Entries from March 2007 ↓

Here I sit in the Long Beach Airport, waiting for my flight to Salt Lake City. For those of you not in the know, I am going to Utah to participate in the last ever Rocky Point Haunted House Fright Nights this weekend, March 30th and 31st. So basically I’m taking advantage of the free wireless access here at the airport to blog about my upcoming trip.

OK, just as I was typing that last paragraph, the airport operator paged “Elian Gonzales” to the ticket counter for an “important message.” Now that’s funny.

Rocky Point Haunted House (RPHH) has been in business for 27 years. It’s run by a lady named Cydney Neil. The way I heard about RPHH is that she did a Q&A session at Haunt-X in February. After hearing her ideas and understanding her keen business sense, I decided that I had to go visit RPHH before it closed.

So yeah, a haunted house in the Spring? Indeed. They have been opening during Spring break for a few years now, which I personally think is really cool.

And what of these “Fright Nights” I speak of? Right. RPHH Fright Nights are a special event reserved for 50 lucky guests to come and have dinner in the haunt, followed by a panel discussion and a full night’s pass for the haunt. The next day, there is a full backstage walk-through with Cydney and some of her crew. She allows her guests to take unlimited pictures, and will answer whatever questions about how they do things.

Needless to say, I am extremely excited for this trip. I live for Halloween, and to get to see the inner workings of a truly profitable haunted house that is someone’s full time business is enormously exciting for me. I’ll be updating my blog hopefully on at least a daily basis with stories and pictures, so stay tuned to follow my exciting trip this week!

Good work, Massachusetts. As reported on Engadget, Massachusetts has chosen rival e-voting machine provider AutoMARK over Diebold and has given the rival the $9 million contract that Diebold expected to win.

In the same article, Engadget also reports that Diebold is seeking an injunction against the use of the new voting machines for no specific reason. Talk about sour grapes.

Maybe if Diebold had proven themselves as a reliable company, instead of one that throws elections on a regular basis, they would have won the contract. In fact, I think it’s embarrassing that after the scandal every single state and county with Diebold machines didn’t demand a refund. Diebold should suffer the same consequences in the world of voting that Pete Rose suffered in the world of baseball. So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night. And fuck off while you’re at it.

Knowing what I know now, I won’t even use a Diebold ATM. Not only are they the shitty kind of ATM where you have to re-insert your card and PIN for every single transaction, but if I can’t trust them with my vote, can I really trust them with my money? I say nay.

This post is brought to you by Blogitive.com and Vacations.net.

I just received a web release from Blogitive that is near and deaqr to my heart, and is especially timely. You see, next week I’m going on an all inclusive mexico vacation to Cabo San Lucas, and I couldn’t be more excited.

To say the least, I am more than happy to tell my loyal readers about all inclusive Mexican vacations. Vacations.com has just launched a brand new website featuring up to 50% off all incusive vacation packages. This new website features a customized booking engine and intuitive functionality that sets it above its competitors. The new booking engine is usable, flexible, and can help you find a great discount on whatever all inclusive vacation you are looking for.

The prospect of getting a discount on an all inclusive package is awesome, especially considering that they are normally such a great deal anyway. Free food, free booze, and free fun at a discount price – does it get any better? And it’s getting to be that time of year too. The winter chill is slowly disappearing, and the first days of Spring are bringing with them sun and warmer temperatures. Sounds to me like it’s time to book a beach vacation right now.

Besides all-inclusive trips to Mexico, Vacations.net also specializes in trips to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

There seems to be this notion here in the US that once you are victimized you should always play the victim. As soon as a victim sells their story to Hollywood or a publisher or gets any benefit from a bad hand that was dealt them, all of a sudden they are no longer the victim. Somehow in the process they start being perceived as the selfish, money grubbing non-victim.

This completely plays into the maniulation of the American Public using the events of 9/11/01. No matter what you believe or don’t believe about the “official story” or the “conspiracy theory,” you have to admit that those events have been used to do some pretty messed up shit to the American Public. Suspending habeas corpus, passing the USA-PATRIOT act, invading Iraq, and the future implementation of the RealID, ALL without any real questioning or uproar from the American Public would not have been possible if we had not been lulled into remaining victims.

I’m no Psychology expert, but it’s my opinion (and I’m sure it can be proven too) that victims in a victimized state are much more easily manipulated and victimized again than victims who work through the bad feelings and make the best of it. Since we, the American Public, have been largely kept in this victimized state because of the constant fear that we are sold by the mainstream media and our government, we are easily manipulated into thinking that some of the most stupid ass ideas get by us without even a peep.

My suggestion, if we really want to save this country, is that we need to fight the fear and get out of this shitty victimized mental state. We can do it, I’m sure that we can, but it’s going to take a concerted effort on the part of all Americans to get into that extremely uncomfortable zone and gather the courage to stop being victims of terrorism and start being proactive citizens.

I just found a great site for you folks interested in money management and financial topics. It’s called “The Thrifty Scot” and covers all sorts of great financial topics.

For example, if you have questions about Debt Management or how to handle your Credit Cards, there’s a section called “Credit Card Basics” that can provide you with all the info you need to get a good deal on a card. In addition, there are tons of links to quality credit card companies, so you can apply directly online.

If your credit is kind of funky and you want some cash out of your house, you’ll probably benefit from The Thrifty Scot’s section on Bad Credit Remortgages. The section has everything from tips on getting cash back on a remortgage to ideas about selling your house.

All in all, if you need information on anything financial whether it be credit cards, Loans, mortgages, or anything else, The Thrifty Scot is your man.

In an attempt to make the most of a sucky situation, Valerie Plame has posed for Vanity Fair, gotten a book deal, and is selling her story to Hollywood. Most rational people would applaud her for turning her severe backstab into a revenue stream. I would even argue that most people would do the same given the situation.

As reported by Bill Maher in a Huffington Post blog entry (thanks Bev!) though, some folks on the right are condemning Plame for her efforts to profit from being screwed. Bill Maher makes the point in his blog that “just because she’s bounced back doesn’t mean she wasn’t victimized.”

Maher’s statement is so true. Just because Plame has made the best of a really bad situation doesn’t mean that it still doesn’t hurt, and it doesn’t mean that what was done to her was right by any means. All that her making the best of her situation means is that she is strong enough to get past it and make the most of what has been given to her.

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Blogitive.com and monex.com.

Have you ever considered investing in silver or precious metals? If you haven’t, you might want to start thinking about it. What might be surprising to you is that silver has maintained its value over time. As much as it seems like products have become more expensive, in reality a gallon of gas could be bought for the same price in silver today that it could have back when it was just $.25 a gallon. The price of silver really has kept up with inflation, and the value of the US Dollar has gone down. WAY down.

Unlike stocks, silver and other precious metals are tangible assets. Many investment consultants suggest hedging your investments with 10-20% tangible assets, so besides maintaing its value, silver is a great way to diversift your portfolio.

Silver is a great way to bring some financial security into a world of questionable politics and an unpredictable stock market. Since 1967, Monex has sold thousands of investors billions of dollars of precious metals. This many years later these investors are still very happy with their investment, and with their coin dealer.

I have some good news regarding my last post. The Texas House on March 13th voted 119-21 in favor of nullifying Governor Rick Perry’s executive order mandating HPV vaccinations for sixth grade girls. Excellent work, Texas! (Wow, never thought I’d say those words together in a sentence).

Awesome.

Maybe it’s just my incessant following of the Nine Inch Nails alternate reality game leading up to the release of the new Year Zero album. Actually I think it’s a fear that has been with me for a long time, but only recently has it really manifested as a real fear.

If you watch any television at all, I’m sure you have seen those new Gardacil commercials. If not, I’ll fill you in. Gardacil is Merck Pharmaceuticals’ new Human Pappilloma Virus vaccine. In case that doesn’t mean anything to you, HPV has been identified as an alleged cause of cervical cancer, and is a sexually transmitted disease. That’s what they’re telling us anyway (at the risk of sounding paranoid).

Merck Pharmaceuticals has been going around to a number of different states, and suggesting mandatory innoculations using Gardacil for all young girls. There is currently legislation in California, Assembly Bill 16 proposed by California Assembly Member Ed Hernandez (D) that would require all girls to have the vaccination before entering 7th grade.

On the surface this sounds great, right? Let’s stop cervical cancer, or at least prevent as many cases as possible. Underneath however, it seems more sinister. To me, at least.

How many girls enter seventh grade every year in California? I’m not sure, but it’s a hell of a lot. And I’m not sure exactly what a shot of Gardacil costs, but I’m willing to bet that even if you could have just a nickel for every girl who enters seventh grade every year, you’d be pretty goddamned happy. I’d be willing to bet that Merck stands to make a hell of a profit.

Second, Gardacil has only been tested on 1,121 girls between nine and fifteen. So you’re saying that we should inject our children with a cancer causing virus (because that’s what Gardacil is)? Every single one of our girls? Even if it’s just a little bit, we’re exposing our kids to a cancer causing virus. What’s that you say? You can’t just inject cancer? Well think again, because if you think there’s no such thing as an injectable cancer maybe you should talk to Mae Brussel or Alexander Litvinenko.

And there is legislation like this pending in other states too. Keep an eye on those shady fuckers at Merck, and keep them in check like the fine folks at the Pro Family Law Center. Jesus Christ, I’m actually on the same side of the battle as a heavily Christian biased law firm? This fucking country really is coming apart when I’m on the same side as the Christians. Damn.

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Blogitive.com and Sailvi.com.

It’s that time of year where the weather starts getting warmer, and thoughts of springtime vacations start dancing in ones head. What better way to celebrate the spring than with a st thomas catamaran sailing vacation?

Scubadu can hook you up with an incredidle St. Thomas vacation including everything from sailing and scuba diving to relaxing on the beach. Scubadu is a luxury catamaran that specializes in trips in the US and British Virgin Islands. Scubadu features a tastefully appointed interior with wood finish and leather upholstery and two full bathrooms with showers.

The cost of your vacation includes a licensed captain, chef/1st mate, gourmet food, open bar, snorkel gear, kayak, swim mats, towels and fresh water showers. Sounds pretty good to me. If that’s not enough for you, Scubadu also offers sunset and dinner cruises as well as long term charters.

So what are you waiting for? Oh, maybe it’s that I forgot to mention that one of the best features of this catamaran is its full bar with beer, wine, soft drinks, and cocktails. Now are you sold? Stop reading and go book your vacation!