2004 February

Democrat Funded By Blogs

Wired News: Blogs Pump Bucks Into Campaigns is an article that takes a look at a new phenomenon, in which Democrats are seeking a new avenue to receive money to win elections. Democratic congressional candidate Ben Chandler’s campaign manager started paying for ads on political blogs that leaned way over to the left, and it turned into a money-machine for them. Chandler didn’t even know what a blog is, until now, saying, “It’s that thing that brings in money.”

Correction, a blog is a site where people get together to read the thoughts of a person or persons. In some cases, a community is created, and people visit often to discuss their thoughts, and hear others’ out. It’s not a thing that brings in money. Political blogs, in most cases, are formed to force their opinion on people and try to convert those that don’t agree with them. Quite similar to the Crusades, when Christians tried to convert many into their religion forcefully.

But, hey, if this it the only way the Democrats can win - by screaming off names of states, starting off every sentence with “Well, I was in the military …” or asking bloggers for money, then so be it. Just know, for every desperate pathetic Democrat, there are 10 better Republicans. ;)

The Mars Rover And The Contact Book

I’ve been reading the book, Contact, by Carl Sagan (you may remember seeing the movie with Jodie Foster in it), and I read this passage that seems eerily familiar. I’ll quote it:

“The joint American-French-Soviet robot roving vehicles on Mars had produced a spectacular wind-fall of color photographs, some — like the Voyager images of the outer solar system around 1980 — soaring beyond their mere scientific purpose and becoming art. The poster featured a landscape photographed on the vast Elysium Plateau. In the foreground was a three-side pyramid, smooth, highly eroded, with an impact crater near its base. It had been produced by millions of years of high-speed sandblasting by the fierce Martian winds, the planetary geologists said. A second rover — assigned to Cydonia, on the other side of Mars, had become mired in a drifting dune, and its controllers in Pasadena had been so far unable to respond to its forlorn cries for help.”

Remarkably similar to what happened not too long ago with the Mars rover, Spirit. Carl Sagan really was ahead of his time. Not surprisingly, the book is immensely better than the movie. The movie was too dumbed down for the masses, and not as enjoyable as the book.

Stepping Down From 3DGPU.com

After over 4 years working at 3DGPU.com, I decided to call it quits. It wasn’t a very easy decision to make, I’ve put a lot of effort into the site, making it grow, become an invaluable stop on the internet for gamers everywhere. I think I took it as far as I could take it, and I’m extremely proud of the site, and the community that is thriving there to this day. NVIDIA has given us a lot of support over the years, and it was really nice. My friend, Brian, who invited me to work on 3DGPU so many years has become a true friend.

There are so many memories the site holds for me, good and bad. I learned a lot, more than I could ever convey in words. The experience has changed me, and made me a better person; whether it be journalism, maintaining professional contacts, learning how large corporations work, and even discovering the dark underbelly of it all.

I left because I couldn’t hold up the responsibilities required to run the site and keep it going. I’ve also developed new interests that has lead my attention elsewhere, which are web design and cooking. I’m at the point in my life where I feel I need to expand my skills, and become a better person, and I’ve tapped all that 3DGPU could give me. I feel the future has a lot in store for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what it is. I’ll still hang around 3DGPU, but merely as one of the many millions of visitors that come to the site, and not an editor/webmaster.

Brussel Sprouts In White Wine

For an in-between of lunch/dinner, I made me some brussel sprouts with green grapes. It was garnished with a light sauce made of white wine, chicken stock, butter, and a dash of Tabasco hot sauce, plus salt and pepper of course. The bitterness of the sprouts combined with the sweetness of the grapes was very interesting in the mouth, and the dryness of the white wine and the butter added a great touch. It was something new I wanted to try, and it turned out to be really good.

It’s simple to prepare and make - cut the roots off the sprouts, then score it with an X on the root base. Boil 1 cup of chicken stock, then reduce to low. Throw in 1 lb. of sprouts for 10 minutes or until tender, then pour in 1 cup of seedless grapes, 2 tbsp. of butter, and a dash of Tabasco hot sauce. Cook for 5 minutes, then spoon out the brussel sprouts and grapes, and let the sauce cook on high until it becomes a light sauce. Spoon over the sprouts and grapes, a dash of salt and cracked fresh peppers, and serve.

Food And Blogs

Over at Relatively Absolute, you’ll find a delicious sounding shrimp and scallop meal, complete with pictures. As most of you that visit here often know, I’m very big on good food, in fact I’ve had a reawakening of life, if you will, as I discover all kinds of techniques for cooking — the philosophies, the joys, the happiness, and so on.

As Paul G over at Relatively Absolute pointed out, a lot of blogs these days seem to be discovering a new fad - that is food, and posting pictures of them. I mean, what makes everyone happy, no matter what? Good food, that is. Molly pointed me out to a fantastic Filipino food blog, The Radical Chef, rich with delectable sounding recipes that I would love to try some day (or weeks.) There’s also The Amateur Gourmet, a hilarious blog with fantastic take on food and recipes. Suffice to say, the internet is a fantastic resource for a budding chef like me, and I intend to take advantage of it.

Triteband.com Redesigned

When my dad married another woman who wasn’t my mother when I was a kid, I discovered I would have 2 new stepbrothers, a stepsister, and a few years down the road, a half-sister. These two stepbrothers, Brandon and Joel, I spent the majority of my childhood with, and we did it all. From sneaking around in the sewers, beating each other up over stupid things, climbing very tall trees, beating each other up some more, and riding our bikes where we weren’t supposed to, there was nothing we didn’t do. Brandon and Joel are also the sons of Billy Powell, the legendary pianoist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. So you know Brandon naturally has some musical genius in him. Joel has gone on to University of Florida to become a doctor (I think) - he’s very smart, and I wish I didn’t pick on him for being so smart when we were kids.

I discovered a little while ago that Brandon is in a rock band, he plays lead guitar, and when I saw his band’s site, I knew they needed some help. Their music is really excellent, and I’d love to see them hit it big time, so I offered to redesign it for them. It was something I did on my spare time, and it isn’t anything fancy, but it’s a big improvement over the original design, and should help bring more exposure to the site and band. Visit Triteband.com to check it out for yourself, especially if you are into the modern rock. Some areas of the site isn’t entirely finished, and there may be a few things missing here and there, but it’s pretty much near complete. The site, of course, is XHTML 1.0 Strict compliant, and uses CSS to conform with web standards.

Texas Style Chili

I’m making a Texas-influenced chili that smells heavenly as it cooks right now. It contains 3 pounds of sirloin chopped into medium-sized chunks, which was seared in a pot, then onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, and chili powder were thrown in. Note the dark Amber Bock beer in this picture. Then cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper was added, as well as 2 large tomatoes diced up. Remember the Amber Bock beer? I poured a whole 12oz. bottle of it in the pot. Then I took some fantastic chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped it up, and threw it in the pot too. This is what it looks like after it cooks for a little while, and this is what it looks like with red and green bell peppers added (they replace kidney beans, which I don’t like.) I can’t wait to try it, the house smells fantastic right now. Once served in a big bowl, freshly chopped up cilantro and green onions will garnish the top.

Oh yes, and the new cutting board, food processor, and knives are all a treat to work with. The cutting board is especially nice, as it’s a lot easier for me to work with vegetables and meat, chopping them up. If you haven’t yet, invest in a nice big wooden cutting board, it really helps a lot (and not one of those cheap plastic or glass ones, either.)