• Ron Paul isn't the only one that thinks our Government is out of control.
• Ron Paul is somehow breaking through the info-barrier in this country and I suspect its an act of God.
• I have never seen an easier way for americans to vote their consience.  These money-bombs are a brilliant and simple way to give your  $ in a way that shows up.  In the past when people would try to raise $ it would trickle in and no energy would come out of it.  With Ron Paul, blowing $100 is worth it, just for the feeling I get that I DID SOMETHING.
• I hope this guy wins and I hope he doesn't - I don't want to see him dead.

I recently sent an email to my senators, Marian Can't-do-well and Pattycake Murray about HR 1955. 

Patty sent a vague response that said nothing - what I expected.

Maria however came across in a pretty pompus manner as far as I am concerned: "We can protect both national security and civil liberties, and there must be oversight of government and anti-terrorism programs to ensure that civil liberties are indeed safeguarded."

This attitude is exactly our problem and here's why:

• National Security is a misnomer and has become a catch phrase for a host of userpations and abuses - who is being secured?  Not the people.  This should be properly named "Government Security" because that's what it ends up being used as.
• Civil Liberties is also a misnomer.  It used to mean the common law liberties we all enjoyed before creating this monster of a union.  What it now means is the long list of civil privilages we all get via licensing.  Think about it - there is almost nothing left a person in this country can do without permission from some government entity - almost nothing!
• Oversight - yah, how can a government oversee itself?  Can I oversee myself?  No.  Someone ELSE has to do the overseeing or its not really any oversight at all.  This is why we had separation of powers worked into our system.  But our government is crossing those boundaries and is becomming monolithic - it can't oversee itself.  We The People are the ones who are supposed to oversee the government and this happens via the grand jury.  But since the patriot act and worse, grand juries are being bypassed.
• What exactly is an anti-terrorism program?  Is it a disarmarment program?  That violates the second ammendment.  Is it a spying program?  That violates the 4th ammendment.  Where does the federal government get jurisdiction over terrorism?  According to the 10th ammendment that is reserved to the states and the people.  The right for the people to keep and bear arms IS the founding father's anti-terrorism program and it's the only way to do this that is consistent with liberty.

The key thing here to notice is that Maria, like so many of our elected dopes, thinks she is there to FIX our problems.  She is only there to represent us and protect us from userpations by the government IAW the constitution she is sworn to uphold.  Her oath of office is so far removed from her thinking she is incabable of acting within the limits she promised to stay in.  We really need to hold these people accountable - and I would recommend trying people that break their oaths of office for treason - but that would put me in big trouble if HR 1955 passes.

Of course, the people themselves think this (that the government is there to fix things) as well and that is our real problem.  That thinking is perpetuated by government education and government influenced media.  A free society takes care of itself by being free and responsible.

Hopefully Ron Paul's campaign will break through this barrier and bring these ideas back to where they belong.   I (and Ron Paul) fear we are dangerously close to a violent revolution because of the host of government userpations and the people being denied remedy in law.

1. Don't buy really cheap interface cards to save just a few bucks.
2. Don't assume that because a company (MOTU) says their drivers will detect non-TI chip firewire cards and warn you at installation time, don't believe it.
3. Don't assume that TI chips may not have the TI logo on them.
4. Don't think that just because something worked the first time, the hardward can't be at fault.
5. Don't assume that support will really read your questions and help you - the info of what firewire card I was using was right there for the techs to see and none of them spotted it.
6. If at first you don't give up, maybe eventually you will succeed!

Well it took me almost a week to get this update out - what a week it has been!

Last Saturday I had my big 5-0 birthday party and it snowed!  So more than half my guests couldn't make it - so I decided to extend it to Sunday as well.

Lots of friends came and I enjoyed catching up and showed off my deck to everyone.  We never had time to play many games - just busy talking.

Wayne came by and helped figure out a workaround for a MIDI and Audio recording issue I was having.  That was sure a great birthday present!

Steve blessed us with some great piano playing - what an awesome dude he is!  I would attach an mp3 I have of his stuff but that doesn't seem to be possible without first publishing it to the web and linking to it here.

Sunday the rains came and took away the snow, but the real excitement was about to begin on my actual birthday - Monday.

Monday I took the kids to school and on the way home got stuck on an exit that was flooded.  What a mess!  It took me an hour to get home from that exit!

When I got home, I got a call - my wife's dad had a stroke!  When I told her she started packing and was on a flight to CA to see him.

So I had to pick up the kids.  When attempting to get to the school I hit this:

Yes!  This was downtown Woodinville that day!  I couldn't get onto the highway via either Woodinville exit so I went up to Costco and tried that entrance.  I got to the entrance but when I did I saw that the highway wasn't going anywhere so I decided to go back home and check in with my wife and make some calls.  (I never seem to take my cell phone when I should!)

Jonathan decided to walk home.  He wouldn't have made it had there not been a guy with a canoe to shuttle him across the highway! 

Becky ended up staying at a friends house nearer the school.

My wife is still in CA and her father isn't doing too good.  I am learning to be Mr. Mom.

This weekend was Becky's 15th birthday and it went well.  About 12 girls came over and stayed overnight - they got to bed about 6 AM! 

So things have finally slowed down enough to get this in.

Catch ya later dudes.