I’m forever indebted to my mom. She drives me nuts sometimes (and vice versa), but the love, respect, and appreciate I have for her will always be there. Thanks again mom, for birthing me, putting up with me, and loving a knucklhead like me. God bless you and I pray that you will come back to the Church in full Communion again.
I’m a news hound, a Twitter fiend, and a resource packrat. That’s a deadly, productivity-killing combination, especially when the potential for 70 Firefox tabs is almost always there to stifle my workflow and slow any of my computers to a crawl.
The great thing about Twitter is the seemingly endless stream of links and stories people share every second. A good Twitter headline is enough to grab my attention and make me click on that obscure bit.ly link. There are jewels in the Internet you can only find through user-generated streams.
As a casual blogger, I’m always looking for ways to make my writing life easier. I like to maintain a repository of links to refer to so I have facts to backup my claims. But that also means bookmarking 80 percent of the sites I visit which makes blogging too much of chore at times.
So I’ve finally come up with my near-perfect resource collection schema that works very well for me. Your mileage may vary of course. If you use a browser other than Firefox most of the time, by all means switch. You’ll be better off.
Let’s say I have 30 article tabs open in Firefox. Here’s what I do to cut that down to the bare necessities (around 7 or 8).
1. Instapaper – Using the “Read it Later” bookmarklet, you can instantly push an offline version of the tagged article to your Instapaper account. If you have an iPhone, like I do, the Instapaper app will be your best friend; when you view articles on your iPhone, they’ll be specially formatted to make reading a breeze. Instapaper has made a world of difference in my reading habits because I don’t need a dozen news tabs open just so I can follow up with them later.
2. Bookmark the articles I like and find most useful – Not every article I push to Instapaper is worth the extra step. I would simply delete it and move on. No need to fatten up your bookmark database. But if there’s something I like, I’ll bookmark it, add the appropriate tags, and then depending on how anal you are like I am, place the bookmark in a dated or categorized folder.
3. Google Reader – Another one of my favorite reading tools. I track about 40 RSS feeds. If I want to catch up on something later, I can simply “star” it and read it at a more convenient time. Google Reader takes up one tab and provides a wealth of information in a single view.
4. Treetabs – Once you have a bunch of links open, a tab bar across the screen can become unwieldy at times. One of my favorite Firefox addons to solve that problem is Treetabs. It creates a vertical list of tabs either on the right or left side of the screen. Tabs can be grouped, subgrouped (parent/child style) and threaded. It’s easier to process multiple tabs in a vertical view than it is on a horizontal view, IMHO.
5. Tagsifter – Once you’ve built up a repository of 600+ bookmarks, you’ll need an easy way to search for them. I like to use Tagsifter. By pressing Alt+V+E+T, you can open up a sidebar where you can search for bookmarks by keywords or name. You can sort your tags and bookmarks in various ways as well. Saves a lot of time if you need to find a resource pronto.
6. Xmarks – Formerly Foxmarks, Xmarks will allow you to sync your bookmarks across multiple browsers and computer effortlessly. Nothing is more satisfying than having all of your 600 bookmarks perfectly in sync with both your work and home computer. All you need to do is create a free account and you’re golden.
I’m sure all of you have your own little processes and tools to manage tons of content and I’d love to hear all of them! Any thoughts on how I could better organize my bookmarks, articles, and links? How do you guys manage your bookmarks and favorite articles?
I think it’s safe to say that faithful Obama supporters revere him as their Messiah, their Savior, their Lord.
No wonder Jesus was banished from Georgetown.
I’m not a fan of beauty pageants. I don’t care about Miss USA, Miss America, Miss 51st State, or Miss Whatever. I appreciate the essence of female beauty like any red-blooded American male, but even that won’t pry eyes my away from the computer screen, a good book, or my attempts to locate South Africa on a map.
There was one exception last night. I was informed my girlfriend (a lovely girl in her own right–yes, she’s probably reading this) that Miss California, one of the leading contestants for this year’s Miss USA, voiced her opinion in favor of traditional one man and one woman marriage (or “opposite” marriage). My interest piqued like you wouldn’t believe. I had to find some video, some story, some anything to see, read, and hear with my own senses. After a few Google searches, I found Miss California’s bio on the Miss Universe website. Carrie Prejean, this year’s Miss California, is a 21-year-old beauty from San Diego whose glam shot graces her splash page. I said to my girlfriend when she first told me about Carrie Prejean that “she’s probably either from San Diego or the OC,” one of the most conservative regions of Southern California. For once, I was right.
These were her exact words to “Miss” Perez Hilton’s politically and morally charged question:
“‘We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite [marriage]. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.’”
She was raised right. In her own awkward way, she voiced the opinion of the majority of Californians. She also stumbled upon courage and won the hearts of millions and only proceeded to alienate the radical Left and their radical gay agenda. Perez Hilton could only shake his head in disgust and refer to Ms. Prejean as a “dumb b****.” On MSNBC with Norah O’Donnell, he took his apology back and went as far as call Ms. Prejean the “c-word” (and I don’t mean “conservative”.) Norah O’Donnell, who you think would be offended at the mere implication of the word, did not even flinch and gave Perez Hilton a free pass. Apparently, the “c-word” is fine for women who run counter to the Left’s political leanings. Perez Hilton, who had less than 2000 followers on Twitter before the controversy, now has 600,000+. The free publicity hasn’t hurt him one bit.
All the while, the co-director of the Miss USA pageant has condemned Ms. Prejean for her opinion:
“‘As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman,” said [Keith] Lewis in a statement. “I believe all religions should be able to ordain what unions they see fit. I do not believe our government should be able to discriminate against anyone and religious beliefs have no politics in the Miss California family.’”
Keith Lewis voiced an opinion opposite Ms. Prejean. Where are the crazy right-wing wackos on the mainstream media circuit ready to belittle this guy? Certainly not ones with a national audience.
Ms. Prejean, amidst the controversy, stayed true to her position and didn’t retract her statement:
“‘I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I stated an opinion that was true to myself, and that’s all I can do,” she told Billy Bush, who hosted Miss USA, on his radio talk show on Monday.’” She added, “It did cost me my crown,” Prejean continued. “It is a very touchy subject and [Hilton] is a homosexual, and I see where he was coming from and I see the audience would’ve wanted me to be more politically correct. But I was raised in a way that you can never compromise your beliefs and your opinions for anything.’”
Bravo.
My prayer goes out to Ms. Prejean and her family that they remain strong against the tide of the radical gay agenda and the onslaught of one-sided media sympathy. Her humility and sheer guts make me proud to call myself a Californian and forget just for a moment the flood of problems bombarding my once prosperous and beautiful home state. The Left has called her every name and pejorative almost no one deserves, especially to a brave young woman one year my junior. My girlfriend is proud of her. I’m proud of her. And the majority of America is proud of you Ms. Carrie Prejean.
In her interview with Billy Bush on his talk radio show, she said, “‘I feel like I won,” she said. “I feel like I’m the winner. I really do.’”
Carrie, to the world, you are runner-up, but in the hearts and minds of all defenders of values and morality, you are the true Miss USA.
During my confirmation today, Fr. Dem of St. Philomena Catholic Church gave 5 reasons why people return to the Faith. Here were the top 5 in a nutshell:
1. Hunger for the Eucharist – Catholics who leave find themselves longing for the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ our Lord in the form of matter, in the form of bread and wine for us to consume and receive life (and no, we’re not eating zombie Jesus, my non-Christian atheistic brethren, who have taken Left 4 Dead to another level.)
2. Desire to help people on a deeper spiritual level – Outside of the Church, good works make you feel good, but no amount of good works apart from the Church will give you the saving grace to enter Heaven (unless you’re completely and totally ignorant of the Church, which, even then, is a very bad thing). With the Church and Christ and the Saints in Heaven as prime examples and our prayer warriors, we can do the works necessary to build our faith and grow in our relationship with Christ.
3. Find a faith community instead of a group, club, or “prayer group.” The Sierra Club or the College Republicans or Democrats (boo) aren’t fulfilling. The human heart desires true spiritual nourishment that can only be found in the Church (or those who reject the Faith and the Church will seek dangerous alternatives in the form of Pantheism, Paganism, Wicca, etc.)
4. Raise children with spiritual grounding – Having children often changes the attitudes and beliefs of new parents. Parents want to raise their child the right way built from a indestructible moral foundation. Objective truth only exists because of God, a Higher Authority, and the Infallible Church that can teach no wrong because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit guiding our Holy Father, the Magisterium, and the college of Cardinals. (And before you begin to refute me, realize I said the Church can *teach* no wrong. Individual members and even our Infallible Holy Father can *do* wrong, i.e. sin.) In other words, objective truth doesn’t come from universities, the downstream media, and Keith Olbermann bowing before the eminence of High Priest Barack Obama.
5. Seek the fullness of the truth only found in the Catholic Church – Even when I was a wandering protestant (I’m thankful for those good people who have helped me seek out Christ, God, and the Bible to eventually lead me back to the Catholic faith), I wondered why you had laymen giving sermons and messages during Sunday services A good friend of mines asked me, “How do you know which denomination is the right one? There’s just so many.” There’s no way to honestly answer that question without leaving unfilled holes. As a protestant, there’s no reformation, but rebellion and quarrel and endless division (as I experienced at Berkland in Berkeley and now Gracepoint Fellowship Church in Berkeley). Thousands of denominations means that the rock Christ spoke of in Matthew 16:18 has crumbled and Hades has indeed overcome it and scattered all believers.
But that isn’t the case because the true Church Christ established on Earth is visible in Rome and all over the world. My faith journey began nearly five years ago. Today, I finally came home. No community of faith outside the Mother Church will grant me the same peace I have at its loving bosom, caring for me, and putting my anxieties to rest.
Thank you for your prayers and helping me see things through!
The Left is vocal as usual, but that doesn’t mean Conservatives and defenders of family values and traditional marriage have to stand idly by and watch waves of radical protesters deluding themselves into a “civil rights” movement akin to true civil rights movements of America’s Past. It’s dishonest and wrong.
That being said, 4 judges from California “declared” that marriage is a “fundamental right” regardless of sexual orientation. But is marriage inherently a right evoked by society?
We have a right to live, to pursue happiness, to bear arms, to free speech, but is marriage itself along the same plane of existence?
Society hands out marriage licenses recognizing a couple’s (man and woman) union in *holy matrimony*. In relation, society hands out driver’s licenses if you fulfill certain requirements. In the case of traditional marriage, you have to be man and woman, and in no blood or close relation. In other words, you can’t marry your brother, sister, mom, dad or 12-year-old girl or boy. Or, you can’t marry someone of the same sex. You CAN marry if you’re gay (if you have a propensity for homosexual behavior) because that’s not a criterion they ask for marriage. It’s subtle wording, but thanks to the brilliance and clarity of a Dennis Prager, it does make sense to me.
So, in other words, we don’t have a right to drive, nor do we have a right to marry. However, the requirements or prerequisites of marriage can changed or be “redefined.” Get it? So before you nutburgers start protesting for your “rights,” please acknowledge that you’re not fighting for your right to marriage, but you want to redefine what marriage is so you can be issued the same privileges and license to be recognized under current marriage law.
So if marriage, according to the infinite wisdom of activist judges, is a “fundamental right,” then there are no prerequisites. Under law, you can marry whoever or whatever you want. Because we don’t have to fulfill requirements to have free speech, pursuit of happiness, or a “right to life.” That’s why gun control can be seen as impinging on the arms rights. But that’s another issue entirely, so I’m not going there.
This boils down to the will of Californians and while the result was much narrower than in 2000 (61% of Californians upheld traditional marriage), the majority did speak. Because this isn’t about “rights” or “hatred” toward homosexuals. So if a No on 8 supporter is arguing for “gay rights,” then he or she is lying, ignorant, or deluded.
Of course, when you frame it as a “right,” people will think much, much, MUCH differently. And that’s why I strongly believe Prop 8 was so closely divided this time around than in years past. No one wants to take away the rights of anyone. But this is not a rights issue, but an issue of redefinition, privilege, and the legal and societal acceptance of an alternative lifestyle simply not of the same notion as race, sex, and ethnicity.
Another late log, another half day passed.
Breakfast:
1. Kashi Go Lean Cereal w/skim milk
2. Acai Berry Juice
3. Carrot juice
4. Naked Juice Green Machine
5. Vitamin C pill
Snack:
1. Banana
2. 7-up
3. Mega men dietary pill
Lunch:
1. Ahi Tuna salad
2. Iced tea with honey
Snack:
1. Mega men pill
Dinner:
1. Daphne’s: Fries, lamb gyro, salad, rice, pita bread w/reg. Dr. Pepper
2. Regular pumpkin ice blended at Coffee Bean w/whipped cream
3. Three mini churros from Jack in the Box
4. Glasses of Pepsi
I was feeling sore, but I decided to hit the gym anyway. I really couldn’t feel the burn because I was burned out by the time I got there.
1. Treadmill run for .5 miles, and went up to 6 MPH toward the end. My legs weren’t 100 percent that night, so I had to cut it short at half a mile.
2. Forearm pulls.
3. 100 Crunches on the machine
4. Leg presses
5. 30 lbs free weight curls
Not much, but I’ve reached the point where I need more protein for weights. Eating a bananas and drinking water before a treadmill run is ideal, but I need to balance my diet to get more protein and carbs in, and much, much less sugar.
Sorry for the late post, but I was so beat down last night from the workout that I just wanted to knock out as early as possible.
Breakfast:
1. Kashi Go Lean cereal w/skim milk
2. Carrot Juice
3. Acai Berry Juice
4. Naked Juice Green Machine
5. Vitamin C pill
Snack:
1. Banana
2. Mega men dietary pill
Lunch:
1. Domino’s Mac ‘n’ cheese with chicken topping
2. Slices of garlic bread
Snack:
1. Blended thai tea drink from Milk
2. Banana
3. Raw avocado
4. Mega men dietary pill
Dinner:
1. Three slices of multi-grain bread with corned beef, tomatoes, and onions (thanks Mom for making it!)
2. Pineapple, orange, and banana juice
Thank You for Fighting the Good Fight Miss California
Posted in Commentary, News with tags carrie prejean, donald trump, downstream media, liberal media, miss california, miss usa, miss usa 2009, the Left on May 13, 2009 by Richly ChheuyAt long last, the Donald allowed Carrie Prejean, our Miss California, to keep her crown amidst waves of accusations and attempts to take away her title. Imagine, all of this after she made a stilted, awkward, yet honest answer on national television. Boy, if giving an honest answer in public meant vicious scrutiny from the Left and the Downstream media, there’s no wonder why many of us would choose to remain silent.
I’m very happy for Miss Prejean. Her reputation, her image, and her family were dragged through the mud because of one short answer to a loaded, heavy handed question by someone who deserves little to no media attention. She was treated like a conservative Republican running for the presidency. Can’t blame her for making a few missteps on her way to the Donald’s final decision. And to the end, she was gracious:
"My faith requires forgiveness," she said. "So I forgive everyone."
She remains steadfast on her convictions and will continue to do so as reigning Miss California:
"I’m going to resume my duties as Miss California, but also stay true to who I am and have my own personal opinions," she said. "We will see how we will balance the two."
In the end, we can’t forget her courage to voice what most of us Americans have deep in our hearts: the protection of what marriage is and has always been. With the conflagration more or less doused after yesterday, my prayer is that we, especially myself, have that same hint of courage to stand up against the blind, intolerant Left from silencing us into a little corner of existence.
Miss California, God bless and Godspeed.
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