This morning I was pulled over on Hwy 377 on my way to work at the intersection of Watauga Rd.  I was driving between 30 and 35 miles per hour.  As you may already know, the traffic in this area of town is extremely congested and its difficult to even do the speed limit.  There is almost always a Watauga DPS officer parked in the Edward's used car lot entrance.  I've often wondered why in the world a DPS officer would sit there, because there is no way people could be speeding in this area.

So I pull up to the light and stop with a string of cars in front of and behind me.  The officer wedges his way between the car behind me and when the light turns green he turns on his lights.  I pulled over and was issued a citation for doing 60 in a 45.

I'll be posting more about this after I go to court, as I don't want anything that happened to be made public information in case this officer reads this blog.  Also, if there is corruption in the department for a Judge to be clued in before I get there.  Let me just say this.  I was most certainly given a ticket that I did not deserve and there is no possible way a reasonable police officer would have issued it.

Wish me luck.  I've been advised fighting a ticket with these guys is almost impossible even with a video of the cop beating you in the forehead.  We've lost almost all of our rights in this country and I plan to do whatever is necessary to protect mine before we are renamed Amerika.

Yes.  It's true.  I am a Vista dude no more.  I've replaced my desktop machine with a Mac Pro.  I purchased a new Mac Pro.  The specifications are as follows:

• Two 2.8Ghz Quad-Code Intel x64 Processors
• Two 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drives
• Apple Super Drive (DVD Burner)
• 23" Widescreen Cinema Display
• Airport Express PCI
• Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
• OS X
• Office 2008 Pro
• VmWare Fusion

One of the most amazing things about this machine is how quiet it is.  I've never seen a machine with so much horsepower that makes virtually zero noise.  The Mac Pro has a a fan the size of a DVD on the back of it.  It spins very slow, but due to the size, moves a ton of air quietly.  The other thing I enjoy is the downright beautiful integration of all the components.  The monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc all talk to the desktop via USB and therefore the power button on the monitor for example, can be programmed to turn the machine off or just the monitor.  Or it can suspend, or anything else you want it to do.

Of course, I've talked plenty of times about the beauty of OSX and the pure brilliance of the GUI design.  Everything is exactly where you would expect it to be and operates the way you would expect.  Not too complicated and not over the top simplified.  There is an advanced button on almost every config option to give you the granual control you might or might not need.

Goodbye MicroSoft Windows...  I won't miss you, I am sad to say.  You were my hero back in the day.  One too many cherry doughnuts has done you in with bloat and slowness.

Yes.  It is true.  Last week I purchased an Apple MacBook Pro.

I've decided that my Pro-Microsoft days are over.  Vista and most of the stuff coming out of Redmond these days are turds.  That's right TURDS.  Vista is a steaming pile of them.

Now before you jump to conclusions (especially if you work for me), I am not saying Windows is dead or anything like that.  Microsoft will always have its place in the business and consumer market.  But when you compare Vista vs. Leopard OS-X there is no comparison.  Leopard is elegant, fast, and nimble.  Vista is elegant, bloated and slow.  I almost hate to call it elegant though.  Aero is beautiful.  Its almost striking at first.  However, UAC is the most useless pile of steaming poo anyone has ever laid eyes on and totally ruins the rest of the interface.  Way to go Bill.

What I am saying is that the consumer market will continue to move away from full blown PCs to machines designed for web browsing.  Apple obviously knows this.  Look at the iPhone, iMac and Mac Mini.  Look at the beautifully simple design of the operating systems.  Any average Joe can use a Mac.

And lastly.  For the Power User.  Macs are now Intel processor based and can run Windows natively or in a VMWare session.  No need to own a PC anymore.  The Mac can do it all, and a whole lot more.  Welcome to the new world.  Where Microsoft is no longer king.  It is coming and Microsoft did it to themselves.

When we found Puska at the Pet Rescue Center in PetSmart she was by far the cutest and tamest kitty in the place.  When I picked her up the lady behind the counter said "That's a Russian Blue kitty.  They are adorable."  So we took her home and immediately named her Puska because it sounded Russian.

Fast forward about three years.  I'm searching around on the Internet for Russian Blue information I quickly discovered that she was NOT a Russian Blue after all.  In fact, other than color she doesn't even look similar.  After a little looking around at blue cat pictures it was immediately obvious that she is a Chartreux.  A cat breed from France.  In fact, when I first saw the picture on Wikipedia (see pic on left) I would have swore they took pictures of Puska for the site!

Check out this page for more information on Chartruex kittys.  From the site "They prefer to be nearby, preferably getting their jowls scratched and giving loving head-bumps to their owners! They will follow you everywhere, comfort you when you are sad or ill, and prefer to sleep with you or on top of you. Their supportive, cheerful presence can be wonderful for elderly people and people living alone."  That's Puska!  And "Chartreux may need to be switched to a "light" cat food so that they do not become overweight. "  That's Puska too!

Anyway, the most amazing thing on the whole site: "Chartreux sold as pets usually cost $400-550."  Holy Cow!  My kitty is expensive.  She's going to want some of that gourmet cat food.  Shhhh!  Don't tell her.  I buy the cheap target brand stuff.

So we all know how drug dealers work right?  No, not that I've ever been to one, but I've seen plenty of them in movies.  They offer you some free samples to get you hooked.  That way when you need more, they know you'll come back to them.

Welcome to the 10-Day FREE Trial of Blizzard's World of Warcraft (WoW).  I am a moron.  I know it.  I've spent the last year telling people "No.  I am not going to install that game.  The second I do I will be addicted."  It's the same thing that happens when you use someone's iPhone for 10 minutes.  You're down at AT&T buying one.

World of Warcraft is so addicting in fact that I installed it on Thursday night and then spent hours on end over the weekend playing it.  The game is absoultely amazing and there is no way you can truly grasp the depth of it without trying it.  See these screenshots below to get an idea of how the game looks.

With World of Warcrack you are playing on a server that at anyone time most likely has 30,000 other people on with you.  There are over 9.3 million WoW players all over the world.  There are two planets in WoW.  I've only been on one and it contains 2 continents.  Each continent is broken up into smaller areas and cities similar to how North America is broken up into countries, states, and cities. I'm going to say it would be pretty much impossible to ever see the whole game map. It's just way to big.  Plus, when you consider that Blizzard is continually adding stuff and changing things you most likely couldn't catch up with them anyway.

As I've been playing the game I realized, its the Matrix.  Seriously, its a prison of lovely crack for your mind.   You can get a profession and then sell things you make.  You can learn how to skin wolves and make their coats in clothing.  You can then sell said clothing to other players or to vendors within the game.  You can ride horses, fly winged creatures, enter dungeons and cities.

But lets talk about what really sets this game apart from Doom or Halo or any of those other First Person games.  It's the fact that 30,000 people are on the game with you at all times of the day and night. (Did I mention the game has a world clock, sunrise, sunset, rain, snow, etc?)  You can interact with these players, sell them items, trade stuff, etc.  You can go on quests with them and adventure together.  When you need help defeating a monster?  Find another player to help you.  Or of course, you can go to the enemy players and fight them (outside of the safe zones of your city).

Let's talk for a minute about quests!  Quests are given to you by computer controlled characters all over the world.  You can choose to accept or decline any quest.  Quests range from exploration, to killing a group of monsters, to delivering an item to another city.  Quests are what really make WoW fun for me.  For each quest you go on you get a reward of money/items/experience/etc.  You get a new more powerful spell, or weapon.  Or you might get a new article of clothing.  Speaking of clothing, you can dress your character anyway you want by purchasing clothes or winning them in quests or battles.  There is even a dressing room where your character can strip down to his/her undies and change clothes.  Funny!

I'm telling you.  No matter how much anyone asks you to try this game, DO NOT DO IT.  You'll get addicted and your wife will become a WoW widow.  It's not worth it.  Just delete those install files now.  Oh.  And I have even scratched the surface of how complex and interactive this game is... yet.

I've started a whole new section on Saving Electricity.  It's become a new hobby of mine.  Check it out!

Check out this video of a Watauga DPS running down a fleeing suspect on a motorcycle.  This is about 2 miles from where we live.

Since I was a teenager I've always known I have some form of mild color blindness.  I've never really taken the time to do much research on it.  I've known several people who were completely color blind and they were unable to tell the difference between a red light and a green light.  I on the other hand can see every color in the spectrum.  You put a red, green or blue marker in front of me and I can easily tell you which is which.  So it has always baffled me that I failed color blindness tests like the Ishihara test. 

Take for example the dot filled circle to the right.  This is an Ishihara test that I fail.  You most likely see a "2" in the middle of it.  I see nothing but random dots.  The odd thing for me is that I see all of the colors.  The only time its ever been an issue is with the "mixing of colors."  For example, I might see a bright purple as blue, until you put it next to a blue object and then I realize my mistake.

Yesterday, I decided to figure out exactly what was wrong with my eyes.  There is an amazing abundance of tests and information on the web about color blindness.  The problem is that every test I took gave me different results.  Some would say I was one type of colorblind and another would say I was something else.  I determined quickly that they just plain weren't accurate, or I had a more rare type of color blindness that wasn't documented well.  I tend to think the tests just aren't accurate.  I finally found a piece of software on the Web called Visolve.  Visolve allows you to correct the colors on your monitor if you are colorblind.  So what I did was keep adjusting the settings until I could read all of the numbers in the Ishihara tests!  Presto!  I am diagnosed.  And it didn't require a visit to a Doctor!

My diagnosis: I have a type of color blindness called Protanomaly.  Protanomaly is a form of color blindness that results from having weak (malfunctioning) red cones in your eyes.  The average person has three types cones in their eyes.  These cones sense light on different wavelengths: Red, Green and Blue.  This explains why I can see all colors, but sometimes mistake a bright purple for a blue.  Through my testing it looks like my eyes sense red light about 30% weaker than green and blue.  My world is a little bit less red looking than everyone else in the world!  To give you an understanding of what this means, look at the three pictures posted below.  The first picture is a normal picture with normal coloring.  The second picture is the way the world looks to me.  The third picture is color corrected so that I can see how the normal person views the world.

How a Normal person sees it.	How I see it.	Corrected so I can see what you see.

I'm sure as you look at the middle picture you say "wow...  it is not red enough!" and when you look at the right picture you say "Wow... it is way too red."  Of course, I say the same thing about these pictures, because I've seen the world since birth without the normal amount of red that everyone else sees.  It is interesting to see how the world looks to a normal person.  Everyone always says how they love the fall colors.  They've always seemed dull and drab to me.  But when I take a picture of a fall tree and add +30 red to it (Highlights, shadows and midtones) I can immediately see why people think it's beautiful!  Look at all of the red in the leaves that I've never seen!

Lastly, I have my mother to thank for this.  Protanomaly is passed on to you from one of your mother's X chromosomes.  Women are carriers of the genetic defect, but since women have two X chromosomes (one defective and one not) they do not experience the problem because the good X chromosome will cancel the bad one out.  Since I am a man, I have one X and one Y.  It just so happens I got her bad X.  It is a 50/50 chance.  Thanks Mom!

Joe Horn, a 61 year old Pasadena, Texas man was sitting at home working on his computer when heard the glass breaking at a neighbor's home.  Joe looked outside to see two men with a crowbar breaking in.  He picks up the phone and calls 911.  Here is quick (shortened) transcript of what happened next:

Dispatcher: "I want you to listen to me carefully, OK?"

Horn: "Yes?"

Dispatcher: "I got ultras coming out there. I don't want you to go outside that house. And I don't want you to have that gun in your hand when those officers are poking around out there."

Horn: "I understand that, OK, but I have a right to protect myself too, sir, and you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the First and you know it and I know it."

Dispatcher: "I understand."

Horn: "I have a right to protect myself ..."

Dispatcher: "I'm ..."

Horn: "And a shotgun is a legal weapon, it's not an illegal weapon."

Dispatcher: "No, it's not, I'm not saying that, I'm just not wanting you to ..."

Horn: "OK, he's coming out the window right now, I gotta go, buddy. I'm sorry, but he's coming out the window. "

Dispatcher: "No, don't, don't go out the door, Mister Horn. Mister Horn..."

Horn: "They just stole something, I'm going out to look for 'em, I'm sorry, I ain't letting them get away with this ----. They stole something, they got a bag of stuff. I'm doing it!"

Dispatcher: "Mister, do not go outside the house."

Horn: "I'm sorry, this ain't right, buddy."

Dispatcher: "You gonna get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun, I don't care what you think."

Horn: "You wanna make a bet?"

Dispatcher: "Stay in the house."

Horn: "There, one of them's getting away!

Dispatcher: "That's alright, property's not something worth killing someone over. OK? Don't go out the house, don't be shooting nobody. I know you're pissed and you're frustrated but don't do it."

Horn: "They got a bag of loot."

Dispatcher: "OK. How big is the bag?" He then talks off, relaying the information.

Dispatcher: "Which way are they going?"

Horn: "I can't ... I'm going outside. I'll find out."

Dispatcher: "I don't want you going outside, Mister..."

Horn: "Well, here it goes buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going."

Dispatcher: "Don't go outside."

On the tape of the 911 call, the shotgun can be heard being cocked and Horn can be heard going outside and confronting someone.

"Move and you're dead!" he shouts. A loud bang is heard, then a shotgun being cocked and fired again, and then again.

Then Horn is back on the phone:

"Get the law over here quick. I've now, get, one of them's in the front yard over there, he's down, he almost run down the street. I had no choice. They came in the front yard with me, man, I had no choice! ... Get somebody over here quick, man."

Dispatcher: "Mister Horn, are you out there right now?"

Horn: "No, I am inside the house, I went back in the house. Man, they come right in my yard, I didn't know what the --- they was gonna do, I shot 'em, OK?"

Dispatcher: "Did you shoot somebody?

Horn: "Yes, I did, the cops are here right now."

Dispatcher: "Where are you right now?"

Horn: "I'm inside the house. ..."

Dispatcher: "Mister Horn, put that gun down before you shoot an officer of mine. I've got several officers out there without uniforms on."

Horn: "I am in the front yard right now. I am ..."

Dispatcher: "Put that gun down! There's officers out there without uniforms on. Do not shoot anybody else, do you understand me? I've got police out there..."

Horn: "I understand, I understand. I am out in the front yard waving my hand right now."

Dispatcher: "You don't have a gun with you, do you?

Horn: "No, no, no."

Dispatcher: "You see a uniformed officer? Now lay down on the ground and don't do nothing else."

Yelling is heard.

Dispatcher: "Lay down on the ground, Mister Horn. Do what the officers tell you to do right now." 

Is Joe Horn right or wrong in what he did?  Well, let me tell you.  In my mind, Joe Horn is a HERO.  Plain and simple.  God bless this man for being an upstanding citizen and protecting himself, his home, and his neighborhood from criminals.  He warned these criminals. "You move and your dead."  They moved.  Joe shot them.  Good job.

Now many of the ultra-liberal factions out there are already attempting to get Joe behind bars and make him out to be the criminal and criminals out to be the victims.  On CNN the reporter even went so far as to call them "Joe's Victims"!!!  That is ridiculous.  I'll never forget the California story of a man shooting a nighttime burglar in his home in the leg.  The burglar sued the victim and won a $43 million dollar judgement.  And people wonder why my motto is "shoot to kill."  How could it ever be considered my fault for protecting my home and family from a criminal!?!  It makes me very angry when I hear these ultra-liberals talk about criminal rights.  CRIMINALS SHOULD HAVE NO RIGHTS.  If your are in the process of breaking the law, you deserve whatever you get, even if it is death.

The castle doctrine, a new law passed in September 2007 in Texas was recently expanded precisely because the citizens of Texas were tired of rampant crime. This new law allows citizens to use deadly force in protecting their home or neighbor's home from criminals.  It is no longer required that you attempt to flee first.  Thank God for that, because I would never flee from criminals invading my neighborhood, regardless of the law.  I believe in my right to protect myself, family and friends from crime, even if my government does not.  Thankfully, Texans finally got the laws amended to give us that right legally.

And for those of you who say he should have let the cops handle it: I think you need help.  We (non-criminals) are all responsible for the wellfare of our country and people.  If you were to witness the rape of a 10 year old would you just sit back and watch while you were waiting for the cops.  I sure hope not.  I would hope you would intervene.

I'll say it one last time.  Joe Horn, you are my hero.

Oh, and if these ultra-liberals do somehow get charges filed against Joe, I will be there for him.  He doesn't know me, but his defense fund will get a nice padding from my donations.