I am now engaged and getting married soon!!!

I have asked lovely lady friend to now marry me as of March 08, 2008 in beautiful Chapultepec in the heart of Mexico City. We have set the date of March 28, 2009 to be married in Brownsville followed by a reception in Los Fresnos at Chachalaca (www.chachalaca.com).

How many days is that, you ask?

Check it out!!

Wedding Countdown Timer provided by Bridal Guide

Signing off....Kinda

This will be my last blog entry regarding my Informational Studies class on Social Issues in a Networked Society, but it won't be my last blog entry. I know I haven't really been posting as often as I would like, but I will be changing that in the near future. Recent times have been hectic with school and all, but I am adjusting. Either way when something interesting comes along, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Cheers!

Craiglist is Cool!

Okay, so I'm sure most of you have heard of Craigslist. In my honest opinion, one of the greatest websites and free services ever!! I mean, sometimes it's fun just to browse regardless of what city you're living in. Especially the rant & rave part of it. Holy Shit some of those can be funny as hell, take for instance this rant and rave that got nominated into the "best-of" portion of craigslist:

Hey CRACKHEAD!!!

Let me just say that if you ever need something random and/or need or want to sell anything or get rid of anything or just bitch about something, go. to. Craigslist.

Second Life Revisited...

Alright, so I have taken a second look at Second Life. After all, I did kinda judge the book...well you know the rest of it. Anyway, I am still not that impressed with it but it isn't as bad as I made it out to be at first. I know it's free, so don't start with that, but it still isn't all that.

Actually the class through which I heard about the game met in Second Life rather than the physical class room. I must say, it was a weird experience. Of course it was nothing like meeting in real life and discussing topics was a little difficult. However, our instructor did show us around and took us to some very interesting places. One of them being the Virginia Tech memorial (my sympathy to you and yours), which was honestly a very odd experience. Everywhere else we went I was flying around testing the game, but in here it was morbid and quiet, as if being compelled to show respect for the departed.

I have to admit, I have a new found respect for Second Life and maybe one day I will devote enough time to really appreciate the game, but in the end it's still just a game and have to attend to my first life for the time being.

Peace.

Second Life?

So Gabe Greggan is now a newly birthed citizen in the virtual world of Second Life. To be honest, I don't think I had ever heard of Second Life until we discussed it in my Informational Studies class. Shit, even for a while, since I had missed a few classes, I almost thought they were talking about a literal second life considering the hype they were building around it.

But I digress... Second Life is a cool concept and it is quite amazing the things that one can accomplish there, but not really my type of game. Although I did play World of Warcraft (WoW) for about a year and half since its last beta, I never was one to fall into games like SIMS. It was just too realistic and not enough fantasy, but then again, that's just what I like. Fantasy games where you can look like an animal or go and ring someone's neck without consequence is more my cup of tea. Not to mention the engine that runs the game. I'd like to think that my computer is fairly up to date and can run most games out there whether they be online or not, but second life has got too much goin' on for it to run smoothly. I know, I know... you're sittin there with raised brow sayin', "Whatta y'expect? It's FREE!" I realize that and the great, just not for me. I am patient guy when it comes to real life situations, but when it comes to bandwidth my road rage gets the better of me. So suck it, I'm out.

Are we moving towards cybernetics faster that we should?

I recently saw a special on pbs called "22nd Century."

You can watch the video here:
http://www.pbs.org/22ndcentury/

So I guess I am on the fence about this subject. It's kinda hard to draw a conclusion when both sides have valid points.

Do we really want the "I, Robot" society? I mean, how lazy do we need to get before we have robots doing all of our work for us. I realize there a select few of us that will be fortunate enough to have the occupation of designing these things and creating prototypes before a machine is built to mass produce them.

My biggest beef with the idea and humans as a whole is that we are no longer creatures of moderation and I am guilty of this too. Everything has to be done to the extent of it being too big, too much, too loud, too quiet, too much!!! Anyone with an iota of common sense knows that too much of anything is bad. Yet, we persist on the acquisition of "more."

When it comes to machines or computers, I love them and I believe they are some of the bes things we have ever conceived, but as Benjamin Franklin would put it, "Tis easier to see, than to foresee." Think about the consequences, people.

Here is Lucy. She is currently a 6 week old Cherrier (Chihuahua - (Rat) Terrier) that I picked up from a private seller. She is an awesome little dog with the best personality. I have been looking for a dog for a while, but had very specific criteria for the type and size of canine that I wanted. She will grow to around 10 pounds, her tail has already been docked (personal preference), and being the mix that she is, will be very easy to train and extremely intelligent. I look forward to raising her and will keep you posted.

Cheers,
Gabe

Back to Technology, this is awesome!!

i really can't wait for this new upcoming keyboard, fully customizeable with led keys depending on your application.

Check it out!!

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/

I just hope it isn't as expensive as people say it wil be.

Cheers!

My Chili Recipe

Vegetables:
2 medium sweet onions, peeled, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, washed, grilled, peeled, cored, chopped
3-4 small Hungarian yellow peppers, chopped (if you can't find them, use yellow bell instead)

(for extra heat and great flavor, you may add your choice of 1, 2 or all the following)
1 poblano pepper, washed, grilled, peeled, cored, chopped
2-3 Serrano peppers, washed, grilled, peeled, seeded, chopped
7-10 chili pequins (preferably dried and salted)

(optional)
3 stalks of celery, washed, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper to the vegetable part, washed, chopped with seeds
1 habanero pepper, washed, grilled, peeled, seeded, chopped

Meat Mixture:
2 1/2 pounds of sirloin, cubed
2 pounds of lamb, cubed
1 pound of beef stew meat
1 small white onion, peeled, chopped
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

Tomatoes and spices:
3 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) stewed tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (14 ounce) zesty diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (I prefer Kosher or Mediterranean)
1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons garlic powder

On a gas or charcoal grille, chop the 2 sweet onions in half and place on the grille cut side down for about 4-5 mins. Roast all the whole peppers until black; remove everything from the grille and set peppers aside in an enclosed container. (This will sweat the peppers and aide in the peeling) Finely chop the grilled sweet onions and set aside.

In a large stock pot heat the olive oil and the butter and brown the sirloin, stew meat, and lamb with the white onion, leaving the fat in the pan. This is your chance to start peeling and chopping the peppers and the sweet onions, but keep an eye on the meat so as not to burn it. Add the minced garlic cloves to the meat about 1-2 minutes before adding the liquid. Add the roasted and peeled peppers and sweet onions to the large stock pot with the meat. Add all the tomatoes, sauces and spices. Let simmer 3 hours.

Makes 20 generous servings.

A Brotherly Tradition

This past weekend marked what I believe to be the 10th annual BSW camping trip of which I have attended the last four. For all the men out there (and women if you so choose) BSW is a time of relaxation where you are able and encouraged to forget all about the daily routine/grind with which you have probably become so accustomed to. For my comrades and I, we take a camping trip the weekend before the superbowl, which is usually the coldest weekend of the year to a predetermined destination. We choose this time in order to avoid the crowds and the bugs and can unleash any energy without much incident, if any. Park rangers are less likely to hassle you also, because you are utilizing the park at a time that it is hardly ever used. As our pass time activities, we will enjoy poker, a casual game of washers, vent our frustrations, tell (stupid) jokes or try to make the fire as big as possible. It is always nice to "hang" with your closest of friends and the only catch is you are not allowed to bring anyone from the opposite sex to your time of rest.

Friday afternoon, evening is obviously setup and drink up till the wee hours of the night.
Saturday is started off early with what we call shit-ass breakfast which is a combination of eggs, jalapeño (first 2 ingredients are required), and whatever else your little heart desires. Shit-ass breakfast is followed up with a chili cook-off in which any camper is encouraged to participate. (i will post my chili recipe soon)

Keep in mind that all the aforementioned is happening with beer in hand.

This year we also brought games including chess, washers, cards, etc.

...and remember, what goes on at BSW, stays at BSW.

Let me know what you think or if you have any comments or ideas.

Anyway, until next time...

Link Out!!!

A Mob in a Flash

Hey everyone. I was in my informational studies class one day and started talking about flash mobs and how elaborate they can become (almost in an instant). Flash Mob?! WTF? Well, I am sure most of you know or have an idea of what flash mobs are, but for those of you who don't, a "flash mob" is basically exactly what it states. It is a large group or mob of people that congregate in an instant (flash) to perform some task, usually mischievous. Anyway, with that out of the way I stumbled across a website that is dedicated to pulling pranks using flash mobs. Their latest mission being 'No pants 2k7' in which 300 pantless people rode the subway while performing normal activities included reading, carrying on a conversation, or even just standing/sitting there while clueless others looked and laughed, scoffed or ignored. The whole point being to stimulate some kind of reaction from the public community. See if maybe you can be a part of a flash mob in your neighborhood.

In the meantime check out the website, it's cool: http://www.improveverywhere.com/

Until next time....

Link Out!!!