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7 | § ¶We Are Afraid of Working Hard
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I believe people who work for themselves (their own business) are
usually better rewarded, and have a greater potential for economical
advancement.
The question is, why do we all want to be employees then?
5 5 | § ¶State of the Union 2004
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I do not agree with everything our President says, even when I may feel
inclined to vote for him. (I do not find any of the current
Democrat candidates better).
Just to help me in my decission, I decided to analyze his last two
State of the Union Addresses, marking with BLUE everything where I
agreed, and RED everything where I didn't agreed.
This is my 2004 Address analysis:
4 3 | § ¶State of the Union 2003
--
I do not agree with everything our President says, even when I may feel
inclined to vote for him. (I do not find any of the current
Democrat candidates better).
Just to help me in my decission, I decided to analyze his last two
State of the Union Addresses, marking with BLUE everything where I
agreed, and RED everything where I didn't agreed.
This is my 2003 Address analysis:
5 4 | § ¶Stain Defender Dockers
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I must say I am impressed!
I don't buy too many clothes. As a matter of fact you can see me still
wearing the same polo shirts and vertical line long sleeve shirts I
used during college.
Unfortunately, jeans and slacks don't last me as much - probably
because I have less of them, or because they experience harsher
handling, specially stains and discoloration.
3 4 | § ¶Acela Express Trains
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It was a cold, New England winter morning on Track 1 platform on Route
128 Amtrak Station. I watched the twin headlights of the Acela
Express front car approaching me as if it was a dream come true.
Acela Express, a high-speed train
that takes you from Boston to New York in little more than three hours,
has been in operation for several years now. As much as I love trains,
I have always followed the hoards to the airport to take the 45min
flight that requires 1hr car travel to the airport, 30min security
check wait, an hour before boarding time, some time on taxi for the
occasional delay or mechanical malfunction, some more time on the
ground while the pilot parks the plane, and an hour or two on a taxi
once you arrive to NYC, all for double the price. If you did
checked luggage, just add more wait time there.
5 3 | § ¶PowerBar
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A bar that tastes like it was made of a mixture of sawdust, molasses
and powdered chocolate drink didn't made into my list of Top 10
Culinary Creations.
Don't take me wrong, PowerBar
(and other sports energy food products) are examples of great
marketing. They may even be exactly what top athletes need.
But I still prefer to see, feel, and taste the ingredients contained in
my food, as opposed to just tasting a bar of dried goo; specially when
that bar of dried goo costs upwards of a precious one United States
Dollar ($1 USD).
7 2 | § ¶Leftover Wine - What to do with it?
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In the perfect world we would enjoy until the last drop of wine from that bottle we just opened. But lets face it, you can't always drink the whole bottle - you may not even want to finish the whole bottle.
Assuming the wine is good, you have to options: preserve it, or use it for cooking. Both of them can be a real challenge!
Read More 2 6 | § ¶Brrrrrrr ... It is really cold !!
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Ussually I do not complaint about those things I can't really change: like weather. And I won't complaint this time either, as it is just a fact: We are really cold up here, with real temperatures of up to -12F, and the wind at up to 40mph getting it down to a -48 with windchill.
As a kid I remember when schools was cancelled because of inclement weather: huricanes for example. I can understand why they cancel school on snow days - very difficult to get there. But when they cancel it (like they did for tomorrow) because of the windchill, I begin think that I am not the only one feeling ultra-cold. Just the thought of knowing that I am not the only guy wishing to be in the tropic right now makes mee feel better
6 2 | § ¶Free Instant Messaging
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I like my Instant Messaging to be FREE. With free I don't mean that there is no money involved. As a matter of fact, I did subscribed (purchased) once to Trillian because of its freedom features. What I mean is that the application can be easily extended and adjusted to suit the users needs, that the application can be run in any operating system I choose, and that the application can send messages to as many instant messenger services as possible (Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AOL, IRC, Jabber, etc...).
About six months ago I found gAIM and has never gone back to any other instant messenger program. gAIM was intended to be an America Online Instant Messenger replacement. However, with the flexibility it offers it supports the other instant messengers fairly well, and the code is open and extensible by end users. As a matter of fact, it allows extending its functionality using the user-friendly Perl scripting language.
I like to be free from Microsoft, America Online, and Yahoo as much as possible. So far, gAIM is helping me.
3 5 | § ¶Temporary Workers
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Finally there is a proposal for a meassure that could start the process of legalizing non-documented immigrants that work and contribute to the United States economy. This is an important step towards an enforceable, working immigration policy that brings immigrants with a Culture of Work into the USA to further improve this Nation of Immigrants.
If you support this measure, I am asking you to write to our
representatives as I did. Feel free to copy the letter template I
provide here. Writing to your congressmen has never been
easier. Most of them actually prefer e-mails, so you may even
save those 37 cents. I have received responses from my
representative on every single issue I have written to them. To
write to your Congressmen:
Representative: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Senator: http://www.senate.gov/
2 4 | § ¶"If we don't do it, somebody else will" - Rep. Goldon
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And if it is a good, beneficial thing, I prefer us to be the ones doing it.
The United States government hasn't devoted too much priority to the space program. I think it is about time it does. Putting a man on the Moon again, and eventually putting a man on the surface of Mars is a very challenging goal. In achieving it, there is opportunity for humanity to grow into the next level of social, economical, and technological development.
Read More 3 4 | § ¶Fair Tax... Love the Idea
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Don't think it will pass anytime soon, and I am not convinced it would help to pass it right now either. But I still love the idea of fixed rate taxation based on actual consumption, specially if it includes a provision for a tax exception that allow low income families to pay no taxes. I have to confess I am more inclined to a moderate implementation of these ideals: flat rate income tax (easier to approve in Congress, smaller change for our society, and causes a softer implementation impact).
Check out the Fair Tax website. It talks about a proposal that is being discussed on the Congress.
Read More 2 5 | § ¶Charter Schools
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I am a strong believer in charter schools, even when I don’t have kids. They provide the opportunity for a better educated next generation of children. I got extremely happy when a Charter School was proposed for my city: Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Some people got concerned about temporary financial impact, and the job security of the local public school teachers. You are welcome to visit their website at http://www.marlborough.k12.ma.us/charterschool.htm which contains very informative information about charter schools and the proposal that is being discussed and why they oppose to it. You are also welcome to visit the charter school page at http://www.metrowestschool.com/amsa.htm for information about the benefits of this kind of school.
If you live near Marlborough, I beg you take a few minutes to read my reasons for supporting the school -- as expressed on the letter of support I sent to Commissioner David Driscoll and my local congressmen. If you agree, please express support for the school by sending a letter to the appropriate parties by February 2004.
Read More 4 5 | § ¶My 2003 in Review
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What did I accomplish this year? You have to ask yourself those questions frequently. It gives you sense of being active, being alive, know you are moving forward. In the worst case, it will at least let you know what you did wrong.
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