Happy Independence Day!

For Independence Day, I leave you with an excerpt of Kennedy's speech in 1946.

The American character has been not only religious, idealistic, and patriotic, but because of these it has been essentially individual.

The right of the individual against the State has ever been one of our most cherished political principles.

The American Constitution has set down for all men to see the essentially Christian and American principle that there are certain rights held by every man which no government and no majority, however powerful, can deny.

Conceived in Grecian thought, strengthened by Christian morality, and stamped indelibly into American political philosophy, the right of the individual against the State is the keystone of our Constitution. Each man is free.

He is free in thought.

He is free in expression.

He is free in worship.

To us, who have been reared in the American tradition, these rights have become part of our very being. They have become so much a part of our being that most of us are prone to feel that they are rights universally recognized and universally exercised. But the sad fact is that this is not true. They were dearly won for us only a few short centuries ago and they were dearly preserved for us in the days just past. And there are large sections of the world today where these rights are denied as a matter of philosophy and as a matter of government.

We cannot assume that the struggle is ended. It is never-ending.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. It was the price yesterday. It is the price today, and it will ever be the price.

The characteristics of the American people have ever been a deep sense of religion, a deep sense of idealism, a deep sense of patriotism, and a deep sense of individualism.

Let us not blink the fact that the days which lie ahead of us are bitter ones.

May God grant that, at some distant date, on this day, and on this platform, the orator may be able to say that these are still the great qualities of the American character and that they have prevailed.

So, what do you think? Sadly, many of these qualities seem to have been dwindling. And, I fear it's going to get worse.

Here's a link to some of my photos...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gimemoore/

I'll be continuously adding more to that album, so keep checking back.

Photography is something that has always appealed to me, but it just doesn't pay well enough. So, it is nothing more than a hobby - a hobby that my wife will say I spend too much money on. LOL

Twikini - Windows Mobile Twitter application out of beta

Some time ago, I got rid of my Blackberry, and switched to a Windows Mobile smartphone. Despite it's shortcomings, I do like the Windows Mobile operating system. But, the one thing I noticed is that there was no good, fast Twitter client available. I tried Pocketwit, TinyTwitter, and a few mobile web clients, but none of them were quite up to the standard of the client I used on my Blackberry (SocialScope).

Then I heard about a beta product making the rounds, Twikini, and gave it a try. At first, it was very fast, but lacked features and had some bugs that I couldn't deal with. But, being a beta, I kept trying new builds as they were released, and left feedback for the developers as to features I'd like, and problems that needed fixed. And, after trying the newest version, 1.1, it's safe to say that they listened!

The app is very fast and looks great. And, throughout it's beta stage, the developers kept adding features that people thought necessary. Some of these features include URL shortening, direct messaging within the app, viewing user profiles, notifications of new tweets, GPS location support, and the ability to view the public timeline from within the application.

The only addition I'd like to see would be for the ability to search twitter from within the app. But, even if that never comes about, I'm still very happy with Twikini, and will continue to use it.

While beta testing this app, I never could bring myself to completely uninstall either TinyTwitter or Pocketwit, due to problems or missing features in Twikini. But, if this new version keeps functioning as well for the next few days as it has been, as I fully suspect it will, Twikini will be the only one on my phone.

You can get Twikini here --> http://www.trinketsoftware.com/Twikini

The full version can be bought with one of their other apps for just $4.95, which doesn't seem like a bad deal to me.

I am "triumphant" in my claim...

Well, our credit card company informed us yesterday that our account will be credited for the skateboard I bought after Martini Skate and Snow reneged on their stated return policy. w00t! (see this old post if you don't know what I am talking about.)

What I found interesting was the response to them from the store that reneged on their return policy, Martini Skate and Snow. Their argument was that I was too heavy and broke the board. That's funny, because I specifically asked that question in the store when I bought the board, and the owner himself said "oh, that board could hold you and your wife together." In fact, they even let me stand on it before I bought it. Funny how things change when someone needs to find an excuse.

I even had correspondence with the manufacturer that I sent in with my claim that stated I was no where near heavy enough to damage that board.

The only thing that bothers me is that the store will still get their money. See, our credit card company "misplaced" our documents and originally found in favor of the store. I called and talked to a few people, our info was found, and suddenly they said, "oops." They credited our card in full, but said that they may not be able to go after the store due to the language of the merchant agreement. It sucks that an error on their part causes the store to get away with it. But, on the other hand, I have been credited AND get to keep the board, which the manufacturer will now exchange for me free of charge. So, I effectively can sell it and double my money. Or, maybe I'll keep it - it's not the manufacturer's fault that the store wouldn't abide by what was written on my receipt, and it is a nice board. Plus, they will actually honor their warranty directly with me, regardless of the store's inability to abide by their own policies.

I suppose it could be worse, eh? But, just remember, be careful when buying from places like this.

In my experience I have found that, just because their receipt states "refunds or exchanges within 30 days from date of purchase, After which all sales are final. GO RIDE!" doesn't necessarily mean that they intend to honor that policy.

Pirates!! Arghhhh...

Today's post is a copy/paste from a comment I had made on Facebook regarding the sailor being held by the pirates.

They need to get that Navy ship close, and bring some sharp shooters on board. Assign two shooters per pirate, in case one screws up and doesn't make a clean kill shot. On the count of three, everyone pulls the trigger. Bam - you have a boat with a bunch of dead pirates, and one live captain who just shit himself.

Next, start hunting them down on their own turf with half the US Navy's fleet with one rule - NO live prisoners, kill on sight.

That would send a message that we're done pussy-footing around, and would immediately make the area safer.

But, our leaders would never allow us to react in such a manner, which would construe us as to having a set of balls.

Here we go again

A major reason that our economy is in this shape is because of the big push to get people to buy homes that previously could not afford them. I remember Barney Frank and his Democratic colleagues bragging to the media about how wonderful it was. The problem was, many buyers still couldn't afford these homes, regardless of how much meddling with Fannie and Freddie our politicians did to help these loans get approved.

So, now we know. Well, sort of. Word on the streets puts Bush to blame, and somehow it has been forgotten who started the push for these loans.

But, it seems the lesson learned may have already been forgotten, too. Now, the auto industry is telling people to go buy a car, and they will cover your car payments if you lose your job. So, if you are worried about being able to afford a car, stop worrying and go buy one???

Don't forget, these auto loans are backed by companies that our government is backing with our tax dollars. So now, I get to pay for someone's beautiful new car, which is parked in the garage of a $350,000 home, even though they may have bought both knowing full well they couldn't afford it. All the while, I work 80 to 100 hours every week for less and less money.

Ah, yes. Aren't our leaders just great?

"Mandatory Volunteerism"

Mandatory volunteerism for grade school children. Uniforms while "volunteering." All in the name of what is "best for the nation."

Sounds eerily familiar....




http://www.newswithviews.com/Graham/cj117.htm

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2009/03/27/the-house-giveth-and-the-government-taketh-away-our-freedoms-1.php

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090325/OPINION/903250315/1042?Title=CLOSE-TO-HOME-How-can-volunteerism-in-America-be-mandatory-