The following video is undercover footage captured by PETA from a hog farm in Iowa. I warn you

THIS VIDEO IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC

and will change how you feel about the industry and your fellow man. This video will haunt you- it kept me up the night I watched it. The farm is a Hormel supplier and Hormel has refused to comment or do anything about it. The only thing they will understand is a complete boycott of their products.
I am not a vegetarian, but I respect the lives of animals raised for food and feel they deserve a certain amount of respect and dignity if they are to have such a fate. These poor hogs will possibly make you cry. Do not let them get away with this atrocity- they will only continue if we don’t stop them.

The site title was changed before the fact to read “Artist + Broker”, however I have not taken the broker’s licensing exam yet. Scheduled for 10/25, I’m waiting for my birthday (10/22) so I don’t have to renew my license in one year and one month. September would count as “year one” of two years if I took the exam right now. Wish me luck…don’t know when I’m going to study. I started at Redfin on Monday and I’m still learning how they do things

This is no time for procrastination. This is a time for serious concern. You have a responsibility that can't be ignored.
REGISTER NOW if you haven't already. Did you move? Re-register!
I call upon all of my progressive friends and curious onlookers to ask each and every person they know to register to vote as well as ask each and every one of their friends to make the same effort to spread this like a virus. Do not sit on your hands and assume someone else will represent your voice; this is far too close and important of a race.



"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
Thomas Jefferson

Full transcript:

Chuck Todd: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your blackberry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.

(cut away)

Peggy Noonan: Yeah.

Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --

PN: It's over.

MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

CT: Yeah they went to a narrative.

MM: I totally agree.

PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

MM: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.

CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.

MM: Yeah.

Okay, Sarah Palin is a liar and a bad one at that. "Thanks but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere." She is stuck on stupid and continues to repeat the same falsehoods over and over again. Reality WILL catch up with her- it's only a matter of time.

...he still hasn't figured out we have the ability to catch his inconsistencies. It's like John McCain thinks we're stupid. ARE YOU STUPID? I thought not. So then why is this election looking like a dead heat? Please don't be stupid. Please?

I have been a user of “smartphones” for several years now and have grown accustomed to the features and shortcomings of many of them. After toting around a Cingular 8125 (or rather HTC Wizard) for three years, I thought it was high time to upgrade to the new iPhone 3g. Overall I am pretty happy with the phone, but there are MANY shortcomings with the device that should be noted before you consider taking the plunge. Let this serve as a buying guide (read…WARNING). If you are used to features you would find on any Palm or Windows Mobile device, prepare to be pissed off or at the very least, disappointed.

• The iPhone has no copy and paste ability (?!?). If you want to copy a URL, the body of an email message, an email address, a text message…ANYTHING at all- you won’t be able to do that. Seems like the most basic thing in the world, but it was somehow forgotten or deemed unimportant. I’ve had the phone for a few weeks and have needed the ability at least a dozen times.
• You can’t send MMS messages. It has a great camera, but you can only send photos via email. Most workarounds using cell-number@cell-carrier.com or whatever won’t work.
• The camera is only a still camera with no video camera functionality.
• You can’t save attachments from emails nor can you attach files to emails.
• You can’t snooze calendar reminders
• You are extremely limited in how you structure repeating appointments using the calendar. Have a calendar item that repeats every weekday? You can’t create that appointment on the iPhone. Every day- yes, every weekday, no. You have to create complex repeating events in Outlook and then sync them to your calendar.
• Incoming text messages and reminders come to the front no matter what you are doing. Example- I’m on a call and I get a text message. When I’m done with the phone call I can’t hang up unless I first dismiss the text message notifications.
• Intuitive text is not so. Start typing with your thumbs on the tiny keyboard and you will see what I mean. I think the phone knows what I’m about to type 50% of the time and if you don’t dismiss the word it thinks you are typing, it will automatically replace that word with “what you meant to type.” Extra keyboard strokes abound.
• Reminders that appear while your phone is sleeping disappear as soon as you unlock the phone. A better method would be to allow the user to dismiss the reminder instead.
• No “to-do” list. However there are free applications for this in the App Store.
• No infrared support. This doesn’t matter to most people, but as a real estate agent I can’t use the phone to unlock keyboxes on homes- something I could do with my last phone.
• It doesn’t save passwords for websites.
• If you receive a call while your phone is sleeping, you can’t decline the call.
• HORRIBLE battery life! Get a car charger…you will need it.
• You can't view Flash content in web pages.


I suppose if you have never used another smartphone you would see the iPhone as revolutionary. If on the other hand you HAVE used other phones with similar abilities, you are going to immediately see what you are missing. I know I probably have the fanboys in a huff over my criticism, but I won’t lose any sleep over it. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty to like about it- I just can’t believe people think these things are best of breed.

We (3 Way Switch) are playing this Friday at the Mars Bar… not coming to the show is a sign of weakness. Ooooohhh.

It’s been an interesting couple of months- a jam packed couple of months where things like “time for blogs” didn’t exist. I have been taking several classes in order to obtain my broker’s license and have only one class remaining which I take next week. I had the honor of marrying a couple of friends of mine last month (congrats Dave and Christina) and I’ve been doing a lot of camping. Parenthood has its demands as well if you can imagine. I completed a contract gig with Caiman Consulting in July and now I’m looking for new companies and opportunities as a real estate broker.