Blame it on andrew

SF.

2009-05-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

Remember we were supposed to go to SF and eat to our hearts (stomachs) desire? I should have made you come with us when I had the chance.

Obama budget balancing Plan B: Legalize ALL narcotics.

2009-03-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

I really don't like Obama's stimulus plan-- one that supports taxing the people who are responsible for economic growth, the middle class, and also promotes creating dead end jobs. What are dead end jobs? I'm not referring to McDonalds. I'm referring to road construction jobs that END when the projects are done. These government jobs aren't real, they are just a useful extension of unemployment.

So here's my proposal: it is the perfect time to legalize all narcotics and license the production to American investors. I definitely am not condoning any type of drug use and that is for a completely different discussion altogether. But, I know for a fact that at least hundred of thousands of Americans funnel millions of dollars in illegal drug purchases into the hands of pretty shady people. Clearly, we have a problem. I feel that all the money we could save from reducing our stupid "war on drugs" would be better spent funding Obama's $800 billion stimulus plan.

By allowing American investors and corporations to take over narcotic production, we can accomplish three primary goals that Obama is striving for:

1) Restore investor confidence-- drugs are a narcotic, that while we do not have accurate supply/demand info, definitely seem to be in rising demand. Give investors a solid commodity to back.

2) Create sustainable jobs by expanding the private sector and not using government projects-- Opening the door to an entire new industry will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in many areas (marketing, management, construction, chemical, argricultural to name a few). Think of the the alcohol market.

3) Actively work on curbing the budget deficit through multiple avenues--

3a) Generate new stream of income and corporate taxes: Marlboro will sell lots and lots of pot, and they will pay Uncle Sam their taxes.
3b) Reduce or eliminate the money spent on fighting the war on drugs. For example: drug trafficking by lowering the number of inmates within our overcrowded prison system by cutting out crimes of the middlemen (ie selling the drugs will now become an honest job, instead of a crime)

4) Stop funding these drug cartels in South America. It's pretty sickening to read about how the cartels down there are involved in brutal murders and killings of innocents in order to maintain their order. (OK, this isn't that high on his agenda with all the other shit. But it's like extra credit for doing all the above mentioned.)

Immediate cons of my plan...

1) Drug usage, no matter how the liberal hippies put it... Is more or less bad. Sure, you can control it and what not. But that doesn't mean it's beneficial. You have to take this with a grain of salt.

2) More crime caused by drug usage. Ie that being under the influence of X drug will increase the probability that person A will cause person B harm. A valid argument, but this happens on a daily basis anyway.

3) Enables many more people to have access to drugs through ease of access. While this may initially be true, I think that if people really wanted the drugs, they would acquire it through any means. So it's really a moot point. And just because you dabble in it, doesn't mean that you will instantly forfeit your life for it. Look at the man who's our president, one who admittedly did pot. I don't judge, he's still a pretty qualified person.

We've failed stopping it, now it's time to turn the table and benefit from it.

Obama's Budget Plan: Taking a Lesson from Robin Hood

2009-02-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Obama never seizes to amaze me in what he is capable of-- beginning with his election: 10 months ago, I was sure there was not a sliver of hope that we were going to have to address him as Mr. President. Now, only weeks after the Democrats have forcefully thrusted their ludicrous $800 billion dollar sequel-to-the-"New Deal" plan down the country's throat, Obama is revealing how he is going to make amends to increase budget deficit created by his predecessor. He's admitted that yes, his new plan is going to put America in an even deeper mess. But that is why we must deal with this now, by heavily taxing America's most affluent citizens.

Who are these citizens? Obama considers this any household with a combined pre-tax income of $250,000. While this may seem like an incredibly solid amount of change to be bringing in for a single household, I want to remind you of the disparity between the cost of living across America. Ie, the cost of living somewhere normal such as California or New England versus the cost of living of South Dakota is HUGE. Barrack learn from others' mistakes, in this case: California's budget meltdown. The recession has left California's controller with ZER0 money, to the point where they could not even fund financial aid for university students. Why? Because while California is one of the wealthiest states in the Union, it depended on taxing the highly affluent as a principle source of income. The economoist reports that 49.1% of the budget came from personal income taxes, and of that percentage-- the top 1% of the wealthy paid for 48% of all the income taxes. Simplified, ONE percent of California's citizens paid nearly 25% of the states budget. This method was adequate because in the early 2000's the state would get huge amounts of tax money from the rapidly growing economy, especially the tech boom. With the sudden collapse of the market, California's budget falls as the next link in the chain. Hello Barrack! Can't you see that the rich can only keep you afloat when things are going well!

But-- this is not my core argument as to why Obama needs re-read the news he's been receiving from his government issued Blackberry. Why do I think taxing the rich is stupid? The answer lies into who get really is affected the most by this market meltdown: AMERICA'S AFFLUENT. Corporations are melting down, discretionary spending is at an all time low because the upper middle class American's are starting to lose their jobs. America's lower class spending is a constant. People on minimum wage jobs have meager discretionary spending and contribute little to the overall tax revenue. I don't accuse the lower class of not being affected by recession because EVERYONE is getting hit. But I do think taking money from the upper class to give to the lower class is the least effective means of solving the problem. We need to RESTORE consumer confidence and ensure that more money can be spent towards discretionary spending. Robin Hood'ing the rich isn't going to solve that. The answer is not to "let them eat cake"... It's to "LET THEM CHARGE THEIR AMEX CARDS!".

Obama not compatible with China

2009-01-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

NYTimes Sat. 1/24/08

Quotation of the Day
"The Chinese are probably one of the few people in the world who were sorry to see President Bush go, and are nervous about his successor."
KENNETH G. LIEBERTHAL, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, on signs that the Obama administration may take a tougher line with China.

You can always count on your Asian brethren to think with their wallets. Well, I say I hope that I can see more shit made in America, or at least some other third world country. And less toys made with toxin and defective batches of heparin...

6 hours of waiting later...

2008-07-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

...the iPhone 3G is now mine. After crawling into line at 6:30am, my brother and I finally were presented to our personal Apple specialist to enroll us for the new phone. We didn't want any brochures or need any pitches for plans. We knew exactly what we wanted. Activate the phones and give it to us. NOW.

I've been very blessed with some new material items in my life lately. And this one has definitely added some fun into my daily routine.

Soooo useful!!

2008-07-10T12:51:00.001-07:00

Shitty Day

2008-04-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of those shitty days where I don't want to do everything, and I ditch all of my classes.

Benefit Dinner

2008-04-12T17:02:00.001-07:00

I did my best. to make a difference. And I think it turned out pretty damn well!

Audio Heaven

2008-03-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Best audio purchase I've ever made. Shure SE310. You hear almost nothing with them on. The volume level is very low so that you aren't blasting away your ears just to drown out the awful noise at standard study locations. The clarity is amazing: if you listen to your songs that are in high quality, you will hear things that you never knew were there. Why didn't I get these earlier? Get it from headphone.com, it's much cheaper than at Apple.

2008-02-06T03:21:00.001-08:00

does anyone remember the song butterfly by dj mystik that was in the DDR a long long time ago?

HOTT.

2007-12-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

I've never been a fan of Dooney and Bourke. I don't know if it was because I never caught a bag that caught my eye, or simply if the didn't sound chic enough off the tongue. BUT. I recently glanced at the cover of their catalogue and thought: DAMN! that is a hot picture. It turns out that the recent cover of their catalogue features Hayden Panetierre (HEROES). The actual catalogue shot is so much hotter because it shows how low her dress is cut, but this picture is the best I could find.

2007-11-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

I was flipping through my iPod Nano today- and I realized that of the 6 bands that showed up on the screen I had seen 4 of them LIVE.

Keane

Killers
Maroon 5

Muse.

DAMN Maroon 5 was good and The Hives is my newly discovered treasure.

2007-11-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

I haven't update this in a while, but I'm really happy about the positive feedback I received on my pro-immigration rant. I've been really waiting for the "Google Phone", but I had a feeling that it would just be a really sweet mobile OS, so that Google didn't have to invade Apple's territory. I was looking forward to it, until I read in the article that Verizon is once again copping out of it. Fuck you Verizon. If it weren't for your amazing reception, I would have dumped your ass years ago.

Finally, Leopard is finally out. It's amazing. It's fast. It's sleek. It does have its compatibility and freezing issues. I'm hoping to see a new patch tomorrow to fix up some of the random application freezes I've been getting. Also, the dock really looked tacky until I got the secret fix that Ben hooked it up with. Definitely a must if you care about computers at all.

Finally part 2. I've been starting to see Audi R8's around. This is the sweetest car with a $100k pricetag... If only it wasn't rolling with a 50% mark up. Maybe they'll have a second gen version by the time I have the resources to get behind the wheel of one.

Pro-Illegal Immigration = Negative

2007-10-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in this piece for a while, but I'm back now. I was surfing some NYT articles and I came up on one about how Cal's freshmen quarterback fucked them for something. This one has more meaning though. I don't know if it was because of how I was raised, but I honestly think all this pro-immigration bullshit is just that: bullshit. I know my parents were given opportunities because of America, but I cannot understand why we spend so much time and effort to support ILLEGAL people here. I think they hurt the community in many ways, such as being uninsured (not only car but also medically) and then also not paying taxes. I don't have anything against these people, but I just don't think it's fair that they take advantage of the geography to come over here. I mean, ideally we would accept all the people of the world who want to come (which is a fucken lot), but we just can't. I think everyone should have the EQUAL right to try to get legitimate admission into the country.

Don't even get me started about how they teach public schools in Spanish now...

2007-09-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

I've been following this HIV vaccination recently, and it was really showing hope but this is a major letdown for it. I think that we're getting closer to getting a grasp on how to conquer this virus though and that can't be denied despite this news.

2007-09-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

This post is mostly for anyone who appreciates cars.

1) I saw two BLACK Audi R8's parked one right after the other on Gayley Ave in Westwood yesterday. There has been a lot of hype for this car both positive and negative, but I want to affirm that even though it looks a bit futuristic, it looks just as amazing in person.

2) On the way home today, I saw a black BMW 650ci convertible which a license plate frame of none other than "UCSB Alumni". It was the first time ever that I've seen such a plate on a high end car. I guess this is proof to raise UCSB's status a little in all our eyes. At least a little.

3) I saw this champagne Mercedes SL55 on the freeway today going only 60mph in the slow lane. I know that this car isn't considered a sports car, but it is a very fast and sporty GT without a doubt. The driver: an Asian woman in her 50's that barely could see over the steering wheel. Now, I know this gets a little racist, but I can explain myself. I mean, I get that she probably comes from decent wealth considering she can afford a $130k car. But why an SL55?? It should go into the hands of someone who will drive it faster than 60mph on the open freeway. I mean, test drivers talk about how the acceleration comes at the tap of the gas pedal. It just doesn't feel right that it will never be used to a fraction of what it was made to do. It's not fair sometimes...

4) On several occasions this week, new Nissan Maximas and Altimas (what I consider Japanese trash) have tried to show me up on the freeway. I hate how the new trend in cars is sporty because all these car companies are releasing "sporty" cars which are not sporty or fast at all. All I can ask is... If I don't try to race M3s and 911's.. then why should an Altima try its luck on me??

2007-09-06T11:50:00.001-07:00

Check this out. United States Air Force flies 6 nukes across the country by mistake. I mean.. It wasn't like we had a ton of faith in George, but still, you'd think they would be a little more careful. I wonder if they'd notice a few missing if Muhammad (one of the most popular names according to SUPERBAD) borrowed a few for future reference.

2007-09-04T10:34:00.001-07:00

I came across this article where scientists and doctors were able to grow a human heart valve replacement from bone marrow stem cells. This is amazing and I only wonder what things will like once we get closer and closer to practicing medicine.

2007-09-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

There will be new iPods Wednesday. I haven't wanted the large standard iPod since I bought one of the original ones many years ago, but I have a feeling that the new ones will be hot and I will want one. For the first time since the mini/nano line-up has come out, I do not what it is predicted to look like at all. What I've really been waiting for is new LED-based cinema display screens to go with my MacBook Pro...

2007-09-01T19:05:00.001-07:00

This short article on this Google engineer, Tan Chade-Meng, (nerdy looking Chinese guy) who takes pictures with all the famous faces that visit Google headquarters proves how legit a work environment Google is, as well as its awesome future as a company. His business card supposedly says "Jolly Good Fellow" as job description, LOL nice.

2007-08-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Department of Traffic decided fuck my Friday morning with yet another parking ticket. I failed to read the parking sign like 100 ft away, fuck! Parking enforcement officer Barsillo failed to locate my VIN number, so if I had just kept my license plate off, he wouldn't have been able to identify my car except maybe as "black nissan 350z (rare original track model, if he was car saavy)", or he could have just written badass to shorten it down. Thanks for nothing LA! Just another reason why I won't ever be able to live in LA after college, the biggest parking and ticket disaster in the world.

2007-08-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Months after the Virginia tech shooting, "highly educated" officials announce that it should never happen again, according to BBC. Really, it hadn't occurred to me that mowing down innocent students in a university shouldn't happen again?

2007-08-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Johnson Poo Tang

Date: Mar 2, 2007 6:32 PM
Subject: ......
Body: yo foo... you dating my sister???

Date: Mar 5, 2007 9:46 PM
Subject: ya waddup homie
Body: ya waddup homie why don't you reply huh???

I just got these. The last time I logged into myspace before this was in February. =D

Whoaa, 9th grade flashback.

2007-07-05T02:24:00.001-07:00

summer of mcat and i still don't seem to be trying hard enough...

but i'm working on it.

owned.

2007-06-07T12:10:00.001-07:00

wow, life is totally dominating me right now.

i'm getting rejected left and right for everything i'm applying to. if life is a measure of how you deal with your failures, i'd say that i'm not doing too well at all.

2007-05-19T10:47:00.001-07:00

i keep trying to get my life together, but i keep distracting myself and not following through.

it's such a slow process

closer

2007-05-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

My iTunes wandered into Damien Rice, an artist of which I own the collection but have never sat down and listened to. Then this song started playing, and I immediately recognized it. It's from the movie Closer, definitely an awesome song.

The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice

And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes...

And so it is
Just like you said it should be
We'll both forget the breeze
Most of the time
And so it is
The colder water
The blower's daughter
The pupil in denial

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes...

Did I say that I loathe you?
Did I say that I want to
Leave it all behind?

I can't take my mind off of you
I can't take my mind off you
I can't take my mind off of you
I can't take my mind off you
I can't take my mind off you
I can't take my mind...
My mind...my mind...
'Til I find somebody new

phide

2007-05-06T00:03:00.001-07:00

controls my life. but i love it.

retreat.

2007-04-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

it's been exactly a year since i was finding out what it was to be a brother of phi delta epsilon.

now we're on the other side teaching yet another class what it is. but we've learned from mistakes and observed from the ones before us. this one is going to rock.

shoutout to my ep sisters (+ meesh) who couldn't make it.

2007-04-25T07:53:00.001-07:00

i ALWAYS fuck myself by not going to class and expecting to be able to cram it all last minute.

my roots.

2007-04-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

Saw this today with my parents. It's hard to describe it, but the connection was powerful.

Check it out:

www.journeyfromthefall.com

Bringing out the worst.

2007-03-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Money matters really bring out the worst in people.

You don't really know a slut until you live with them is what a wise Indian once told me.

the bottom

2007-03-04T00:30:00.000-08:00

when you play with fire, it will burn you. and then he saw the world turn upside down in front of his eyes.

he would do anything to take it back. now that the bottom had been reached, there was only one way to go.
to slowly fix things one by one.

can't give up because this is the only life we are given to live.

lunar new year

2007-02-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

life's been amazing, but sometimes i get a feeling that there is still something that i haven't corrected yet underlying it.

i'm trying hard to figure it out. soon.

like now.

The Brick

2007-02-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood
street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for
kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down
when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children
appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He
slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the
brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car,
grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against
a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just
what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw
is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy
was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know
what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else
would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the
youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother,
"he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I
can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please
help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy
for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling
lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into
the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the
fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to
be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told
the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy!
push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very
noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side
door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go
through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get
your attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.
Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick
at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

new year.

2007-01-01T00:45:00.000-08:00

my single resolution is to L I V E life.

that doesn't mean i'm going to live even more recklessly than i did last year. it means i need to look at my goals and realize what i need to do to get there. i want to reach out for my dreams and aspirations, now. who knows where this will take me. i know that living life doesn't mean i will party harder. it might mean i need to pass up that next shot. or that party on a monday night. or that last cigarette. living life means i will take up that opportunity i would normally pass up. i might make that effort to talk to the shy person next to me. 2006 was some of the best and worst times of my life. i don't know what 2007 will bring, but whatever it is, i will try to make the best of it instead of being negative. cheers everyone!

exposed.

2006-12-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

i've been likened to being emo. it's true to an extent i believe, i do really enjoy feeling the rush of emotion. i find comfort in music and sometimes cigarettes. if im alone, my mind wanders. sometimes i find it hard to pretend everything is ok. that's im fine, and all i need are amazing friends and expensive things. it's hard.

BUT.

im scared, i feel vulnerable. it hurt too many times. no, that's not right. don't hesitate. you had a good feeling about this one, and that's that.

2006-12-21T03:59:00.001-08:00

i had an amazing yesterday. and today. whatever.

a step forward.

2006-11-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

I realize that my attitude for accomplishing things I need to do in my life is currently not up to par...

it reflects in my poor performance in school and my failure to meet the demands put upon me. It is my hope in transcribing these thoughts that I can change for the better.

2006-11-24T01:32:00.000-08:00

the last few weeks have had amazing ups and downs.

the next few weeks will be busier than ever, but i think they will be memorable and fun. ive confirmed that i really like to go out and have fun in order to stop my mind from wandering too much.

give me some redbull, wine, and a caramel latte. i will handle it, i hope.

2006-11-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

My baby wasn't even 2 years old. Up to this point, I had only gotten a single dent on my car aside from rock chips...

Now I'm afraid to drive her. It could have been worse, but this is a reminder that I'm not invincible on the road.

2006-11-12T01:36:00.000-08:00

I learned a few things this week.

1) The way you treat your body is how it will treat you in the end. Abuse it, and it will abuse you.

2) Whenever I have free time, such as after midterms, I find myself blowing time like no other. This is why I'm consistently always behind in school. I neglect my other classes for the classes I have upcoming midterms. Once I am finished with the midterms, repeat.

3a) I think back on how I was once scolded for my intoxication habits. I realize now that how you conduct even your private life will reflect on the level of respect you receive. Basically, I either need to tone down my level of fun or keep it even more on the dl.

3b) This is 3b because it relates to 3a. Your private life is not exclusive of PhiDE responsibilities when much of your social connex have been invested into the fraternity.

holla to my Epsilons.

poke.

2006-10-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

brotherhood.

2006-10-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

I didn't even take the test myself. but i felt the blood, sweat, and tears put into it by my bros. sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail. we're all in this together.

2006-10-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

I think I really fucked up somewhere along the line. shit.

2006-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hot when an Asian popstars covers one of the best songs from one of the best bands ever?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UioHcusRUkc

2006-09-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

winning. at life

2006-09-05T01:55:00.000-07:00

I was having a cigarette break with Jason at Coffee Bean when some guy comes out and angrily demands who is parked in his spot at the apartments across the street. The owner of the car gets up from his seat at an outdoor Coffee Bean table and states it his Benz. He casually walks over wearing medical scrubs, hops in his brand new black SL 550 and moves it away. The angry person who owned the parking spot was OWNED.

"Yes, that IS my brand new black SL in your spot."