Who Watches The Watchmen?

The Watchmen are coming. The visionary comic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is coming to the big screen March of next year. So far the previews look fantastic. We'll see how it turns out.
So far I am hopeful, it will be a great movie.

Back Pain!

You never realize how much you take your back for granted until is goes out on you. For the past week I've been in such excruciating pain that walking, sitting and even doing simple tasks around the house and office are next to impossible.
Enter the chiropractor.
It was the first time that I had ever been to a chiropractor, so at first I was a bit apprehensive. But a spasm in my lower back quickly changed my mind and I scheduled the appointment.
Upon examination it was determined that my spine was in fact okay. The problem was coming from my sacroiliac. I was told to lie down, on my stomach, on what seemed to look like a massage therapy table. The doctor proceeded to place an electrode on the affected muscle. As I lay on the platform with the electrode zapping my lower back muscle, it was amazing to feel the muscles just seem to melt into relaxation mode. I was left to cook for about 15 - 20 minutes. I could really tell how long because I nearly fell asleep.
The doctor then returned and after removing the electrode, began preforming stretching exercises on my limbs. A leg pulled here, while the arms are pulled the other way. My head was quickly turned left, and then turned the other way again, to produce the loudest bone crack that I have ever heard. Then I was told to stand.
It is safe to say that I was a bit apprehensive about standing. After all, I had already gone through a week with this pain that I sort of knew what to expect. But upon returning to my feet it was a shock to find that the pain was gone and I could stand up straight! For the rest of the day it was as if I just had a mild throb in my back. And that was bearable.
Now, I won't kid you and say that I am totally healed. The pain has returned. But its as if my mental attitude toward it has changed. Its become tolerable. And I can take that until its gone.

Beware of Antivirus XP 2008!!

I was attacked last night. Not by thugs or monsters or wild animals. This was something far worse.
It calls itself Antivirus XP 2008. You get your first look at the sneaky trojan installer as your Spybot Search and Destroy goes on alert. But Antivirus XP 2008, it knew Spybot S&D was there a long time ago. It moves in stealthfully; avoiding your Ad and Mal-aware programs., And you keep clicking Spybot's disable attempt window, because you think maybe its attack is being contained, like adware you've had in the past, and it will be quarantined to be deleted later. But no. Not Antivirus XP 2008. You keep attacking it, and it just fights your Spybot. And that's when the attack comes - - not from the internet, not from the trojan, but from the other applications that were uploading in the background you didn't even know were there.

You see, because this counterfeit is a pack hunter, you see, it uses coordinated attack patterns, and it's out in force today. And it slashes at you with this - -

- - a six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the middle toe. They don't bother to bite the jugular, like
a lion, they just slash here, here - -

- - or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. Point is, you're alive when they start to eat you.
Whole thing took about four seconds.
So, you know, try to show a little...
Ok, so it didn't really happen quite like that, but the effect it left on my home system was pretty devastating. I'll be doing cleanup on it for a few hours at least. All I can say is beware of the codecs you install, its getting pretty tricky out there.
For those of you affected by this bug, you can find resources to rid yourselves of it at, CNET the only one out there that I really trust. If you find any trustworthy sites, please let me know.

Changes...

I took a long look at the site over the past few weeks of not having anything else to do but studying and caring for a 2 year old and a 1 month old. Some MAJOR cleanups are in store for the next few weeks. Dead links here, old styles there. I have stuff that has needed attention for over 10 years here! Remember that this site has been up since 1998. That's alot of HTML3 hiding here and there.
I've also resumed biking. The mountain bike has pretty much been an on again off again thing with me over the past 20 years or so. But I've been waking up everyday at 6 AM to get my daily 10 miles in. Its something new and out of the norm for me. We'll see how it goes.
Programming is also something new for me. Even though I took programming in college and then all my jobs afterward were anything but computer related, I feel I'm playing catch-up. I basically have to cram 4 years of college level computer programming into about 6 months. Major fun! Python, MySQL, PHP and Linux all at the same time. Programming can be a real challenge with a two year old trying to get at the keyboard.
The cost of gas has also really left us in a pinch as well. The highest I've seen it so far is $4.25 for regular. I'm looking into alternative means of transportation. Who knows, if gas gets upto $5.00 a gallon I just may have to start biking to work again. Or maybe get a motorcycle...hmmm...
But in the meantime the site will be getting an overhaul for the next few weeks. If you all have any ideas feel free to chime in. I could use them.
And by the way...please support my bid for President. Thank you.

Giving veterans school benefits for life

This is from the http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ website.

Giving veterans school benefits for life
Larsen, Cantwell promoting bill

By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY
HEARST NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON -- As a career counselor for the state of Washington, Vietnam veteran Thomas Noel frequently advises other former service members on how to get ahead in the work force.

Whether they have just returned from tours in Iraq or have been out of the military for decades, Noel's main message to the veterans is always the same: Get an education.

"I see these people every day -- men and women who served our country," says Noel, a veterans employment representative for Washington state. "I tell them, 'You have to go to school.' "

But it's too late for many of these veterans.

Under the Montgomery GI Bill, the federal government picks up some of the tab for veterans to go to college and attend training programs -- but only for 10 years after they were discharged.

The law, first passed in 1944 as a way to help World War II veterans, is now named after former Mississippi Rep. Gillespie "Sonny" Montgomery, who helped lead an update of the statute in 1984.

Some lawmakers in Congress now want to get rid of that 10-year use-it-or-lose-it deadline.

Washington Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell are sponsoring legislation that would allow veterans to use the GI Bill's education benefits anytime after leaving military service.

Dubbed the "GI Bill for Life," their measure has drawn support from a wide variety of veterans groups, including the American Legion and the Military Officers Association of America. It is co-sponsored in the House by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Ron Paul, R-Texas. In the Senate, co-sponsors include Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.

Larsen said the deadline for using educational benefits under the GI Bill is "arbitrary" and doesn't meet the needs of recent and longtime veterans. Returning veterans may put off their post-military education so they can begin new jobs or because they are recovering from injuries -- even while the GI Bill clock is running.

"These are veterans who are coming back to the U.S. to whom we owe a great debt," Larsen said in an interview. "And the debt we owe them shouldn't expire because of an artificial timeline."

Cantwell said veterans who want to keep up with a rapidly changing work force should be able to use their GI Bill education benefits long after being discharged.

Under the current law, veterans can get up to 36 months of payments for college, technical or vocational training and apprenticeship programs. The benefits top out at $1,075 per month.

Service members who wish to take advantage of the GI Bill agree to have $1,200 deducted from their pay during their first year in the military. That money cannot be refunded.

Noel said the time limits catch many veterans off guard.

Larsen and Cantwell's legislation could become part of a broader bill revamping benefits for veterans.

The Bush administration has opposed the measure as too expensive.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it cannot estimate the proposal's price tag because there is no way to predict how many people would go to school or get training more than 10 years after leaving military service.

At the State of the Union Address in January, President Bush called for some changes to the GI Bill -- including allowing veterans to transfer their benefits to other immediate family members. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, immediately introduced legislation that would allow the benefit transfers.


NOW THESE ARE SOME OF THE COMMENTS...

Posted by DonnaWanna at 2/19/08 9:42 p.m.

Our serice members pay for this benefit out of their miserly pay checks. I see no reason to cut them off because they were unable, for whatever reason, to take advantage of this benefit within 10 years from separating from service.

I support our service members. I think we should give them the benefit they have paid for.

Posted by Jazz Fan at 2/19/08 11:14 p.m.

Good idea. It's senseless to limit the time in which a vet can continue his or her education.

Posted by Wonk at 2/20/08 11:57 a.m.

The average cost of a four-year degree at a public university is about $50,000--including books, tuition, fees, transportation, and housing. That same four-year degree increases an individual's yearly income from ~$30k to about $52k annually.

A hypothetical veteran is separated from service on his 22nd birthday. He takes 12 years to go back to school. He is 38 when he graduates from college and returns to the workforce. He works for 29.5 years, making $52,500 per year, never once getting a pay increase.

At retirement, he has paid about $166,000 more tax than he would have had he not gotten his degree. So, for every "gimme, gimme, gimme" tax dollar that paid for his education, he paid back three--more if you include salary increases.

That seems like a pretty good investment to me.

NOW THERE IS ALWAYS AN IDIOT...

Posted by Ze_Germans at 2/20/08 9:20 p.m.

I disagree, ten years is long enough. If they do extend it beyond that, the veteran should still be restricted to four years of benefits, just like it is now. No free handouts for life.


MY RESPONSE

I served in the Air Force for four years. I did my time and got an Honorable Discharge. I also paid into the GI Bill, as well as a few other options that have gone by the wayside. It was hard earned money that went into that bill, for what I thought at that time, I knew I would need in the future when I finally settled on a career path and needed to go back to school. I never thought that it would have an expiration date. Let alone be expiring two months before I planned to go back to school.

In all honest truth, I feel as if I was robbed. Yes, there are some of you out there who agree with what the last person said, but it is not a free hand out. I as well as countless military members and veterans have invested years of their lives in the hope of their future education only to have it expire before they can use it.
"10 years is enough time. You should have used it already."
Let's see. When I left the military, I had no idea that I'd be getting divorced. That I'd have to work 3 jobs just to scrape by. Or that I'd have to relocate, forget about school, get married again and raise two children, all while working full time. And now that gas is forcing every price across the board to sky rocket, its to the point that driving far to work isn't worth the job.

For those of you who are veterans please go to this HERE and
and contact your state representative and tell them this is an important issue that needs to be passed.

Reality TV

American Idol
Project Runway
Big Brother
Survivor
All the Judge shows
Cops
America's Next Top Model
Flavor of Love
The Real World

Do I have to go on?
That's all thats on TV now a days. Yeah, I know that the writer's strike had alot to do with it, but this beats all. There are a few of these shows that are any good. The rest are just plain garbage. I mean, come on! Flavor of Love?! Its trash. He's supposedly looking for the love of his life...every season. The Bachelor? The Bachlorette? Junk.
I have a great idea for a Reality TV series. Lock seven people in a rooms with TV's that show nothing but reality crap and see how long it takes before they kill each other.
I'll call it The Real World : Murder Box.

Its TV like this that makes me thankful for Playstation, XBox, books, an outdoors, etc. Who's up for a game of Halo 3?

DoomsdayVault/Chrono Trigger

Read this article first...

Now, doesn't that sound a little familiar? Like an part of an old Super Nintendo Game called Chrono Trigger?

After WW3, sometime in the future, a valiant group is sent to recover the seeds.

They face a number of puzzles and eventually have to defeat the Guardian of the facility to complete their quest.

Only to find that something has gone wrong a long time ago.
Only one seed of HOPE survives. Will that be enough?

Now drive off in your hovercar...