Awesome video. They give the fiat a head start, then the ferrari, then Michael Schumacher in the F1 car gives chase.

Categories: BJ, Entertainment
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So I’ve decided that I’m going to do this every time his new articles come up on the times or top gear website. He’s too funny to be hidden away in Britain.

I want you to think about this. The latest figures suggest that 18 per cent of fatalities on the roads 2004 were caused by drink driving. And that 34 per cent were caused as a result of excessive speed. This means that 48 per cent were caused by people who were stone-cold sober, and travelling well within both their limits and those of the car.

The only conclusion we can draw from this is that the drivers in question were as stupid as a field full of bees, as daft as a brush. Perhaps they couldn’t remember in the heat of the moment which pedal did what, or which way the wheel should be turned, or even that killing people is wrong.

Read the rest of the article at topgear.com.

Categories: BJ
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Hello All! I have not written for quite some time. It’s really because I am either at work, running errands, cleaning the house or doing laundry. And of course taking care of my precious little Sophia. BJ is usually hogging the computer and internet anyway and I am so tired by the end of the day, but I digress.

The past few weeks have brought us a baby who can now roll over back to belly and belly to back (although she seems to prefer her side right now), preteething, holding and sucking of toes, and the progression of the ability to grasp at her toys. She is also trying to find her voice. Some days she will just scream and squeal and babble so much! She is such a loud and talkative baby! Gee, I wonder where she gets that from?! She has enjoyed sucking her fingers and playing with them for some time now and is getting more and more experienced at doing so. It seems she recognizes me, smiles and laughs at me above all else. I sure love it!

One other thing that has progressed over the past few weeks is her cuteness level. I can’t go anywhere without people smiling at her, wanting to hold her, or play with her, or at least commenting on how cute or beautiful she is. I also hear how much she looks like me and I smile even more because it makes me feel great. Granted I am no high school hottie anymore but—7 years older and 20lbs heavier and I still got it!! At church today I was leaving the bathroom from changing her diaper when I was attacked by 3 teenage girls wanting to hold her and cooing over her. I obliged them temporarily so I could at least go to the bathroom. Earlier I had been stopped by another Sister who said she had to see her because she heard from another sister that she “was the cutest baby ever”. She had to confirm it for herself and promptly did so. *Sigh* I think I am going to just have to get used to being stopped or distracted from my task at hand by those who wish to fawn over her. She will be four months old soon and even bigger and more different. I can hardly wait to see what the following month brings. I love my daughter.

Categories: Heather, Sophia
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I had a little rant at the expense of a rather wide e-mail distribution list that might have indicated that I support illegal immigration. I actually was going to comment on Andrew’s blog post regarding illegal immigration but I forgot my blogger id. My personal viewpoint is that illegal immigration is illegal … seriously. There are legal consequences that are rarely enforced. Were I to have been born in a backwater area of Mexico I would emigrate to the US. I would do so illegally, because even engineers and doctors end up waiting years to get in.

Don’t kid yourself. If you lived in an area where hard work wouldn’t get you ahead, where a short risk could increase your family’s income more than 10 fold, you would be the first guy running across the Arizona desert to get here and try to change things. When sent back, you would do it again. I know this because I love America. There is a cultural divide here but it can be overcome with hard work. The cultural, legal, and political divide can’t be overcome with hard work in Mexico. Those with the finacial means to influence will keep laborers in the dirt.

This does not mean I believe immigrants should be given a free pass. We need to know who is here and why they are here, now more than ever. I fully support and rant about changes to the immigration process. We need these people documented, receiving credit for taxes they pay, using their money in the US instead of sending it to Mexico (which means having their families here), and receiving the protection of simple things like minimum wage. I paint a pretty rosy picture but it isn’t all fun and games. The greatest benefit to current US citizens is knowledge that these people aren’t violent criminals, they aren’t terrorists, higher insurance adoption rates, and quicker assimilation into the US. Kicking them out isn’t an option. They’ll just come back. We could build an impenetrable force field that covers the entire southern border, and I guarantee they will still find a way to come back just to pick strawberries at $3.00 an hour then send the money they don’t spend on rent, for the one bedroom apartment they share with 7 other guys, to their family back in Mexico. We could make it so death was the penalty for crossing the border illegally, and they would still flock here. I know this because death is the penalty quite a bit of the time, and they still risk death just to come to our country.

If you speed and get caught, you get a ticket. If you’re male, I’m sure you’ve had a stoplight or highway challenge at least once in your life. In Texas you get your license revoked for a minimum of a year for racing on public roads. You still take the risk at times even though you know the consequences can be dire. There are always people vying for attention or attempting to shirk their responsibility for an action they’ve taken. So yes Andrew, they should send her home to Mexico. Until the law is changed it should be followed. That isn’t the problem. The problem is that less than 6 months later she would be back illegally with a new name, new fake social security number, and living in a different state. This indicates something about the law needs to change. If I were her I might not have claimed sanctuary in a church. Drawing attention to yourself is pretty stupid and will make it more difficult to get back. She is, however, betting that they make her a citizen. At the very least she has stirred up more controversy and made regular people talk about her situation. Good for her. The difference is the same as the difference Rosa Parks made. She might end up being a turning point or example of the weird realm of American immigration policy, or she might just be a lady who sat on her butt.

Categories: BJ, Philosophy etc
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Thought I would share this awesome clip. Watch a katana cut some bullets in half.

Categories: BJ, Entertainment
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She wanted me to point out that she was not drunk when this picture was taken. I’m sure the jewish confederated hyper force will be asking for a formal apology. She also stated that she is not an anti-semite. (Click on the picture to see what I’m talking about)

Also, her boyfriend is gainfully employed as an “entertainer.” He is paid to perform every weekend in Tijuana. Here’s a shot of his act.

Categories: BJ
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The majority of my local friends and family have all had birthdays in August. So happy Birthday to Cindy, Heathe, Rob, Pete C. Brown, Spencer, my dad, Michael and Me.

I sort of feel bad that I haven’t called everyone and told them happy birthday, since I received about 5 calls or so wishing me a happy birthday. I feel like the prickly pear that everyone reaches out to but no one expects any response from. Yeah yeah, I feel like an ass. I should be on myspace leaving sparkly .gif comments wishing them all a happy birthday. I honestly would have been, but I was in San Antonio consulting with a claims section trying to devise a development strategy to meet their needs. (Tim knows all about it. The problem with being a fast typist is you write more than you should. I sent him a 3-4 page e-mail… sorry Tim).

I had a good birthday. I received a Nintendo DS Lite, a magnifying glass, some DS Lite games, a tie, and I got a chance to give Bekah a hug (Bekah was in town visiting). I miss her. It’s funny because we used to fight constantly when we were living in the same house, but whenever we’re seperated, and only have to deal with each other occasionally, we’re the best of friends. Everything becomes an inside joke that only we get. Heck, we’re working on a team blog that is nothing BUT an inside joke, and to be fair to everyone else, we freely admit that we’re the only ones who will ever think it is funny.

The DS Lite is awesome. I’m the sort that spents half or more of his gaming time playing old games on emulators. There’s just something about Contra, Super Mario Bros., Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid, … etc., that has never been replicated in the latest 3-D FPS extravaganza. As such, the gaming goodness that pours out of the DS Lite is right up my alley. Do not consider it a portable gaming platform that is to be played only when a larger console is unavailable; consider it a way to experience new gameplay with the touch screen, and old throwbacks to the days of yore, with a game design philosphy that smacks of classic 2-D gaming. At $129.00 it is well within the realm of an impulse buy. With a Li-on battery and 10-18 hour battery life depending on screen brightness settings, the system is always playable. Ad-hoc Wi-Fi and instant multiplayer round out the reasons you need to buy a DS Lite right now.

I have some political commentary to do but I can sum it up in a few words. Apparently when a war happens we all win…

Categories: BJ, BJ's Life
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Just a quick note on the life of Sophia. She rolled over for the first time yesterday. Mommy missed it but Granny and Dad (me) were able to witness her success. We also spent part of the day Wednesday taking pictures of our little girl. Here’s a pic with a link to the new gallery.

Categories: BJ, Sophia
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At least Andrew enjoys (or possibly recoils from) my political commentary, but I’d like to switch the pace a little. It’s kind of taxing to rant into thin air so I’ll reserve it for special events from now on (I’m lying … I can’t shutup).

Anyway, let’s get to important things in life. It’s been a while since we’ve posted anything about Sophia, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that she isn’t the highlight of our lives. She’s the happiest baby I’ve ever seen. We thought we had captured a special moment when we took a photo of her smiling around 2 weeks old, but her natural state is smiling. Sure there are moments of hunger, frustration, and fatigue but most of the time just looking at her elicits a toothless little grin, followed up by some squealing and cooing.

We try to give her tummy time periodically, and she hates it. She doesn’t cry, but rather yells and, I imagine, curses in whatever language babies speak. To be fair to her, I think the only thing that keeps her from turning over is that fact that her arm is in the way. She’ll raise one of her legs up and shift her weight to one side but inexorably there is a little arm in the wrong place. She kicks and yells. She tries to push with one arm and one leg but in the end the only thing she can manage is bending her little arm. She won’t listen to reason. I try to position her arm to make it easier for her, but inevitably she is her parents’ daughter and must do things her way.

I have a new assignment in church. Oddly enough I can’t really talk about it much suffice to say I’m the new welfare representative for the ward. Compared to other callings or assignments its a decidedly temporal one in the sense that I will be there to assist families/people on the path the self sufficience. Rather than a Sunday School teacher or other spritual instructor, I will be a temporal instructor. To be honest, I have no idea how I will be able to do this. I am young and generally those I will be helping get jobs put their finances in order will be older than me. I have been blessed with a pragmatic wife and a lack of desire to impress with flashy luxuries combine that with working constantly since 16 years of age and we live a relatively financially easy life. I am worried that our own lack of strict budgeting has us hemorraging money that could be saved, but I’ve been blessed with a wife who keeps a vice grip on our finances. The church I attend (LDS/Mormon) has a very large and very involved welfare program for members that really helps those in need. You may have heard of the huge financial reserves of the church iself but I can honestly attest to it’s proper use in helping the needy. Obviously personal matters such as these are kept quiet so this may be the only time I speak of my assignments again.

I turned 27 today. This number seems old when I think of my hobbies and distinct lack of maturity, but when I look at my daughter I feel young. I look at my beautiful wife and feel like a giddy teenager. I sleep in my bed at night feeling like I’m still at a slumber party. I still feel like a kid when I’m at my parents or in-laws house. I hate mowing the lawn. I listen to raucous music. I enjoy video games, and still dream of exotic sports cars. Life is fun. I hope I still feel the same way in 30 years when I have my own grandkids

Categories: BJ, BJ's Life, Sophia
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I browse various blogs and op-ed style articles but few seem to express exactly what they are feeling. Orson Scott Card has been a huge proponent for the Bush administration and I wanted to mention his latest article on the Israeli-Hezbollah war.

Give it a once over, because I’d like to comment on it. Card paints a picture of Middle-east power and a build up to a no-holds barred conflict over Israel and the interests of the Middle East. He compares the Midde-east to pre-WWII germany but he’s getting it wrong. He should be comparing it to Japan. The twist being that the current Middle-East chest beaters are willing to fight vicariously and throw civilian casualties to the wind. The majority of Muslims in the middle east deny Israel’s right to exist. The extremist groups are willing to fight and sacrifice 10 of their men for every 1 pro-Israel fighter. So now we are stuck watching more Muslims slip towards extremism as they watch their families die. The only way for Israel to maintain its borders into the forseeable future is for an almost genocidal war, in which opposition to their existence is wiped out.

Japan surrendered after Russia’s declaration of war and our Nuclear attack. The proposed cost of a land invasion of Japan was somewhere around 1.5 million lives. In this sense there were less casualties even considering a nuclear strike. The difference is that the Japanese emperor who led the empire was a man who could understand his position, who had the power to surrender. In Islam the ideas that lead suicide bombers to blow themselves up only to make a point are built with the dark corners of religion and zealotry, rather than honor to a human emporer. How do you make men surrender who follow, not a man, but God himself?

So, I look on with horror at the direction of the world, hoping that reason will enter into the equation. In some respects, Card might be right, but I don’t think he understands the sheer cost of human life in this very long and very drawn out conflict, that will never be truly resolved until the entire world is Muslim or Islam as we know it, changes.

Categories: BJ, Philosophy etc
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