FauxNews has an article about Ahmadinejad’s visit with part of the opening paragraph that states that “watching Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak to students at Columbia University showed just how disconnected certain factions of American society have become to the sacrifices of their sons, daughters, parents and spouses.” (Such a statement would not be inconsistent with a website that has an advertisement at the bottom of the page for “free Ann Coulter email addresses.”)

I think this article is completely untrue and absurd. The people interviewed in the article seem to think that squashing free speech and only hearing from people that have like-minded viewpoints is the best way to deal with problems in the world. Ahmadinejad was not even treated well at Columbia - he was blasted by the president of Columbia for a laundry list of reasons why people dislike him. Ahmadinejad is a total joke - his statements about homosexuals in Iran, his positions on women, and his stance on nuclear weapons make him a ridiculous figure. Nonetheless, he was not afforded the same respect that any other world leader would have gotten from the university which will only serve to bolster negative world opinions of Americans. I think it was completely appropriate that he was laughed at for stating that Iran has no homosexuals - such a statement is deserving of laughter merely for being entirely untrue and absurd. It is a well documented fact that Iran does have homosexuals and they routinely kill them by hanging, stoning, sword halving, or dropping them off a perch for being gay. Iran is violating basic human rights of homosexuals, women, and well most everyone in their country.

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You can click here to watch Iran’s Ahmadinejad say that his country does not have the “phenomenon” of homosexuality and he does not know who told the Americans that they do have homosexuals.  They also don’t have basic human rights - so congratulations on that too.

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I am retarded. Yes, you heard me, retarded. No, I am not stupid. However, it appears that my “emotional intelligence” is below average. According to Queendom’s “scientifically validated” test I have an emotional IQ of 84. My “other” IQ is twice that. Does that make me a genius/retard hybrid? I should get Brian to take this test. No doubt, he would have a low score too. Although, he would probably think his EIQ is high going into the test…

I suppose Feeling types had to come up with the Emotional IQ so they would not *feel* inferior to Thinkers. Outside of that, I can see no reason why such a test exists. This is the anti-logic test which actually shows you pictures and asks you how the person is feeling. Their feelings are irrelevant! I am mostly interested in how this test is “scientifically validated” and why it makes me a EIQ retard simply because I do not wish to spend my time crying about my feelings and patting people on the back.

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Since Brian and I have both joined mySpace, Facebook, et al in order to promote our blogs, I have found an increasingly disturbing trend among young women.

The trends I have come across seem to involve young women who glorify getting married as their greatest accomplishment in life. This is not only sad but also extremely degrading. Is this some kind of resurgence of 1950s behavior where the only goal in life for women is to get married and make babies? I also do not understand women who think it is an accomplishment to flaunt the fact that they have taken heir husband’s last name. So what? I could walk into a courthouse and change my name to Wonder Woman tomorrow, if that is what I wanted. I get that they wish to be identified as their husband’s property, but why is that an accomplishment? I doubt many, if any, husbands walk around saying they are Mr. *insert wife’s last name*’s property. Are these women so lacking in their own personality and self-confidence that they have to assume the persona of their husband so they can live through them? I know I get SO sick of hearing friends and family call me by Brian’s last name when I have made it more than clear that I am not his property and we do not have the same last name. It is insulting and rude to call someone by a name other than his or her own name. If your name is Sally Richards and I continually call you Sally Sims then you would probably be offended if you knew that I knew your name was Sally Richards. No? It belays a complete lack of respect for the individual.

In addition, what is all the importance placed on having an engagement ring? Nothing says love like starting your lives together with $30K in engagement ring debt. That is real love. Right. Moreover, why don’t men get engagement rings? They should get them if women are going to get them and women should go into $30K in debt to pay for it. It is absurd to expect a man to shell out thousands of dollars on some pointless piece of jewelry that is supposed to represent your love. Get a grip on reality.

Interestingly enough, by posting this, which is no doubt controversial to many, I am opening myself up to being called horrible things like a feminist. Gasp, the horror, the horror…

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This video has an interesting approach to global climate change. It really is worth the nine minutes to watch it… Thoughts?

Click here to look at the YouTube video.

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It would seem that you can be arrested for a misdemeanor in some parts of California for letting your grass turn brown. That is exactly what happened to a seventy year old woman. She was not only arrested but she was bloodied and bruised by the police. Seriously, I saw the picture of the woman, how much fight could she really have put up? The police must have been nuts! Furthermore, I had no idea you could be arrested for not maintaining your yard. In any neighborhood my parents have lived in, in Georgia, they would just put a lien against someone’s house if they violated the neighborhood covenants or sue them. But jail time for a brown lawn? Give me a break.

Some airline passenger activists are pushing Congress to pass a bill of rights for airline passengers so they do not have to wait on planes for longer than three hours. They setup a mock airplane to show what it would be like to sit in a cramped and hot space with screaming babies and testy people. This story forces me to recall a European plane that sat on the tarmac in Washington (could be wrong) for 24 or more and the a/c was not working, the bathrooms were full, they had no food, etc. I thought Brian and I had it bad when we had to circle around SFO and the land at San Jose where they made us sit on the plane for an hour or two with no explanation (and forcing most people to miss connecting flights) thus stranding us in the SFO airport overnight.

Nutritionists have apparently just discovered that drinking soft drinks loaded with high fructose corn syrup will make you fat. Apparently, they also discovered that if you order the xlarge size instead of the small size of a nondiet soft-drink you will consume more calories.  What an astounding revelation.  Is this even news?

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One of the best political tests, in my opinion, is the Political Compass. I have often described myself as a Libertarian given my streak of being pro-free enterprise and the fact that I do not care much for governing authorities. It is rather interesting that one online test I took says that I am a “Socialist.” Interestingly enough, when I took the test it put me right on the same spot as Hillary Clinton - right next to Ghandi. The Political Compass test also said I was more of a “Leftist Libertarian.” Has anyone else taken the Political Compass test and with what result?

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CNN had an article about Warren Jeffs Trial that is currently taking place. Jeffs is a religious [Mormon] nut who forced young girls to marry men which usually resulted in rape and ill treatment as part of his non-consensual polyamorous lifestyle. I do not think the issue of his character is really in contest in the court of public opinion. I think it is also egregious that a woman would actually represent him [as his lawyer] and defend the acts of forcible marriage perpetrated on children, rape, and polyamorous relationships that were not consensual and caused women to be mentally and physically harmed. Jeff and his lawyer must be good friends with Dawn Eden, queen of the misogynists.

The entry of polygamy into Mormonism is well documented in Fanny Stenhouse’s autobiography, The Tyranny of Mormonism as well as in Kimball Young’s, Isn’t One Wife Enough. They did not allow polyandry but saw fit to allow polygamy since it “fulfilled the Grand Design.” Even according to Mormon beliefs they were supposed to allow the first wife to choose whether a polygamous marriage would take place. If she refused then by doctrine it was not to occur. Fanny Stenhouse sheds light on this practice saying that “If the first wife refused, there were other ways she could be coerced into acceptance, including her own death.” Fabulous religion, really.

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The Latin translations of the Harry Potter books (Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets) Harrius Potter Et Philosophi Lapis and Harrius Potter Et Camera Secretorum do indeed exist. Brian actually gave me both of them as a gift for my Adoption Day and for my company launch this weekend. I will be adding both books to my current bedside reading pile which is about three feet tall right now.  I also happen to know that I will be getting the authoritative Viking history book I have been waiting for since July when Brian bought it for the other part of my Adoption Day gift.  I am quite excited about reading that…

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I am currently writing a Resort Wear article and I will be selling it to a media outlet. It is actually kind of exciting. I am still waiting on Brian to play editor and correct it. At the very least, it should be interesting to see how he edits a fashion related article. Since Brian is very busy I suppose he will put me on a waiting list of some kind. I am hoping to get this article finished up early this week and then off to be published. I was told that I should see my work in print within a month or so (depending on who ultimately ends up buying it). I lose the rights to the piece but I can at least link to it from my blog. I think it needs a stronger closing paragraph - but I can work on that later.

I did launch my company this weekend- finally. I ironed out all of the technical errors that I had been having with the shopping cart and things are fully operational at this point. I am also extending a discount to my friends & family (as well as anyone who visits this blog). You can visit my website and use the code FAM15 when checking out to receive a 15% discount off your total order as well as free shipping. Feel free to ask questions about the collection - I am happy to answer.

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I cannot think of a single reason that Walmart exists other than the fact that they deliver low prices. They buy products from developing nations that have few (if any) labor laws and treat employees inhumanely. If that was not bad enough, they often put smaller local businesses out of business in whatever locality they occupy. They provide low paying jobs with health insurance that the employees cannot pay for with their meager salary. Walmart is also responsible for bringing the coqui frog to the Big Island. They also use way too many plastic bags and do not encourage proper bagging procedures thus causing waste and harm to the environment.

In light of these issues (and others) the Big Island should be having a public hearing for a proposed bill to ban big box retailers. Kauai has already banned big box retailers. It should be interesting to see how this issue unfolds…

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I was looking at my options to offset our energy consumption. Granted, we use less than half the power that most households do but it seems like a reasonable thing to do. I looked for options on the HECO website but they do not offer a way to off-set energy consumption to consumers. I did a bit of searching online and finally found the Sterling Planet - Green America program which is exactly what I was looking for but could not find. This way, I will be able to offset 100% of our energy consumption each month which is healthy for environment, us, and my business. I am just glad to have found something better than not doing anything regarding our power consumption. Given that Hawaii mostly uses petroleum for fuel I am definitely glad to do even a small part to reduce the impact of using petroleum as a fuel source. I encourage everyone to sign up for this service - it is a responsible way to offset your energy consumption and you don’t really have to *do* anything…

For my friends in Atlanta - Sterling Planet is actually located in Norcross.

I need to talk my parents into doing this. They use about 2200 kwh per month - that’s three times more than the national average…

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I am working towards a launch tomorrow of Katy Johnson Resort Wear. I currently just have a few additional things to do - setting up the payment information and also finishing up pictures and some inventory related things (like sorting through the hundreds of flip flops I have). I am excited. Things are moving along nicely… Now, I only have to get my advertising campaign ready to go ASAP.

I actually helped my Dad work through his internet related woes this evening and the venture was successful. We did not even butt heads in the 1.5 hour long phone call. Hooray. The ENTJ and INTJ can get along, it would seem.

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I stayed up all night working on my business website.  I am utterly exhausted.  I tried to stay awake with caffeine [Diet Coke] which I now dislike with a passion.  Never one to really drink soft drinks I must say that drinking enough to stay awake was a rather disgusting experience.

At any rate, my plans to work on my business website were foiled numerous times.  First, the ZenCart template was horrible and continued to not do what it should do based on the code.  But it appeared that the custom template was making calls to other pages that were inconsistent with what is typical.  So, I had to scrap that.  I moved on to osCommerce but it was lacking in features compared to ZenCart (it’s sister cart) and I had a number of other problems that I had with ZenCart.  Finally, I settled on CubeCart - which I had actually dealt with long ago and did not have a problem with it.  It is less robust than ZenCart but that’s not necessarily a bad thing - especially when I am crazy from lack of sleep.  Fortunately, I actually have the website operational.  I just need to add the stock and photos of the products then I will be ready.  I suspect everything will be [properly] finished by tomorrow.  I would hate to launch when I am crazy from lack of sleep.

In retrospect, I realize now that I am just too old to pull all-nighters like I used to do as almost everynight.

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I am currently in the process of writing an INTJ description/philosophy page to add to the website.  It will focus on some of the less talked about aspects of the INTJ and more importantly it will be written from the perspective of an INTJ rather than some random person who writes MBTI descriptions for a living.

More later on this…

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