ZenWarrior

Too bad I didn't get those SINA LEAPS

2004-06-01T20:58:13Z

Damn stock is already up 35% since I posted that I should buy some LEAPS less than 2 weeks ago. =\ Actually it looks like they don't have LEAPS trading on it yet anyway, but the Dec 25 Calls would be up about 100% now. =\ Oh wellz... OMR looks mighty tasty now. :P

More Biz Thoughts....

2004-05-20T08:48:15Z

Wow, it's so nice actually working a "semi-normal" schedule now! Thank you Markie! LOL. So anyway, I went to the bank and decided to ask for a loan. Since I'm no longer selling NF why not get money this way, right? The app is simple and I should find out quickly whether I can get it. First thing I'm looking to do is add a pair of Initial D racing arcade machines:

Ppl can come in and race each other, with info saved on a card for them. It will cost about $20k, but I'm confident I'll get my investment back within 2-4 months. It's awesome... I'll have version 3 while other places still have the first one. A friend plays it like ALLLL the time and he's been the one encouraging me to get it, and now after looking at the numbers and seeing how addicted ppl are to this game... plus the fact that everyone will come to mine since I have the newest version (he'll get the word out fast, no doubt at all there)... wow, this is a goldmine IMO. I can't wait to get it. That alone should pay off a 100k loan in no time.

Plan 2 is getting new comps here. Nobody will be able to touch me in comp performance soon, and I know many play from home now because they have better comps at home now. This wasn't the case when we first opened, so I wanna make it that way once again. Selling the old comps should recover at least 1/2 my investment. It's also important because the newer games coming out soon will really need better systems to run well.

Plan 3 is MORE LAND! =D LOL... no, plan 3 all depends how things go in the coming week. But more than likely land will be my new love. I'm just upset I don't have the cash currently to bid at the SB County government auction going on this week. :'( Wow... there are 5,000 freakin properties being sold... some MUST go for huge discounts. Oh well... there will be many, many more in the future. It's just... dammmn... that auction is sexxxy as all hell. :'(

What else? New snacks at NF. Microwave food on the way. New look bein considered (gotta keep the vibe fresh ya know!). New cable TV commercial in the works. All sorts of fun stuff! So anyway... if u couldn't tell, I'm sorta excited about everything. I've been nervous about NF after seeing 4 shops shut down recently, and I hear another very new one is also suffering bigtime... but I think I have the perfect plan to do well and I've done well so far (though I really despise my ridiculously high rent). I'm even considering the prospect of expanding and even going public, but I think other business would be better for that... possibly an evolution of this biz into something else I have long considered. We'll see... for now I just want simplicity and easy income. Land seems to fit that bill well. Besides, I really, really want to design & build entire communities someday. =) Of course my thoughts are constantly evolving and refining. It's always my "money game" thinking: challenging the status quo and finding the ultimate investment ideas. There aren't very many investments/business ideas I haven't researched. LOL. That's the joy of the stock market: you can see the financials for business concepts all the time and you see what works and what doesn't. You learn to analyze investments well. Damn I miss the market. Yea, I still pay close attention, but I haven't done much trading in a while. I can't believe how cheap most Chinese Net firms are now. I see it like this: America's previous Net stock bubble caused the pendulum to swing from irrational exhuberance to irrational fear when new Net firms came along. One look at Chinese net stock financials and it becomes very obvious: these companies are cheap as fuck right now! Companies growing earnings 50-100%+/year and they have P/E's of 20-40?? Sheez... IMO easy money over the coming years. Competition is a slight worry, but the market is growing tremendously there, plus you simply buy the big ones w/ smart acquisition strategies in place... the Chinese YHOO's. Welp, that is all for now... maybe I'll put some money into some SINA LEAPS (long term stock options, or more accurately, "Long-term Equity Anticipation Securities").

Weeds, Wetlands and the great American Lawn Mowing escapade

2004-05-20T07:45:56Z

So the other day I get this notice from the city that I must get rid of the "weeds" in my yard. Yea, it had been a lil while since I mowed the lawn, but I was a little taken back because I thought those "weeds" looked quite cool. I had always wondered why on Earth ppl call some plants "weeds" even though they may have flowers and look absolutely beautiful. What is it with people's asinine attentiveness to turning chaotic, natural, 3D environments into flat, level yards? What I find really funny is that these same governments halt this sort of home development for the sake of wetland protection, yet they demand cutting down the very plants which would grow there. So here I am last night watching TV and walla: the show "California's Gold" visits a home where a biologist and botonist have created their own wetland in their front yard! LOL... it was freakin awesome! They get all sorts of birds, butterflies, frogs, ferns and plants simply finding their own way there... it's crazy. Not only that, but they don't even need to water any of it... no artificial lawn there; it was pure nature at work (minus the plastic lining to keep the water in). OMG I so wanna do the same now! Anyway, I just thought I would share that. LOL.

No Sale

2004-05-14T01:46:38Z

Well, I've decided to keep NF for now. I know I can do better financially elsewhere, but oh well... I love the biz, and it's not gonna keep me from starting new ventures. I already hired red_neck to help out so I still have time for new things. I'm visiting my land in a week so I can determine how much I can get from that. After finally seeing a satelite pic of the property it doesn't appear real thick with trees, but still nice. My understanding is that no trees have been farmed for a LOOONG time... plus it looks like I can get more than I was initially told. A 24" diameter tree is more than 1k board feet of usable timber, and I'm told they are paying $300-400/1k brd ft. So just 1 1/3 24" diameter trees/acre should give me my initial investment back. I'm hoping to get 3-5 trees/acre, then leave the others. I also want to plant new trees if there aren't enough small ones already growing. There is also a lake just west of my property... much closer than I realized. I can't wait to see the whole thing! It may be the perfect place to build a cabin. :) I can subdivide it into (2) 40 acre parcels, add 2 cabins and resell 1 or both of them. I'll find out if it's worth it once I get up there. Regardless of how things go financially, it will be nice to finally take a break from NF. :) I'm so ready... I ordered a GPS unit w/ detailed U.S. topographic data (plus street, entertainment, etc data for car use :) ), timber diameter tape, and a cool lil device that shows you how tall the tree is. I wanted this badass "Laser Vertex Hypsometer", but it costs $2,400. :'( LOL:

But oh well... the GPS includes a handy distance feature (though not the l33t "point a laser and find out far u are from it" as the above has), and my $160 Haglof Electronic Clinometer is more than enough to measure tree height:

Sooo... wanna see the land? =D Here we go (approximately):

Note the lake at the upper left of it. I WISH my land was all like the trees at the bottom left, but ehh... at my price, it doesn't matter. I've already learned a LOT, and now have my eye on quite a few opportunities with trees like that, plus the land should still make me a very good amount. BTW, that pic is 6 years old. Man... I so can't wait to move this along. I have some really nice opportunities in front of me. Pretty soon my system will be perfected. =P

Hybrid Vehicles

2004-03-16T08:59:42Z

Though I hope to goodness this fuel cell car becomes a reality sooner rather than later, are there any really efficient, environmentally friendly cars in the short term pipeline? Toyota Prius seems to be the best now. What about the DaimerChrysler ESX3 (not sure when that's coming out)? 72 MPG, but what about emissions... isn't a diesel engine a big negative, or am I mistaken? Should I buy a Prius now or am I better off waiting (note I hardly drive anywhere at the moment)?

Baby Girl on the way... must figure out a name for her!

2004-03-04T10:51:45Z

OK, so I have until July 20th or so, but if you have any suggestions let's hear them! I'm looking for something unique, preferably something with a meaning along the lines of "earth", "life", etc. Anyways I have 3 different books I'm looking through, and I've already gone through a few Web sites. Some names I'm considering: Zoe, Phaedra, Shira, Chloe

Did I mention I must figure out a middle name too?? O.o Hehe... it's actually quite fun. I can't wait til she's born! Yea, little sleep and all that... but damn... my own daughter! =D

Gay Marriage

2004-03-04T08:31:51Z

I'm outraged... completely bewildered that our nation has failed to move past discrimination. It really blows my fucken mind. How long ago was it that a black man couldn't marry a white woman, yet here today we face the same issues of discrimination. If someone ever told me I couldn't marry my asian wife I would probably give them a black eye. It saddens me, angers me, frustrates me. Why, why, why are the people of this nation so hateful to those who are different? Why can they not accept that some were born to love only those of the same sex? Why can't they accept that one couple's love is no different than another's? All these esoteric, meaningless words such as "pillar of society" that the right uses to support an ammendment outlawing gay marriage. If words were changed people would acknowledge the discrimination: "white people are the pillar of society". But nobody says that these days now do they? Why, because the charge is so absolutely ludicrous and blatantly discriminatory that everyone acknowledges it as such. But when it comes to gay couples the charge is spoken out loud and even engraven in 30+ states as law! It's despicable. There is NO logical argument to make against gay marriage... none whatsoever. "Civil unions"?... how freakin ludicrous. It's like giving black Americans the title "civil people" rather than "citizen". It's like giving women 3/5ths of a vote rather than a full vote. Uggh... how sad and demoralizing this situation is. Very typical of religion... this feeling that they are above others and thus have some right to deny rights to those who are different. THEY are going to heaven; nobody else is. THEY are protected by their god, you are not. I try to be understanding of people who choose to believe in ridiculous supernatural beings, but when they choose routes of hate and routes against science, or when it affects my world in such negative, hateful ways I lose my patience. Bush better do all the praying to his fake god that he can, because he's gonna need it in the coming election. We are one screwed lot if he stays in power. He's already dicked us over exactly as I predicted: 200+ anti-environment rulings, a ballooning $7 trillion debt all for the cause of tax breaks to the wealthy, an unnecessary personal war agenda (again, goes back to unacceptance of those not in Bush's religious feathers), and now he wants to write hate into law. I can't even begin to describe how absolutely outraged I am at this fool of a President and the inept people who voted for this moron. It's astounding.

Bought a Duplex

2004-02-17T09:41:43Z

Amazing what one can find on eBay. I bought a 2,200 sq ft duplex in Buffalo, NY for a whole $11,300. I swear RE is the greatest thing ever. An online investment friend of mine would always tell me how he buys tons of duplexes & homes for like $20-30k and rents for 2-4x his monthly loan payments. I could hardly believe it seeing all these expensive ass homes here in CA, but now I know... it is very, very possible. If this goes well I'm gonna be on one hell of a buying spree. Buy one, fix up a little, rent out via a property management firm (they only charge 10% typically), take out equity loan, buy another, etc... free income, free property. Gotta love it. =D

Oh yea... I also bought a 5 acre lot in 29Palms, CA (2 hours from here) for 7,600... already has water, electricity, phone... now I have a place to develop my first crazy ass circular house. Probably gonna use this technique, but we'll see: http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm Oh, I can build 2 homes on the property, 2.5 acres each, so it's perfect for my plans I think. We shall see.

Fun, Fun Harrassment =\

2003-12-28T20:06:32Z

Lo and Behold I get harrassed by kel's uncle the police chief from Minnesota and his wife. At least now I know what their issue is. They seem to believe that I too have a thing for kel beyond friendship. LMAO. As if my marriage to my wife, my friendship with her boyfriend, my baby on the way, and her being 14 wasn't enough to give them a clue what BS that is. At any rate I can certainly sue for harrassment if they ever tried such a ridiculous lawsuit on me. No doubt the police chief wouldn't be a police chief for much longer. In the meantime I emailed her father that our relationship was purely plutonic, that I wish he had been more polite in addressing his concerns and that I would respect his decision if he still did not want me to speak with her. He responded that he will talk to me about it, and that he just wants me to keep kel out of harm's way because they really care about her. FWIW, I really worry about that girl too and it's because of such that I have been trying to help her. But he's her father and if he feels differently, so be it. The harrassment was quite ridiculous though... he showed me his badge sayin "do you know what this is??" I told him "I really don't give shit". He kept raising his voice at me and sayin how all phone calls are now recorded and that if I ever talked to her again there will be a lawsuit and I WILL lose a LOT of money. LOL... I just told him he needed to lower his voice at me and kept explaining that my relationship with kel was merely that of friendship and that I had actually helped her quite a bit. Yet his wife still went on "how old r u?? you don't think there is something wrong with a 20 yr difference??" I was OMFG... I'm her FRIEND, not her damn lover... I have friendships with MANY kids. LOL. This harrassment needs to stop though... I don't need that extra stress. He should have been MUCH nicer about this shit. I really wonder where they got the idea we had anything beyond friendship though. I have a feeling she said some weird shit to him just as she said about cameron once. One time she told Josh that cameron was trying to feel her up, yet I was right there and that did NOT happen. It was merely her trying to get attention, testing Josh's love and getting him to visit her. If it was her lying then I will certainly stay away from her. So as of now my plan is to keep out of their life. That family has a lot of issues to deal with and if they want to entangle me like that then it isn't worth my efforts to help them.

This must top my list of most ludicrous email I've ever received:

2003-12-26T10:08:15Z

1.) Just for the record Kelsey will not be available to go to Riverside this morning.

2.) Kelsey 13 years old just turned 14 is not of consent to be raped by a 21 year old male. Yes it is Felony Rape of a child what Josh did.

3.) Your encouragement is liable for a civil suit which will be discussed after the new year. Keep on Trucking and posting messages.

Yes, Josh's Dad is a Sergeant in the Fontana Police Force who may help us all. And Kelsey's Uncle who is a Chief of Police will be by NF end of week.

See ya in Riverside

Rich Kelsey's Dad
-------------------------------------------------------------

Amazing. Really, really amazing. The brief story for those who don't know: Kel ran away from home. Another customer & friend of mine (kel's BF) is charged with statutory rape as the detectives search for her and find out the 2 had some sort of sexual engagement. I try frantically to find her... even while the detectives tell me they think I'm lying about some "Nicole" person whose place kel was supposedly staying at and that her parents even then were considering a lawsuit against me for who knows what. Anyway, I was even posting on the NF boards that she needed to go home. Kel finally comes to NetFragz in visible despair, and I take her home. Well, needless to say, that email and past threats really irked me, so I responded with this somewhat lengthy email:

Wow... I dunno where that came from. Uhh... I didn't
even go to Riverside, nor did I plan to take kel,
though she wanted me to. I felt it was inappropriate
considering she is only 14 and didn't have your
permission. I didn't straight out tell her "no", but
it was indeed the plan NOT to take her... and I even
suggested to her that it was inappropriate.

Yes, I understand the law in regards to statutory
rape. I'm sry if you disagree with your daughter's
actions, but I will post my disagreement to that law
as much as I feel. Free speech allows for such. I
know you care for your daughter greatly, but you
should also understand that she cares for Josh quite a
bit too... and Josh cares for her as well. But I
certainly never encouraged them to have sex or
anything.

I'm sorry you feel the need to attack me when I am
about the ONLY person supporting your daughter through
this trying time. That's just incomprehensible to me.
People are blaming your daughter for this and I am
the only person saying that is wrong... yet you want
to come here threatening ME? Wow. What did I do that
makes you feel such a need to threaten me with a civil
lawsuit?? I worked my ass off to find and return your
daughter and here you threaten me. I'm really
confused my that... I really am. I hope you
understand I had NOTHING to do with her leaving home
and I didn't even know about it until after sab
posted. To this day I don't know the truth of where
she actually went. She finally came to NF crying, I
returned her home. So what's your problem with me?
And why on Earth would her uncle come here to talk to
me for? Just because I don't think Josh should be in
jail? Wow... I really am confused there.

"Encouragement" of what? I'm not "encouraging"
anything that I know of? As I've said, I certainly
haven't encouraged them to have sex, and my opinion on
the law is protected by free speech, the cornerstone
of how laws are changed.

You know Rich, I honestly had hoped I would be welcome
in your home as a friend and someone who helped try to
find your daughter. I'm very hurt that you feel the
exact opposite. I really am. :( I thought when the
detectives mentioned you folks threatening lawsuits
against me that it was BS, but now I see it's real...
and I still don't understand WHY. Because I don't
know who "Nicole" is? Because I'm "encouraging"?...
encouraging what? Wow. I'm trying to HELP your
daughter Rich, not hurt her. I know she was raped in
the past, so do you actually think I would want her
hurt more? I worry and care about your daughter
Rich... I would never ever do anything to harm her.
It really ticks me off that you would even suggest
otherwise. I understand this is a trying time for
you, but plz think more before making such absurd
statements to me. I'm not here to hurt your daughter;
I'm here to HELP her, OK? That includes helping her
have a healthy relationship with her family, as I
posted today and soon after she ran away. You should
in fact be thankful for my posts because I'm sure
that's a major reason why she came to NF to return
home. Do you not understand that?? Damn...
unbelievable what you just said to me. I have a kid
on the way myself... you actually think I would want
her leaving you folks? I wouldn't want mine to,
sheez.
---------------------------------

Anyway, I just had to get that out... didn't feel the NF boards were the place to do so, so here I am.... perplexed. =\

Genuine People...

2003-11-25T23:55:28Z

Ya know... I had to post this cause I am sick and tired of all these fake ass people out there that I've been running into lately. I know you feel me here... these nuts out there who tell all these stupid ass lies, regardless of how petty they may seem to other fake ass people... because that's all it is: lies making them look different than who they really are. It's amazing. Lying has evolved into a predominant form of interaction... an effective way of making one *look* better than they really are (unfortunately bad for the evolution of society as a whole). Isn't that just sad?? I mean all these plastic people getting better jobs, GF/BF's, etc all via lying and their plastic little shell of a person. I so love genuine people. You know: the person who is down to Earth, happy about who they are, unfettered by social stigmas & assumptions, and uncaring what other people think about them? I remember a long time ago I met this lady at a car rental place. She was a lot older than me, but she was a veternarian talking about how she goes around saving domestic cats who had been caught up in building demolitions. I dunno what it was... but she was sooo damn genuine and caring. She didn't need to wear a low cut dress and fix herself up like most chicks do. She was herself without all the "image enhancing" accessories. She was down to Earth and cared about others. I was in awe... completely mesmorized. You could just see her honesty and openess... it resonated from her as if from a lighthouse. People like that are few and far between. To all you genuine people: I <3 u man. Don't ever fall into society's trap of plasticity and conformity. Be yourself... Feel, Love, Live.

Robotics + Architecture

2003-11-22T05:35:29Z

At a very young age I imagined owning a company where someone could think up an item, have it drawn out in a program and it would be built automatically via robots, etc. This is most certainly the direction our world is going IMO. Witness this concept being applied to a field I love more than most others: architecture...

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/04/1064988452900.html

All I gotta say is: WOW. I also love the idea presented by Javier Senosiain for organic, modular home sections that could be shipped on a flatbed truck... not your standard mobile home mind you. I wonder about making modular homes via the above system in a factory of sorts, shipping out the pieces the day after they were designed. Hmmm... you really gotta love the future of robotics, and to think this is actually very basic robotics we're talking about (nothing like the new plastic robotics where electricity works with plastics to create artificial muscles). I sure hope that within a couple years I will be moving in this direction. =) I never realized until now that 2 of my favorite fields, architecture and robotics (I've often told myself I would lead the retailing boom for robots), would mend together.

BTW, here's some of Javier's bioarchitecture:

Plans for the Future...

2003-11-19T05:52:18Z

Well, the 100 hour work weeks at NetFragz are too much. I also enjoy change, and so it is that I plan to sell NF and start a new venture. I envision it as 3 different fronts:

10% in Stock & Stock Option Investments. This will be backup capital as well as providing diversity for my ventures. I've always loved the market, but have had little chance to do much lately. This will change that. Strategies include buying LEAPS (long term options) and selling short term options against it, as well as simple stock investments/trades.

50% in Development This will start out with vacation cabins, and work its way up to commercial & residential properties of my own wild imagination... I'm particularly interested in organic architecture and similar styles... things I've thought about for years and years now. But to start, I purchased 80 acres of forest in northern CA on eBay of all places. I've determined that I can make more money than I spent simply by selling about 3 trees/acre doing basic forestry (one must cut some trees here and there so that younger trees get sunlight and the forest can live on). I may very well be buying up a whole lot of forest if this works as planned. LOL. But anyway, after that I intend to build some simple vacation cabins and resell.

40% into a flame broiled chicken teriyaki stand I was so impressed by such a stand that I have to make my own. Intent is to sell 6-18 months down the road. Buy/build a business, then sell... buy/build another business or 2, then sell... that's my intention. Why keep a business and make income over the next couple years when I can sell NOW and make a couple years income NOW, then make a bigger, new company w/ more income NOW? Yea... I'm quite excited by my new pursuits. =)

One may wonder: "doesn't all of this take even MORE time away??" LOL... well... my intent is not to run the food stand business, nor to be building stuff myself. The investments will take whatever time I desire to put into them... doesn't need to take much time at all. I can buy ZBRA, SI, ROK, WM, SNE, ERTS, KNM, TXN, etc and sit back... maybe just sell covered calls against them every few months. We shall see... whatever makes me feel more balanced. I can do as much or as little as I desire really. I'll take it one step at a time and see where it leads me. First step: sell NF. Have a few interested buyers already. We shall see...

Take care all. =)

New to LJ...

2003-11-19T05:21:06Z

New here, but doing a lot of browsing around and trying to figure out where I fit in. Have been greatly disappointed by the investment communities I've seen so far... may need to start a new one. Found an excellent community of "lists" here: monozukushi Still looking for much more, as I can see this becoming an active part of my life. Let me know if you have any suggestions. =) FYI, I have about 30,000 posts online via msg brds, but journaling in this form is new to me. I feel like I'm talking to myself here (unlike on message boards), but oh wellz... I'm sure I'll find my place here soon enough.

A Story...

2003-11-18T09:46:37Z

A learned man once went to a Zen master to inquire about Zen. As the Zen master talked, the learned man frequently interrupted him with remarks like, "Oh yes, we have that too...", etc.
Finally the Zen master stopped talking and began to serve tea to the learned man; however, he kept pouring until the tea cup over flowed.
"Enough, no more can go into the cup!" the learned man interrupted.
"Indeed I see," answered the Zen master. "If you do not first empty your cup, how can you taste my cup of tea?"

On My Own...

2003-11-18T06:28:00Z

In highschool I was surprised when the career counselor called me to her office. I didn't think she even knew who I was, yet she told me she wanted me to go to an entrepreneurial camp. Only 1 person (maybe 2?) could attend from the entire school. I was in shock... this woman knew me pretty well! LOL. Still to this day I don't know why she choose me. Maybe my kick ass scores on academic evaluation tests while maintaining a miserable B- through highscool, as I didn't even try, sorta drew attention? I really don't know. Whatever it was, she was right... I was born to go on my own! And so it was that I started to work on ZenRAD Technology. Well, I soon realized that another business would be better for me initially, so I started NetFragz. And here I am today, still running NF 15 months later. I've enjoyed it tremendously, although the 100 hour weeks are a little nuts. LOL. That's one reason I'm looking to move to the next level. Balance is the key to life and right now my life is overly tilted towards NF. Haven't seen a good Indy films in ages. Seldom have a good meal at a nice Thai or Chinese restaurant. Don't spend enough time at home or on new projects. But more on my plans for change in my next journal entry... take care all.

Into Employment...

2003-11-18T06:23:52Z

So here I was... already had a computer job even while in college. I worked at a company called "Direct List Technology"... a direct mailing list firm. I was doing accounting work initially, as I was a ship's store bookkeeper during my Navy days... something one typically doesn't get until they've been in the Navy for 7+ years, yet I was offered it after just a couple months aboard the USS Mauna Kea. Had to learn it all on my own... ended up revamping all of the books as they were a complete wreck. At any rate, my interest and knowledge in Excel VBA and Visual Basic quickly impressed my boss @ DLT, as it solved many, many problems they had. Although they had a full staff of mainframe programmers, they couldn't figure out how to do particular jobs customers desired. I also automated a multitude of tasks and helped make a product that gave customers a demographic profile of who their customers really were. It was quite a joy. However, I was also into the stock market in a big way. I was a top 10 poster on RagingBull and listed in Online Investor magazine as a top poster there as well. My trades were crazy... wildest ride one could imagine, making or losing hundreds of thousands in a single day. So crazy that in the aftermath of the Net bubble a BusinessWeek article talked about me some. I was in a couple other articles before the crash as well, including one in the Washington Post. As the BW article mentions, I left that job for fulltime trading. When the market crashed I got another Net programming job at a Steel brokerage firm... made some nice business to business (B2B) programs so they could sell online, but the steel industry was crashing fast, and so did the business. I then knew it was time to do what I was born to do: be an entrepreneur.

More on College...

2003-11-18T06:17:54Z

I was done with college... had more than my fill to know it wasn't my thing. I enjoyed my experiences there... esp taking tennis classes over and over again, and the fact I met my wife in a computer architecture class. But it wasn't fulfilling my life quest. Though it works great for most people, I found it to be too slow and filled with useless "fat". Most importantly, I wasn't into studying particular teachers' agendas, though I will admit there were some good teachers w/ open minds... a philosophy teacher at Santa Rosa JC comes to mind (note: I've been to about 6 different colleges). In fact there were many times when I spoke my mind and made the teachers nervous wrecks. LOL. I wish I did speak my mind at a "Philosophy of Art & Beauty" class, which I had been looking forward to for some time due to my interest in the subject. But I was so utterly disappointed at the religion-based teacher that I literally shed tears. I dropped it the following day. How could any *philosophy* teacher be so foolish and tainted... so closed to philosophical thought & scientific inquiry?? That was one of the most disappointing days of my life... esp since the other classes were also flawed. A finance instructor stuck in stringent, old school rules of thumb. I.e. "you must have 6-12 months income saved in the bank"... even though most other investments these days are also very liquid.. and make money in the process. No wonder he was a teacher... he was incapable of thinking outside the box, and would surely fail in the real business world. Then there was a Marxism class... surprise, surprise that all the other students were awed by flawed reasoning and slide-shows of propaganda. It really was quite discouraging how naive some ppl can be. Let's not forget the Feminism class I took with my bisexual best friend... even she agreed the teacher had a total disgust for men. I was also upset how statistics were manipulated in an effort to spread feminist agendas. Mind you, I respect women GREATLY, and in fact appreciate the works of previous Feminist movements. But at this juncture, for someone to argue that women need to make more money, all while encouraging women to major in "Women's Studies"... well, that is quite hypocritical and unproductive IMO. Those women who choose computer science and other high paying careers will get the pay. That's the beauty of Capitalism. There is much more to discuss on this subject, but I'll save it for another day.

The Beginning...

2003-11-18T04:46:14Z

Wind through trees, leaves adrift, river flowing... this is not quite a beginning, but rather a reflection into that river of life... a trip through life's many wonders... reflections on the past, looks at the present, and plans for the future. So many leaves adrift... where to begin my mosaic? A brief synopsis maybe?:

I was raised on a 10 acre farm in Ohio. We had to work hard on that farm. Lots of gardening, animals to take care of, huge yard to upkeep, and house to maintain. TOO much work for me... I prefer to have the joys of modern agriculture feed me for cheap via a trip to the grocery store, or better yet a nice little restaurant. I love the economy & technology... already we have robots capable of vacuuming our floors and mowing our lawns. We have automated cat litter boxes and dish washers. Microwave food... oh what a joy! =P This isn't to say I don't love work. I simply wasn't into farm life. I was ready for adventure.. and so it was that I joined the Navy.

Yep, I was naive back then: actually took those "Navy, It's Not Just a Job, It's an Adventure" ads to heart. Well... I certainly DID get my adventure, traveling the world from Hawaii to Kenya to Australia and through all of Asia. But the strict guidelines and military politics were too much, and more importantly: I was not one to kill another. I am a warrior, but one for positive change via words, not war. I could never kill another. What on Earth was I doing there?? But so I did my time... and thankfully I got to see quite a bit of the world while there.

When I got out I decided to try college. Mind you I had a huge philosophical problem with college. In fact one of my many goals in life has been to create a new type of "college" where memorizing dates, names and the teacher's skewed thinking were not the main course. But with the pressure for a college-backed career, and more importantly my quest for truth, I ventured into 7 years of college. Never got a degree. Went from architecture to business to computer science courses of study... none of them fulfilled my thirst for truth. I quickly discovered that architects would be stuck designing all those boring square buildings based on others' design/thinking. Because of that, I realized that it wasn't an architect I wanted to be, but rather a developer! Yes, it was really the developer who made things happen... he/she was the one who decided what that home or property was going to look like. So I stuck that to the back of my mind, knowing that it was something I couldn't have done anytime soon. Developers require great resource and financing... something I didn't have at the time. And so I tried Finance... I loved investing and figured what the hell... maybe business courses actually teach you something. Well, I wasn't learning anything there. In fact I was extremely disappointed at how terrible the teachers were. I decided the only thing I could learn in college is actual practical knowledge. What better choice than computer science?? Well... the problem was this: the classes were about 5 years behind the times, and one could learn this knowledge via books MUCH more quickly. So that is what I did: dropped college for good and learned programming via books.

So yes... that is my beginning... a rebel arguably WITH a cause? *shrug* Yet long ago I dropped much of my philosophical waxing for practical living. Something I often say: "the meaning of life is simply life itself... LIVE it." That's not to say I stopped philosophizing; it's just that I no longer spend every waking moment doing so. ;) Then again, LiveJournal may just change that. LOL.