China Manipulates it's Currency to Hurt Our Economy.

     For years China has been hurting our economy by manipulating it's own currency.  By doing so, it keeps it's labor costs lower and gives it an unfair advantage in the world market.  The price for doing this is not only against the U.S. but the world too.  Plus, it keeps a large amount of it's own people at poverty levels.  But,  to be fair, everyone else does it as well, or at least to some extent.  China though, is doing it so much that it is costing American's billions of dollars and loss of jobs.  It has gotten so bad that the U.S. government is trying to pass new trade laws against China.  The problem with that is, that it might start a trade war, that ends up costing Americans even more in the terms of jobs and money lost.  My hope is that our Senate can figure out a way to counter this bu,t it will most likely take more governments across the world to step up and put a united front up.

Nacho vs. the spider.

So, at the time, Nacho was my household's resident BA (badass).  He could kick the crap out of any cat or dog unfortunate enough to cross his path.  He is even a decorated war hero...he fought in the Great Vulcan Wars of the early 21st century (other story to be told).  So it's late at night and I am coming home from a night out on the town and am approaching my front door.  As I am fumbling around for my keys I noticed a rather large and hairy wolf spider sitting by my door.  I am not a big fan of spiders and am wondering if I can open the door run in and then close it quick enough to avoid dealing with it inside.  I am fast but not as fast as, Speedy Gonzales, and the wolf spider was.  So, now I have one of the biggest wolf spiders I have ever seen, in the middle of my living room.  In comes Nacho the resident BA.  He takes one look at it and then enters ninja stalker attack mode.  I am thinking this thing is gonna die and become a kitty snack.  Nacho lunges at "wolfie", yes it now has been named, and then steps back...WTF?  This wolf spider is not backing off and has reared back on it's hind legs and is swatting back.  I am not sure what it thinks it can accomplish by doing this, I mean...this is the great and almighty Nacho it's up against.  Never the less, it's fighting back and my cat doesn't know what to do...this has never happened before.  Whats this?  Nacho is backing away from it.   I am in a bit of bewilderment as I watch this spider fight off Nacho and then the BA run away!  WTF!  Now I am faced with a  spider that just beat my cat and is now staring me down with all 8 eyes.  Hmmm....I begin looking for a large book or something to give me the upper hand in this battle when it makes a tactical retreat under some shelves.  I moved a few things around looking for this beast of a spider and it's nowhere to be found!  I did not sleep well knowing that I could have at any moment been ninja attacked by this huge spider...I never did find it and never did let Nacho forget that he lost to a spider.

The saga of Nacho part 2.

     Last time we left Nacho jumping out of a 2nd story window.  This post will be about, what a great alarm clock he made.  At this time I had been working the same hours for a couple of years now and getting up at the same time each morning.  Nacho my cat had a habit of curling up on top of me at night while I slept.  One morning the power had gone off long enough to reset my alarm clock.  Some how he noticed that not all was right in his world and he began to meow, loudly I might add, and in an almost question like way.  Perhaps it was cat for, "Hey dummy, wake up!  Oh and don't forget my fresh water."  From that day on, he would wake me up each and every morning.  Oh, and believe it or not, he learned that weekends were for sleeping in.  This continued for several years, until one night something bad happened.
     I had a slight tummy ache and in my great wisdom chosen to eat a pepperoni pizza and then wash it down with a large glass of OJ.  Not the best combo I know, but in my defense it was the only thing I had in the fridge to drink.  I retired early that night in hopes of being able to sleep it off.  I awakened suddenly with a violent urge to empty my stomach contents.  An urge I answered and had no control over, unfortunately for my cat, who had chosen to fall asleep on my chest that night.  My sudden movement awakened Nacho just in time for him to open his eyes and get a face full of what once had been in my tummy.  I can't imagine what he must have felt like at that moment, but from the look of horror and disgust on his face....I bet it was not good.  Now, there I am, with a cat completely covered in puke and feeling like crap.  To add insult to injury, I had to clean him off and the only thing I could think of at that moment was the shower.  Now most cats hate water, Nacho really really hated to get wet.  I had never seen him so pissed off before.
     The following day I had gotten over the stomach issue and set my clock to go off in the morning like usual and went to bed.  I awoke not to my cat nor my alarm clock going off, but to the sun shining in my window.  Crap!  I had over slept.  Looking around trying to figure out what went wrong, my cat is nowhere to be seen and what do I find?  My clock not only laying on the floor, but also unplugged!  I swear that Nacho had to have knocked it off my headboard on purpose!  Also, from that day on, he never slept on my chest and never again woke me up in the morning.  Moral of the story....don't puke on your cat.

The amazing life of my cat Nacho...1993 to 2011

Now, I must first state that all the stories about my cat are true...just some are more "truer" than others...

My friend of 18 years passed away in my arms, at 5:22 P.M. on Tuesday the 4th day of October, 2011.  It was a sad day in my life, but I am not here to talk so much about his death, as I am about his amazing life.  So, I shall begin at none other than the beginning...

Nacho came to us when he was but a tiny kitten sometime in the spring of 1993.  The odd thing about that is, who brought him.  Sammy, our older and somewhat cranky tom cat.  Now you must understand, Sammy hated other cats and dogs, hell he hated most people too, haha.  Even though he had a few years on him, he was still a bad-ass and other animals around the neighborhood knew it.   He was a one or two person cat at best.  I was one of the gifted few he liked, and it showed by how he would let me hold him and pet him far longer than anyone else!  Know imagine my surprise when it's feeding time and I call for Sammy, and along comes the kitty in all his greatness...and low and behold, and tiny little ball of fur comes waddle alongside him!  What's this I say, did he bring his own snack?  A desert perhaps?  Maybe he didn't notice, and just overlooked this insignificant tiny little creature of orange and white fur.  To even further my surprise, was that he brought him not only up to his feeding dish, but allowed him to eat first!  This was one, of many times, Nacho was able to win over even the most stubborn  of hearts.  Nacho +1 World 0.

Next up was my father, he wanted nothing to do with yet another animal to feed when he had so many other mouths to worry about.  There were 7 of us kids, plus mom and dad.  Oh, and lets not forget the cat and a dog as well.  Now my father forbade us to fed him, but being the child I was often didn't quiet listen, as well as, I should haha.  My younger sisters were yelled at countless times as well, "stop feeding that cat!".  Now I am not quiet sure what finally did it for my dad...was it Nacho's cute fuzzy little face, or the fact that every other cat wanted him dead.  Not sure how many times we had to "save" Nacho from some evil tom cat hell bent on his destruction.  But, in the end...Nacho won even his heart over.  Nacho +2 World 0.

I almost forgot to mention why he is named "Nacho" to begin with.  He was mostly white, but with what looked like nacho cheese sauce spilled over the top of him, thus the name "Nacho" was given.  Though later in life some called him, "Master Cho" or "Cho" for short...alas, I am getting ahead of myself.  So, now that he was offically part of the Winkfield household, we needed to make sure he was well cared for.  First priority was to keep him safe, with all the other cats around trying to kill him we decided to make him an indoor kitty (a whole other battle ensued with father on that one).  Nacho +3 World 0.

Nacho didn't remain so tiny for long, in fact he grew and grew and then grew some more.  Not before too long he became a rather large kitty, in fact, one of the largest I have seen.  Might I also add, that he never seemed to forget all the bullies in the neighborhood.  Nacho was pushing close to twenty pounds and most of the was muscle mass.  Kinda like an Arnold Schwarzenegger of cats...and he was ready for some major pay backs.  He became somewhat obsessed about getting outside.  Anytime he had a chance to do so he would, and to disastrous results, (for the receiving end).  He kinda had a Jeckel and Hyde personality at that time...inside the house, he never met a lap he didn't know.  You would have never met a more friendly cat.  People would comment on this regularly.  Outside, well...outside was an entirely different story.  He was out for blood.  It's like he went Bruce Lee on anything he could get his hands...errrr, paws on.  It got to the point that we would have to throw a towel over him (to protect ourselves) and scoop him up, and bring him in.  Then he was as calm as could be, waiting for the next lap to make itself available.  I remember one time, he was sitting in the 2nd story window looking out like he often did, when he spotted a small cat my sister had taken in.  His inner Jeckel came out and he launched himself through the window screen from 2 stories up mind you and hit the ground in a flat out run!  Without pausing he threw himself on this poor unsuspecting kitty.  It rolled on it's back as Nacho landed on it...literally scaring the ummmmm...crap out of it.  The next thing I hear is my sister screaming, "it's on my shirt!"  As she runs toward the house I also hear, "Ahhhhhh...it's on me mouth too!"  Referring to the cat poo!  I laughed so hard it hurt.

Well, this will have to conclude my first install of my cat dairies.  I will try to blog a little each week about Nacho.  Some tid bits about up and coming stories include:  Nam, Jail, and yes even Vulcans!  Stay tuned!

Wanting to build a time machine...

I have been thinking (this can be dangerous) that I need to build a time machine.  Now it's not for reasons most of you might think.  I don't necessarily want to travel back in time per say.  I am more interested in being able to create more time.  So....when everyone else has 24 hours in the day, I could have 30.  Something like that.  Then maybe I could get things done.  I'm at work for about 13 hours a day, then come home and have things needing my attention, and then need sleep... oops, almost forgot homework.  Gotta have time for that as well.  Grrrr....I bet I'll have a paper due in the middle of my 7 days in a row shift.  If anyone has already invented a time device of some sorts, please feel free to give me any pointers!  Thanks!

Fuel made from corn, not as great as it may seem.

     For some, the thought of being able to produce our own renewable fuel is very appealing.  I must admit that I like the sound of having a renewable energy source that helps keep our reliance of foreign oil down.  Here recently corn has been seen as a great way to produce a renewable fuel source known as ethanol.  Now the idea to use corn as a fuel source has been around for quiet sometime, but has recently seen more and more popularity. In large part, do to the rising costs of fuel.  So, what's so bad about a fuel source that is renewable, gives off oxygen as it grows, and help out the American economy?
     Well for starters, it requires fuel to plant and harvest it.  Is the amount of energy required greater than or less than the amount that can be gathered from it?  Then there is the concern about the increase in food costs.  Have you ever looked on the label of what you are eating?  Many products on our shelves have corn in some form or another in them.  High fructose corn syrup, sound familiar?  It is in pop and many other products we use.  Let us not forget it is used in pet food and animal feed as well.  Increased ethanol production equals increased demand in corn, which in turn raises the cost of corn, (enter supply and demand).
     Well then, why not just produce more corn then?  That certainly is an option but, what would producing more corn do to the environment?  Corn growers use nitrates to help fertilize thier crops.  Nitrates then in turn wash out of the soil and enter our water.  Running into our streams and rivers destroying them.  Eventually making it's way into our ocean leaving large areas of water almost lifeless.  Nitrates in the water supply create lower oxygen levels, which in turn kill off fish and other animals that need that O2 in the water.  So, think corn is a great way to get rid of our need for foreign oil and be "greener" too, think again. 

Trying to choose the right carpet.

     Well, my wife and I have decided on replacing the family room and hallway carpet.  In part because it is older and has a few stains and also, because our two "little ones" have taken an "interest" in it.  Now, I need to clarify  a few things first.  When I say "little ones", I mean our two little chihuahuas (rats that bark), Einstein and Angel.  Einstein (the cool one) is named so, because of his great mind, he is literally too smart for his own good.  Angel (evil) on the other hand, is not named because of her sweet nature...quiet the opposite actually.  I believe that she is part, if not all demon.  Which brings me to... when I say an "interest", I mean that for some strange reason they like to pull on the berber carpet and watch it unravel.  It's not like they don't have an over abundance of chew toys and what not.  So, I am not sure what's so fascinating about the carpet.  I know Einstein knows better than to destroy "daddy's" carpet but I have caught him more than once tugging away on a new strand.  This I am sure of only happens after Angel talks him into it, remember Angel is the demon dog.
     Now that we know the reasoning behind our need for new carpet, we need to look into what our requirements are.  First and for most, we need as puppy proof of a carpet there is, one that is soft and pleasing to the touch (wife likes to run around barefoot), and of course in a color that we can agree on (after hours of "politely" discussing it).  After searching around on the internet we came across Carpet One's website and found that a brand called Lee's that looked like it could meet our needs.  So, we went to the local store and met a nice lady there who gave us a demonstration of how stain resistant it was and how soft it is.  Also, it's not berber!  Much more unlikely to unravel, so that's two outta three!  Now it comes in many color choices so, I'm sure that I can persuade my wife to pick some reasonable color.  Maybe if I tell her it's probably the color that the little doggies, "gremlins"  don't like, I can get one I find pleasing.

Ron Paul and the media blackout.

     What is up with Ron Paul and the media almost completely ignoring him?  That i,s unless it is negative in nature.  Ron Paul comes in at 2nd place in the Iowa Straw Pole and it seemed almost every major media outlet didn't even mention his name.  Fox News, which is mostly conservative skips over his name when listing the contestants.  So, we have a first place winner,  Michele Bachmann (4,823 votes), and a third place winner, Pawlenty (2,293).  Fourth place, Rick Santorum, (1,657) and then fellow Texan Rick Perry only got 718 votes and placed 6th.  Ron Paul on the other hand got 4,671 votes, barely losing to Michele Bachmann.  When it came time the announce the winners, guess what?  They just passed over his name like he didn't even exist!  He had less than 1% difference in the votes.

     Another case of the lack off media coverage is this.  As well as, this statement from Willam F. Jasper:  "A recent study by the Pew Research Center confirms what many Ron Paul supporters have claimed all along, that the mainstream media (MSM) have indeed been singling out Paul for the ostracism treatment. Among other things, the study found, as reported by politico.com, that "Ron Paul has been featured in 27 news articles since January, fewer than Rick Perry's 33 articles, even though the Texas governor announced his candidacy less than three weeks ago." 


     There are those who say that Ron's lack of coverage is to do with, his not being seen as a serious contender. I believe that this is mostly a political ploy being used by people who are afraid of Ron Paul and his beliefs and wanting much less "Big" government in our lives and more state rights.  Too many powerful people with too much wrapped up in having "bigger" government, to let Ron Paul have much of the spotlight. 


     

Decided to clean ended up remodeling.

     Well, I have been wanting to clean out the utility room ever since I got my Yamaha XJ550.  I had decicded to clean it out and make room for my automotive tools, workbench, and bike parts.  Now being a utility room means that, it really is a catch all room for all the other crap in the house that you have no other place to put.  Once I removed all that stuff I realized how much there really was!  So after a couple hours of moving things around I have an almost empty room, that's good right?  Well, yes and no....know looking at vacant room I realize that it could really use a good cleaning.  So with broom and dustpan in hand I go to work.  Hmmm...looks like it needs mopped too, no big deal, I got this.  Then, I come to the realization that I hate the color.  Ok, I bought a nice green color for the bedroom and haven't gotten around to painting it yet, lets use it.  I was pretty sure the wife wouldn't mind me using it ( turns out I was safe this time).  
   
     I began doing all the things one needs to do in order to paint, prepped the walls, pulled nails, and filled holes.  Everything is looking good and going great, then I come to the conclusion that I wont have enough paint.  Hmmm...ok, I'll just go get some more.  Turns out Sutherlands no longer carries that brand.  Shoot!  They can try and color match it, so I guess all it not lost.  I go home and finish most of the painting and start looking around and think, hmmm...I could really use some crown molding in here.  Now I am going to sidebar here for a moment cause this is somewhat of an inside joke.  I like molding, crown molding, base, and whatever.  It just finishes a room, well anyway, at my old house I went as far as putting crown molding in the  closets too.  Yeah I know, a bit excessive but it looked really nice.  So my wife teases me about it from time to time.....if she only knew what I was up too know.  Mauuuhahahaha.

     So, paint, molding, and oh...looks like I could use some nicer cabinets above the washer/dryer.  Go to Lowes and picked out some oak ones.  Then notice that a built in ironing board would be nice as well.  Oh, and then there is the bare concrete floor, gotta do something about that.  The list starts getting longer and longer.  All this from wanting to clean out the utility room to make room for more stuff.

My "new" old 1982 Yamaha Seca 550

I have never owned a motorcycle until today, but have always wanted one since a kid and had my first ride on a Honda scooter.  It has been a dream of mine to get an older bike and restore it, but life had other plans for me...that is until today.

A co-worker informed me the other day that there was a 1982 Yamaha Seca 550 on craigslist, and that it was going dirt cheap.  I thought to myself, it's probably gone by now, but would call when I had time.  Well a couple days go by and he is still bugging me about it, so I call that evening and low and behold...it's still available!  Come to find out it has not been started in over 15 years and hasn't seen the road for 20!  Oh boy, wonder if it is really worth my time to drive all the way to Tulsa to look at it.  Also, I find out that there is another person interested in it too.  Hmmmm....I tell the guy to call me today and let me know if the other guy gets it.

11:00 A.M. I get a call, the other guy failed to show and I could come and look at it.  Call my buddy up and soon after we are on the road to Tulsa, OK.  Couple hours later we pull up to the house it's located at and get out.  The guy comes out and takes us out back.  To my surprise there sits a completely stock Seca 550.  Original everything!  Exhaust pipes, tires, all the metal and plastic pieces are there.  Seat is in fairly good shape, no major dents, and all the lights and lens are intact. I find out it's been sitting in a storage unit this entire time.  The only bad thing is that they never drained the fuel from the tank.  The motor turns freely but the tank and carbs will most likely need overhauled.

I pay the man and am thinking to myself that I am almost stealing it from him.  This bike, with a little bit of work, will be a very nice classic that is bound to get a lot of looks.  Ha ha, even before I got home I had people stopping a looking at it in the back of my truck.  When I got home my neighbors from across the street came out and drooled a little over it.  They have a bike or two and are in a vintage motorcycle club.  So, it looks like I might be joining a club or two soon!

Hot tubs, they'er supposed to be relaxing, right?

So, I have chosen to do some major improvements to my home, that go above and beyond repairing the recent storm damage it sustained.  I have been wanting a hot tub for many years and am finally in a place (both room wise and financially) to do so.  First things first, I needed a "spot" to put it at.  After some thought I decided to put it next to my covered rear patio.  I marked off about a 13' x 13' area.  Called around and found a place that would deliver just over 4 tons of river rock for a reasonable price.  It took me hours to move by wheel barrel and shovel what took him only a min to unload from the dump truck.  Man, I needed the hot tub right then!  Ok, I got the area paved with rock, now I needed some privacy.  Now enters the wooden fence.  At this time I was not ready to replace my current chain link fence, so I installed the wooden privacy fence right next to the rock pad.  I started from the back of the house and went about 13 feet out and then over to the outer post of the rear patio.  Digging holes was never at the top of my "fun things" to do list, but never the less needed to be done.  Again, my thoughts kept returning to the relaxing time I would have in the hot tub.  Patients young grass hopper, work first, play latter.

So, I have the "spot" for the new tub, now I just need to find one.  I am someone who always tries to keep an eye out for a good deal.  Looking at the costs of a new vs used tub...I went with used.  I figured I could save a lot of money.  Craigslist, gotta love it.  Spent days cruising it on my cell phone waiting for the right time to strike.  Ding Ding!  Found a couple of possibilities.  First one was not quiet what it was made out to be (like that never happens).  The second one in my meager price range was pretty much what it said it was.  Large and in good looking condition but, non running.  I passed at first cause I could see the $$$ racking up in order to fix it, but kept coming back to it.  What finally sealed the deal was he dropped his asking price in half!  It seemed to good of a deal to pass up.  Large 6 person tub with rebuilt electric motors...just needs a new heater and control board.  No problem, I got this.

I talked him into delivering it to my home, said it would only take 4 people to move it.  Easy enough for him, he had a forklift at his ranch.  When they say 6 person tub, I now know that they mean not only does it seat 6, you need 6 to move it!  Oh my word that thing was heavy!  I had 4 people lined up and needed to call on a couple extra to help.  It hurt to move it every step of the way!  I also had to take down part of the fence to get it into the back yard, set it in place and prayed that I never have to move it again.

Now the wiring.  I called on another good friend of mine to help with the 220V wiring.  I wanted it done right and well, that's not my forte'.  Find out copper wiring has gone way up in price recently, but that's ok, it's going to a good cause.  In the mean time I find the part I need is almost $600!  Heck with that, so I looked on the net and found a place that makes aftermarket controllers and heater boards.  Got an upgraded heater and a better control board for almost half what they wanted for the stock one.  Long story short, got everything hooked up and ready to go runs for a few hours and get to use it once and the wet side of the pump explodes.  Crap!  All that work and now this.  End up finding a new one online and installed a couple days ago.  Everything is working great for now and I am finally able to enjoy it!  Still have way less $$$ in this than I would have in a new one.  Heck it's almost new with all the parts that have been  replaced.  Hoping it lasts for a while and I can get back to other projects around the house.

Is lethal force necessary to protect our borders?

The use of deadly force to protect our borders, is it necessary?  I believe it is.  It amazes me that our government  spends billions and billions of dollars on military  actions over seas to "protect" our country, yet at times seems to almost ignore our own borders.  Try crossing into Iran illegally, and if you aren't shot on the spot you rot in jail.  This is the practice of many nations; Afghanistan, North Korea, and China to name a few.

We face the very high possibility of terrorists and drug cartels crossing our borders with little risk to themselves, and there for no real deterrent.  If they knew that force, or even deadly force, was used to ensure our county's border's and there for our national security, would they be so readily willing to do so?  I think not.  Knowing that their lives would be at risk would be a very big deterrent in my opinion.

When our border patrol agents come under assault and they choose to defend themselves they are often criticized.  Arizona has recently been in the spotlight for passing laws that it sees as necessary to protect it's borders and it's people.  But, when faced against heavily armed gangs of smugglers and drug dealers, don't we have every right to use deadly force?  I believe so.  Arizona is facing a very real problem with that now.  How can we truly protect ourselves if we can't secure our own borders?

I am not saying that deadly force should be used in every situation, but we should make it clear to those who would try to cross illegally that their will be more than a slap on the hand and told not to do it again.  

Introduction

Hello everyone!  My name is Jason and this is my very first blog!  I have (with much enthusiasm) chosen to return to school and complete my education.  This will be a challenge I'm sure, between working full time and then some, and taking online classes at MSSU.  Others have done it, so will I.  I am 35 years old and still mostly a kid at heart.  When not spending my time being "busy", my wife and I enjoy playing video games together, and  yes... she does kick my butt part of the time!   Most if you ask her, ha ha!

I also enjoy playing paintball and working on my cars.  I love the outdoors and can be found outside most of the time when its not insanely hot out.  Wish everyone the best, and thanks for reading!