An Egghead for the Oval Office

Here, here!

From digg:

One thing that should be clear to anyone who's been paying attention these past few years is that we need to go out and get ourselves the smartest president we can find. We need a brainiac president, a regular Mister or Miss Smarty-Pants. We need to elect the kid you hated in high school, the teacher's pet with perfect grades.

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Star Wars Celebration 4 Flickr Pics

Celebration IV may be over, but that doesn't mean the fun should. If you're a flickr member, stick your favorite snapshots from the event into the Celebration 4 group. I just added our good pics from last Saturday. I keep hoping to see my wife or I in someone else's photos.

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Star Wars Celebration 4

Buckle up for safety, I did

Originally uploaded by FlipSide3.

It was a VERY long day at the Los Angeles Convention Center, but it was very cool too. It was like the Con over in Plano that we've been to a couple times, only much much bigger and with some better entertainment. Our little Yoda backpack came along for the ride, with a special job as water bottle holder... which turned out to be a godsend.

I could have done without the crowds, long lines, etc... but it was still a blast. Whoever was in charge of putting things where must not have been taking their medication, because things were a bit of a mess. The exhibition hall (which has the coolest stuff) was amazingly cramped, while the store and fan area looked practically sparse. And why were the R2 builders crammed in a little room. The convention center was huge, but poorly utilized.

Saw the one man Star Wars show, which was a laugh riot. Killed a few hours watching fan films (more Pink 5 please). Ended the day with Carrie Fisher, who was amazing.

All in all a great time, just wish it was in Dallas so I could have split the day up with a nap at home. Even better, how about having it at the Gaylord Texan here in Grapevine, which is huge and right at the end of town. Hmm?

California Vacation

IMG_1689

Originally uploaded by FlipSide3.

Bridget and I went to California last week to celebrate our anniversary of our Star Wars Wedding and the 30th anniversary of Star Wars itself. We have a friend in Huntington Beach who graciously let us stay with her. That was great and her house was very nice.

I did have fun, but will be paying for being a mister grumpy face. I'm not good on trips, and driving around Los Angeles didn't agree with me. I was really happy when we got back though... but I guess that doesn't count.

The Star Wars Celebration 4 shindig was really neat though... more on that in a bit.

DVD Sleepers & Keepers

Amazon's sleepers and keepers list, "These DVDs are our perennial top-sellers, consistently selling the most, month after month, over the last several years." Top of the list? Star Wars (The Original Trilogy) and Firefly, of course!

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10 simple ways to save yourself from messing up your life

Here's the quick list... see the source page for further commentary:

Stop taking so much notice of how you feel.

Let go of worrying. It often makes things worse.

Ease up on the internal life commentary.

Take no notice of your inner critic.

Give up on feeling guilty.

Stop being concerned what the rest of the world says about you.

Stop keeping score.

Don’t be concerned that your life and career aren’t working out the way you planned.

Don’t let others use you to avoid being responsible for their own decisions.

Don’t worry about about your personality. You don’t really have one.


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Why Intellectual Property Is Different Than Real Property

Why is it so hard for people to understand the intellectual property is not the same as physical property? Granted, if people took the time to realize that many of the terms we use for things were picked by some special interest way back when to influence our perceptions... well we'd have to write a new dictionary. Wake up people! Tell your Congress critter that Disney doesn't deserve special treatment and it is time to roll back copyright protection back to being just 14 years.

From digg:

A good argument and counterpoint to a New York Times opinion piece on the idea that copyright deserves to last forever and be passed on from descendant to descendant.

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