Who Killed The Electric Car?

As I read the news about the auto makers industry needing a possible bailout, I cannot help but recall this DVD I watched awhile back.

If you have any doubt that we should have had electric cars already, and have wondered whether the idea of cars fueled by electricity has been swept under the rug by the very companies who need help now, take a look at this DVD.

Who Killed The Electric Car? is a great documentary, and you will nejoy it if you are looking for info on this fascinating topic.



Here is the brief description I read before watching it:

In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline. Ten years later, these futuristic cars were almost entirely gone. What happened? Why should we be haunted by the ghost of the electric car?

Do yourself a favor and educate yourself about elecric cars, why we should already have them and how they were swept under the rug so Hummers could be sold.

Lots of cameo appearances by movie stars who owned prototypes of the cars and loved them! Martin Sheen, Mel Gibson and more.

Get your copy of Who Killed The Electric Car? today.

Uncounted: The New Math Of American Elections

With the excitement building over the upcoming Presidential Election on November 4, 2008, I decided to give Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections a viewing last night.

Here's the brief description I read before I sat down to watch it...

Filmmaker David Earnhardt takes a close look at the state of America's electoral process and presents unnerving evidence that fraud at every level is disenfranchising voters across the nation. Featuring candid interviews with election officials, journalists, statisticians, computer programmers and others, this persuasive documentary also examines the scandals surrounding the 2004 presidential election.

All I knew going into it, was that the documentary was about elections, and the counting of votes using electronic voting machines.

If you are unfamiliar with the controversy surrounding electronic voting machines, the company Diebold, and the 2004 election, you really should check this one out. Diebold received so much negative publicity regarding the voting machines bugged with problems, they have since changed their company name to: Premier Election Solutions Inc.



I understand why the country has begun moving towards electronic voting machines, however, I do not understand why there is no paper trail. The company behind the machines, in this DVD, is Diebold, the same company who makes ATM machines. ATM Machines keep an internal auditable log and can be traced. Why should our voting machines, made by this same company, be unable to be audited or counted if there is an issue. Essentially, once votes are cast, there is no proof of them and no way to verify or count them afterward in the event of a problem.

Electronic voting machines should print out a paper, showing all your votes, you should be able to look that over, and then drop that in a ballot box. Not have it all stored in memory on a machine, that has proven to fail. I am concerned more than ever that the Republican ties to the companies who make these voting machines, has in fact, been used to "flip votes" in favor of Republican politicians. Why would I think that?

The man, Clint Curtis is in the documentary, who was employed to write software for these voting machines blows the whistle in this DVD. He became aware something was wrong when his employer wanted him to make the "vote flipping" part of the software source code to be hidden or non-traceable. He voiced his concern, and was told, "you don't understand, this is to flip the election in Florida." Now, if you remember Florida was the state that basically gave George Bush the 2004 election. If he had not won Florida, there is a chance the entire election would have come out differently.

Other examples of clear vote fraud, is shown in a town where only 800 or so people voted, yet Bush was given 4,200+ votes from that precinct. Something a little strange going on? Certainly, and this DVD will open your eyes to the blatant voter fraud taking place in our modern elections.

Why do electronic voting machines not give us a paper trail? Something we can count afterward? Voting machines are built to the exact opposite of standards that ATM machines are manufactured to. ATM machines can be audited and every bit of info or transaction leaves a record so someone can analyze the machine and its numbers if there is ever a problem. Why would a company, that builds such systems, go out of their way, to make voting machines hold no record, keep no trace or trail of events? There is only one reason, to hide what is going on inside.

In this documentary, you see public officials who have been fired for making inquiries into these voting machines, and you can see many of the connections between certain politicians and the company who makes the machines and more. Bruce Funk is locked out of his office, an elected official, while Diebold denies him access to the machines so they can edit the software and remove the "flip virus." This is an amazing inside look into what is going on in America regarding the vote counting process.

I will leave you with the description from the box:

UNCOUNTED is an explosive documentary that shows how the election fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006 - and now looms as an unbridled threat to the outcome of the 2008 election. This controversial film examines in factual, logical, and yet startling terms how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity across the U.S. Noted computer programmers, statisticians, journalists, and experienced election officials provide the irrefutable proof.

UNCOUNTED shares well documented stories about the spine-chilling disregard for the right to vote in America. In Florida, computer programmer Clint Curtis is directed by his boss to create software that will 'flip' votes from one candidate to another. In Utah, County Clerk Bruce Funk is locked out of his office for raising questions about security flaws in electronic voting machines. Californian Steve Heller gets convicted of a felony after he leaks secret documents detailing illegal activities committed by a major voting machine company. And Tennessean entrepreneur, Athan Gibbs, finds verifiable voting a hard sell in America and dies before his dream of honest elections can be realized.

UNCOUNTED is a wakeup call to all Americans. Beyond increasing public awareness, the film inspires greater involvement in fixing a broken electoral system.

You should watch this before the upcoming election if you have concerns regarding electronic voting machines.

Get your copy of UNCOUNTED: The New Math Of American Elections before the election.

Negative McCain Ads Reach 100% - Even Twitter

I noticed even the John McCain twitter ad in the election category, is negative! I heard that John McCain had stepped up his negative ads to 100% percent, but I didn't believe it until I looked it up.



Even on twitter, he is trying to make Obama "look bad," but not delivering any answers to the problems facing America. The Barack Obama twitter ad, on the other hand, links a positive event, a speech of Joe Biden and others, including Hillary Clinton, about the issues facing this country.

Negative ads will always be part of our political process, or circus. But how effective are they, at a time, when people are struggling, even to keep up with the current gas prices in America?

Internet Surfer

How many hours a day do you spend surfing the Internet? For many of us our job relates to the internet, and some of us waste time "at work" by surfing the internet!

Some people even claim they are in fact, addicted to the internet. One thing is certain though, people in general enjoy surfing the internet. Whether doing research, or contacting family and friends through the latest social networking site popular among teens and college students.



Studying the behavior and habits of the Internet Surfer has become a science among advertising firms and marketing strategists, and for good reason. The internet has become much more than one would assume it was ever intended to be. In theory, I am sure the communication aspects of the network's origins were the top most reason for funding it's existence, but I highly doubt people thought one day we would be sharing "bookmarks" and trading photos of our favorite celebrity videos, or even watching the latest Presidential Debate via the internet!

Advertising and marketing to the Internet Surfer.

People want to know what makes someone click on something, what gets you to read the latest press release, or watch the latest commercial? Things like this are important to get site visitors to engage in advertisements within your website.

The internet surfer will always be around, clicking around, surfing the newest news site or political forum, waiting to find something new to look at, share, or buy. And as long as the internet exists people will be learning how to sell things to people via the internet.

Most people however, just want to sit back and surf the internet just like they do television. Endlessly clicking on link after link, loading page after page of celebrity gossip, political news, looking at their own house on Google Maps etc... and the internet just wouldn't be the same without them.

Who would make all those useless comments on news sites? Who would waste half a day making humorous video clips of themselves doing silly things on cam? Who could ever replace the internet surfer?

Obama vs McCain Website Fight

I decided to take a look at both presidential candidate websites today and give a quick summary of my thoughts on each.

First I typed in JohnMcCain.com and let the page load...



First off, upon site load I was taken to a video intro page and was greeted by an annoying clip of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. Aggravating. But I did in fact enjoy the stars and the design layout of this page...

I could do five things. I was asked to put in my email and zip code and "sign up to join the team." I could "Learn more about why to vote John McCain" I was also given the opportunity to "recruit friends" and "take action." Or I could click the back button on my browser and get the aggravating video of Palin's voice to STOP! Finally I clicked "continue to www.JohnMcCain.com" and so I went...

The website is obviously very well designed, great use of the three predictable colors of red, white, and blue. Lots of things to click around on, and various entertaining photos, and ads.

On I surfed to BarackObama.com to compare...



I was glad to not be greeted with a Senator Biden video! Instead I was taken to a very informative page showcasing his stance on various current events and topics ranging from the financial crisis, breast cancer awareness, and even a clickable map so I could find local events to get involved in to help out. Immediately the difference I could see felt as if I was being offered info rather than Republican talking points. Obama's site used the word "learn" when illustrating an opinion compared to McCain's site presenting the info in more of a "watch this" style of presentation of media.

The Barack Obama site was easier on the eyes and had a much nicer design. The graphic elements were very nicely balanced and the fonts were legible but not distracting. I also really like the glow effect used in the site design.

McCain's web site had an annoying stretched looking font and felt as if I was browsing a military site. He even wanted me to join a "Catholic Coalition" if I wanted, and had a pull down menu of dozens more to choose from, including "bikers, lawyers, and veterans." LOL I came to his site to learn about him as a candidate, not join a religious coalition.

Both sites are encouraging viewers to register to vote, so that is good. Clearly each candidate will be asking for donations, even via the internet, so that is to be expected. However, I think people are also looking to find more info about the candidate and looking to know where they stand on certain issues.

Obama's site seemed to invite me in for a look around, whereas McCain's site seemed as if I was watching a bunch of commercials and an artificial approach to being welcomed. Overall, I think Barack Obama's site wins.

Why I Stopped Watching Television

People often get a puzzled look on their face when I tell them I have not "watched television in years." As of right now, it's been over three, however last night considering the "Presidential Debate" was set to air at 9 pm EST, I debated with myself whether to watch it on traditional television or simply broadcast it from my laptopto my HDTV.

After taking my shower I had approximately thirty minutes until the debate was set to begin. "Time to make the popcorn," I shouted to my wife. "Since it's the presidential debate, maybe I'll just watch it on the HDTV instead of streaming it online tonight," I thought to myself as the popcorn began to pop. I grabbed the remote and flicked the television "on."

What popped on my screen was a television show called "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" THIS is what is on until the debate? It got me thinking about the intelligence of those who would be tuning in. The people glued to the tube for this show actually vote??

Without going too deep into it, a few ironic facts came to me as I sat staring into what would be a moment of clarity that would help to explain my against-the-grain mindframe when it comes to sitting in front of a television.

The first thought that popped into my head was, "how did you might be a redneck if Jeff Foxworthy land this job?" This guy has spent his entire career dumbing down the same rednecks who actually buy into his humor, now he gets to host a show that basically touts 5th graders as smarter than the average mom or dad who attempts at outsmarting the kids on this show.

The second was the first and only question I could actually sit through before flicking the "input" selector button on the TV remote to "PC" so I could stream the debate via the internets.

The question was: "If you are in Mexico and you begin walking West, which body of water will you encounter?"

The dad looked as if he was just asked the hardest question in the world, the kid at the other podium simply wrote down a single word answer and looked forward toward the camera. "Dad" sat there puzzled not knowing what to do, or what to answer... "Pacific you idiot!" I shouted at the television.

The dad chose not to answer the question and instead pull one of his lifelines, a "cheat" which allows him to see the kids answer and if he agrees with the child, he can use the answer as his own. Needless to say, the kid wrote down "Pacific" as his answer and the dad was forced to swallow his ignorance before the audience and even Jeff Foxworthy looked puzzled that anyone could not know which ocean is on the west of our country. However, this is exactly the intelligence quotient of the people on this show, and no doubt of those who actually watch this type of garbage.



Do yourself a favor, don't waste any more of your life watching these shows, stop watching reality television (it's not real anyway), and please make your children go outside and play instead of watching this stuff. I know it's hard to get kids to read books, but try to find creative ways to stimulate your child into cherishing their education more than entertainment.

Shows like this are the exact reason I stopped watching television so many years ago. I will admit that after being forced to mandatorily evacuate for Hurricane Gustav I had to watch the weather forecast and location of the storm as it hit our area causing much damage, but I would consider that a permissible wavering of my "no television" diet. We were without electricity for almost a week, and I had no choice but to follow the news to see what was happening in regards to the storm, the internet was down long before the power went out. But other than that, I really do not watch television at all. It has been years and everytime I catch a glimpse of the programming I am reminded as to why I stopped watching television and now spend all my personal entertainment time online.

The debate turned out to be somewhat entertaining, a bit of a let down as I expected a bit more one on one. Hopefully in the next debate they will direct answers and rebuttals to each other instead of addressing the moderator as much. But overall, I feel Obama made the best showing, McCain was condescending and came across as a grumpy old man casting blame and accepting none as the Bush policies he has backed are somewhat responsible for the state of our country instead of listing examples of answers to our problems.

Obama also addressed McCain as "John," while John referred to Obama as "Senator Obama." McCain did not make eye contact with Barack, even as Obama continuously looked in his direction.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Bans Texting While Driving

If you are like me, you are tired of seeing people buzz by you texting or talking on cellphone while driving, seemingly oblivious to the world around them and not watching the road they are driving on!!!

It takes a real winner like Arnold Schwarzenegger to take this problem head on, and despite upsetting many in the public, he has signed a law making it illegal to ban cell phone text messaging while driving, and rightfully so.



Every time I see an SUV mom driving past me texting, I can imagine the conversation... "LOLZ... pizza.... makeup... OMG she said what??" As you can see this stuff cannot wait until she gets home.

There are reports of how people who are texting and talking on the cell phone are just as distracted as a person driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs! Not to mention the recent Metrolink train crash that has been rumored to have happened because of text messaging, this needs to stop and to those who are putting on make up, discussing what type of pizza they want for dinner, or just "lolzing" their way speeding down the highway, you need to pull over off the road to conduct your impulsive communications, or simply wait until you get out from behind the wheel. Don't like it? Tough, you've had your fun, too many accidents are caused by people text messaging or yapping on their cellphone for someone to not step up and make it illegal.

So let's congratulate the Terminator on this wise decision and for protecting those of us who while driving keep our eyes on the road and not our Blackberry.