columbus discovered “America” down in the Caribbean. St. Augustine Florida is oldest settlement in America that has been continuously occupied. However, America will find it’s largest cities further north around New York and the New England area. I know the south, such as Florida, was claimed by the Spanish and the New England area by the British and that explains some of what I ask here, but at what point did the British as New York and New England were pounded by snow (in winters much like this one or harsher ones during the “little ice age”) did someone say, “Hey let’s go further south,” and someone said “Nah.”

Seriously. How did settlers even survive winters in shitty cabins on shitty rations of shitty food? I mean I love winter. I love snow, and playing in it. But I also have a car, live in a real house, and never in history has the price of food been so cheap for a civilization.

Just a thought as we keep getting more and more snow. Why didn’t anyone head south after the first few winters killed so many?

"When we were formed on an atomic level, all these little tiny cells come together in a very very..."

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:30:00 -0500

““When we were formed on an atomic level, all these little tiny cells come together in a very very specific comibinion. Boop Boop Boop might become you, boop boop boop a different way might become me, boop boop boop another way might become pat sajack. once every 10,000 years or so these chromosomes come together in just a special way, when they came together that day, that was Bobby Dukes””

- Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story

bikerfish: A friend just sent me this photo of Pee-Wee and...

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:20:31 -0400

bikerfish:

A friend just sent me this photo of Pee-Wee and Regis. And I smiled huuge.

Bees

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:27:56 -0400

Did anyone ever figure out what happened to all the bees that were missing a couple of summers ago, or find them?

So glad to see other people starting to realize that Teacher...

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:27:47 -0400

So glad to see other people starting to realize that Teacher Unions really screw up the Public Education system.

On a side note, Unions suck.

rickyv:

Waiting for Superman

Jason Hirschhorn and I hosted a screening for this documentary tonight. It’s a must see.

Takeaway: Teachers’ unions are what’s wrong with the education system, charter schools are working because they’re independent of the unions.

My Arbys free lunch scheme

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:43:45 -0400

The Arby’s down the street from our campaign office has a survey on the back of their receipts. If, within 2 days of your purchase, hop online and fill out the survey (which takes probably 2 minutes to do) they give you a code to write on your receipt. Returning the receipt with the code on it to your participating Arbys results in a free Beef ‘n Cheddar sandwich. Do you know what you get after ordering that free sandwich with your receipt? Another receipt. Do another online survey, get another free sandwich, get another receipt. It is an endless line of free Beef ‘n Cheddars from Arbys.

rickyv: Was asked to be a judge for the first annual Vimeo...

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:04:04 -0400

rickyv:

Was asked to be a judge for the first annual Vimeo Awards, going through the finalists now. So many high quality entries. This one was stellar — the couple at 3:35, what a perfect moment captured.

P.S. If you’re no longer dating the guy who killed your cat, let’s hang.

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God (by Frank Warren)

Started to use my webcam via Skype recently and found these...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:10:55 -0400

Started to use my webcam via Skype recently and found these pictures of my old roommates. I got my new computer when I lived with them and they helped me figure out all the new toys on it. I’ll post some others later