Jay

Linkin Park - With You.mp3 by Linkin Park

Jay — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:39:52 -0000

Shaky Economy Hits Home; and School.

Jay — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:32:02 -0000

Shaky Economy Hits Home, and School
By Jason Evans

This year, we will all walk further to catch the school bus. We will all have to put up with text books that are often times already in despair and outdated. And although in a positive note to some, we may also have to put up with shorter school weeks.

In rural Minnesota, one district is cutting Mondays from it's schedule to save on fuel. On Tuesday through Friday, classes will be 10 minutes longer.

"I think it's a great opportunity," says Candice Jaenisch, whose daughter and two sons attends the school district. "You're cutting expenses that really don't affect school."

The other choice? Cut extra curricular activities, such as sports.

A shorter week will save the school district $65,000 in fuel costs.

Due to the demands and change in schedule, kids will have to stay more focused and alert during slightly longer classes. Some parents will need to find daycare services on Mondays. But definitely worst of all, school schedules will be bumped, and the curriculum will most likely have to be squeezed into a 4/5ths school year.

Yet in the meantime, the United States continues to aid other countries with their health problems, Americans are still left without healthcare, and the military remains in Iraq.

I'll laugh the day the military has to hold bake sales to raise money.

Obama and Racism?

Jay — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:52:14 -0000

Is Obama Dealing with "Racism"?
By Jason Evans

I've been hearing it throughout Obama's Presidential Campaign. Obama warned of being criticized because of his black heritage. From polls on AOL asking if Obama's behind McCain because of "the race factor" and if Obama should pick a "white male" for Vice President, to Obama's warnings, everyone seems intent on blaming Obama's relatively small gap in national polls due to his race.

Only recently however have I really heard the ridiculous accusations; maybe Obama's campaign has become slightly angry about the recent turn of results. However, I seriously doubt Obama is being up handed because of his race. Americans simply don't come hand in hand with some of Obama's plans, such as off-shore drilling. And for that matter, I believe this will be one of the least "subjective" of elections due to race or party; Americans are tired of the bickering and political hen pecking that's gone on for the past few terms. Regardless of race or party, I believe people are looking for the choice that will best lead the nation. I believe that Obama would best try to "unite" the nation, McCain would be best to "lead" the nation. However, that's just my opinion.

The Big Three; To Reluctantly Admit

Jay — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:49:41 -0000

The Big Three; To Reluctantly Admit
By Jason Evans

Ford, Chrysler and GM's quarterly earnings (or, in this case losses) have recently been posted, and are as following:

Ford posted an 8.7 billion dollar loss in the second quarter of 2008, as opposed to a profit of 750 million dollars last year.

Chrysler posted a 515 million dollar loss in the second quarter of 2008, and are on track to loose more than the 1.6 billion dollars it lost last year.

GM posted an astonishing 15.5 billion dollar loss> loss in the second quarter of 2008. To break it down, GM spent 3.3 billion dollars on employee buyouts, 1.1 billion went to retooling and restructuring North American plants and another 1.3 billion due to losses at it's GMACS operations, of which it owns 49%. Bankruptcy restructuring proceeds to Delphi cost GM another 2.8 billion dollars. Strikes at GM's North American plants cost the automaker 197 million dollars, and payments to Canada's Auto Workers Union cost the automaker another 340 million dollars. The fore mentioned details only 9.1 billion dollars in losses out of 15.5.

So, what's the problem with the Big Three? Why are they struggling so hard to even break even, let alone turn a profit? The answer is not only complex, but somewhat irrational as well. I'd like to go over a few things.

Most everybody attributes the Big Three's huge losses to low quality, inefficient vehicles, and abandoning the compact market. Ask nearly any hybrid or small vehicle owner and they will tell you that the Big Three just don't produce fuel efficient vehicles. But that my friends, is true b.s., a figment of your imaginations.

I'll give you an example. Currently there are now quite a few hybrids out there to choose from, and every auto maker has some sort of development program dedicated to the research and production of hybrid vehicles. But did you know the Toyota Prius isn't actually the greenest vehicle out there?

The greenest vehicle currently out there would be... an SUV! Pull up in one of these, and despite the hybrid badges and gear on the vehicle, people will still think your "polluting the planet". The SUV in question is the Ford Escape Hybrid, which returns approximately 50-75% better fuel efficiency than it's petrol cousin, and extremely low emissions that qualify for SULEV.

As well as this, Toyota, Nissan and other major Japanese auto manufacturers are just as "guilty" as the Big Three.

To be continued, writing still in progress.

Hitman- Blood Money Review

Jay — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:27:08 -0000

Hitman- Blood Money
Jason Evans

Hitman: Blood Money just recently came out about a month ago in stores, and my brother bought a copy through Ebay last week. It sounded really cool, and at first it was pretty cool, but the games very flawed and agitating to the point where it's disgusting. So, here I go at a quick review.

HBM is different from other Hitman games because the game for the most part takes place in civilian areas. A former FBI agent tells the story of Agent 47, a hired assassin involved in numerous murders, and the protagonist in the game. Graphics are some of the best I've experienced, animations are extremely real, and the in sequence movies are great with both detail and story. For that matter, the story line of the game is great as well.

After playing for a while, I forgot about all of that.

First of all, memory. Unless you have a few PS2 memory chips, memories going to be a big problem, as it takes up 1/3 of a memory chips capacity. It was a problem for me because when I had first bought the memory card, prices were ridiculous. Most other PS2 games only use up about a twelfth as much memory as HBM, so you may end up taking a half hour figuring out which files to delete.

Secondly, overall game play. The game isn't necessarily hard, but after the first mission which a narrator guides you through much of it, your on your own. You can "purchase" "hints" in the game, but they turn out to mean very little. After that first mission, your left without any guidance aside from the fore mentioned hints, and "exclamation" marks on the map which are supposed to mean an important area or item; ignore them as well.

So I was left at the front gate of a Hacienda/Wine vineyard, with no clue what to do. After fiddling around for a half hour, I go on the internet to look up a walk through, I find there are numerous different ways to win the mission, but all of them have some sort of compromise that the point of the mission is to avoid; kill a guard, be seen, etc.. And none of them even mention any of the hints that I had "purchased" before. I find that you have to get the timing nearly perfect, and you'd only know how to do that by dying three or four times in the game, so that the tour that your supposed to follow happens to end at the moment your target walks through a secret door. Otherwise, you'll be seen. Otherwise, your target won't show up on the map.

Lastly, computer AI's. They aren't hard either, but you can't kill them with your standard weapons quietly unless you sneak up on them. Meaning if you get into a confrontation, you must shoot them, or pull the shotgun away from them and THEN shoot them. I can nearly guarantee this will result in alarms being set off, you being chased down and killed... and if you haven't been chased down and killed, you must restart, as even if you resuit in the clothes of another person, you still are found if anybody sees you.

It's not that it's a great game, it's simply the lack of guidance in the game that agitates me. I would seriously wait till the sequel comes out, however if it turns out to be similar to the current game, I may rethink a new purchase.

The Revolution; A Manifesto, by Ron Paul

Jay — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:15:21 -0000

Ron Paul's newly released book, "The Revolution; A Manifesto" has just been released on Amazon and in stores.

This Much Is True: You Have Been Lied To.

* The government is expanding.
* Taxes are increasing.
* More senseless wars are being planned.
* Inflation is ballooning.
* Our basic freedoms are disappearing.

The Founding Fathers didn't want any of this. In fact, they said so quite clearly in the Constitution of the United States of America. Unfortunately, that beautiful, ingenious, and revolutionary document is being ignored more and more in Washington. If we are to enjoy peace, freedom, and prosperity once again, we absolutely must return to the principles upon which America was founded. But finally, there is hope . . .

In THE REVOLUTION,Texas congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul has exposed the core truths behind everything threatening America, from the real reasons behind the collapse of the dollar and the looming financial crisis, to terrorism and the loss of our precious civil liberties. In this book, Ron Paul provides answers to questions that few even dare to ask.

Despite a media blackout, this septuagenarian physician-turned-congressman sparked a movement that has attracted a legion of young, dedicated, enthusiastic supporters . . . a phenomenon that has amazed veteran political observers and made more than one political rival envious. Candidates across America are already running as "Ron Paul Republicans."

"Dr. Paul cured my apathy," says a popular campaign sign. THE REVOLUTION may cure yours as well.

Exert taking from Editorial review.

The book so far has been placed as the NY Times Bestseller, is the number one book for non-fiction on Amazon.com, and overall number eight in terms of overall sales, despite being out for a matter of days. It goes over big government, big politics and, in the overall neglected picture, big spending.

The reason Ron Paul supporters support him... non Ron Paul supporters, the reason you should have.

Gasoline Prices Soar; Part One

Jay — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:53:11 -0000

Today, my local gasoline retailer posted a number that last year I thought would never happen; nearly $3.75. A family discussion later, and I decided to write a few posts on it.

This post is based on something my Presidential Candidate, Republican Ron Paul wrote about a Free Market for gasoline. I credit all following material, not in bold, organized by Ron Paul and the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign. Please credit people when credit are due.

"Many Americans understandably are upset with the sharp spike in gas prices since Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast in August, and are concerned by reports of oil company profits. But we must understand that high oil prices are not the result of an unregulated free market. On the contrary, the oil industry is among the most regulated and most subsidized of U.S. industries. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether too much government involvement in the oil markets, rather than too little regulation, has kept the supply of refined gasoline artificially low.

Consider Marathon Oil, which operates a refinery in Texas City. Marathon recently announced the construction of new refinery that will bring several hundred thousand barrels of oil online every day- which is exactly what the nation needs. But building a new refinery is a daunting task that requires billions of dollars in capital investment. The process of obtaining federal permits alone can take several years. As a result, we won’t see a drop of refined gasoline from the new Marathon facility until 2009.

Federal subsidies and regulations are largely responsible for limiting the supply of refined gasoline in this country. The demand for gasoline has risen dramatically in America due to population growth in recent decades, but virtually no new refining capacity has been added. Basic economics tells us that rising demand and a fixed supply will lead to higher prices. No amount of congressional grandstanding about price gouging will change this economic reality. We must increase domestic exploration, drilling, and refining if we hope to maintain reasonable gas prices. We need more competition, which means we need less government.

Most Americans agree that the American economy should not be dependent upon Middle East oil. Economist George Reisman, however, explains that our own domestic regulations make us slaves to OPEC: “Today, it is possible once again to bring about a dramatic fall in the price of oil- indeed, one even larger than occurred in the 1980s. And it could begin right away. All that is necessary is to abolish the U.S. government’s restrictions on domestic energy production inspired by the environmentalist movement.”

Reisman also explains how abolishing restrictions on coal production, natural gas production, and nuclear power would further reduce the OPEC stranglehold. By increasing the supply of these other energy sources, demand for oil would decrease and prices would drop.

Note that much of the support for unrealistic environmental regulations comes from northeastern politicians and media, who weren’t nearly as interested in oil fortunes when the business hit rock bottom in the 1980s. Texas and the gulf coast have always been willing to supply the nation’s energy, and it’s a bit disingenuous to hear criticism from those who are happy to use oil but don’t want refineries in their backyards.

Oil is critical, but it is not a magic commodity that somehow is immune from the laws of economics. In fact, it is precisely because oil is so critical to our economy that we must allow the free market to deliver it. Absent government interference in the oil markets, gas prices would rise or fall according to concrete realities affecting supply and demand. High prices would encourage conservation better than any environmental regulations. Entrepreneurs would race to develop viable alternate fuels if gas prices rose too much.

Centralized government planning, on the other hand, cannot solve our energy dilemmas. The Nixon-era price controls on gasoline in the 1970s produced nothing but disastrous shortages. By contrast, the Reagan administration’s immediate deregulation of the oil industry resulted in an unprecedented boom in oil production and a dramatic reduction in prices. This is the lesson we must remember.

What can Congress do to provide Americans with some relief at the pump? First it can suspend federal gas taxes, which would save consumers nearly 20 cents per gallon. In the long term, Congress must pass legislation like HR 4004, which I introduced earlier this month. HR 4004 takes a comprehensive approach by allowing offshore drilling, eliminating regulations that restrict refining, and suspending harmful tax rules that discourage domestic oil production. If we hope to have a stable, affordable supply of gas, we must allow the free market to operate."

-Ron Paul, October of 2005

I Miss You by Blink 182

Jay — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:41:19 -0000

UAW Strikes Create More Woes at General Motors

Jay — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 02:30:49 -0000

GM continues to face another year of Union woes, that have facilitated a new face for blue collar workers in both Canada and North America.

Over the last few months of 2007 and 2008, General Motors has been forced to shut down over 30 plants across the country, including seven light duty truck plants and one passenger car plant, due to a strike at American Axel, a provider of production and parts.

Chrysler too has been affected by suppliers and unions. Recently, Chrysler had a legal run in with Plastech, who hasn't been supplying Chrysler with parts (or correct parts), and signed for chapter 11 bankruptcy February 1st. Strangely enough, this was only a few days before Chrysler announced that it would like to move it's parts making machines, which are contracted to Plastech, from the facility and possibly denounce it's contract.

Redefine Transportation

Jay — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:43:10 -0000

Recently, talk about the world's cheapest car arose in the laps of many car enthusiasts, as they read about a foreign investment thousands of miles away in India by way of the Tata Nano

The Tata Nano isn't specifically a new concept. Ratan Tata, multi-billion dollar investor and head of India's largest multi-conglomerate group, Tata, has spoken of such cars for about 10 years now. In the 1990's, Ratan's passion was to create a "one lakh" (one lakh equals about $2,500) vehicle that would revolutionize the automotive industry in India. However, Ratan Tata is not to fond of his automotive creation.

"There is not a lot of innovation (in the car)," he says. "We didn't reinvent the business."

However, the Tata Nano has been much talked about as part of a revolution for automobiles in the 21st century. Cheaper, lighter, simpler, and more environmentally responsible.

The Tata Nano uses a small 33 horsepower, 35 ft-ib torque opposed (Boxer) two cylinder, with multi point fuel injection. The engine is located in the rear, to make the most of interior space, and has a top speed of approximately 50 miles per hour. Despite this being such a small engine and inexpensive car, there have been 34 new patents for the car... just on the engine. The vehicle returns about 52 miles per gallon city, and 62 highway, better than your local Prius.

Despite this, the Tata Nano will have some hefty competition, and even cheaper, more environmentally conscious ones at that.

Enter the Tara Tiny. It's a relatively less heard of vehicle than the Tata Nano, small development team and small production equals small costs. But it promises to be even cheaper than the Tata Nano, and to put out zero emissions. That's right, no emissions at all, aside from the electrical outlet. It's a four door, tiny vehicle with an electric motor, a top speed of 43 miles per hour with a range of about 62 miles, and costs just slightly below the Tata Nano (overall, the cost is a fraction of a dollar less; 99,000 rupees for the Tara Tiny versus 100,000 rupees for the Tata Nano).

The Maruti 800 is currently one of the cheapest vehicles in India, and one of the quickest selling, but that may not last long. It's a rebadged version of the Suzuki Alto... the same one that was sold in 1984. It weighs about 1500 pounds, has a 34 horsepower engine and has just three cylinders. But a recent problem has arisen; despite the cost of the Maruti 800 not being much higher in terms of our thinking, it's resale is still higher than the base price of the Tata Nano. Sales have slipped because of this automotive jolt being expressed from the Nano, and many people would rather consider a new Tata Nano than the cramped, twenty year old Maruti 800. Because of this, Suzuki and Maruti have talked about lowering the base price of the Maruti 800, to better compete with the Tata Nano.

What will come from this? More and more people will have the experience of owning an automobile, industrial production will grow and new technologies may come out of it. Vehicles like the Tara Tiny show that it is possible to build a cheap, economical vehicle that will not effect the small power grid that India has, despite large auto manufacturers in the wealthiest of countries complaining about one of the worlds largest power grids possibly becoming overloaded with electric vehicles, but will India become hooked on oil?