Getting back in the groove

I've been swamped with computers to fix, not that I'm complaining. I really enjoy fixing them. Within 10 days, I've done everything from Win XP (pro, home, and media addition), Win Vista (home), Mac OSX (wasn't the Macs fault. It was the printer), Linux (Gnome). Two of them were Acres, one was a unibody that I don't even remember the brand, two Dells, Apple, and two home made deals. Printers, power cords, faulty wifi, virus infestations, missing drivers, web-cams, Burners... all kinds of problems. One thing that has stuck out the most out of all of them, was.. you guessed it. Windows Vista. It almost seems like Vista thinks you don't ever know what your doing, or it always needs your permission to do something even though you just told it to do it.

I will give it one thing. It looks pretty. I wish Windows 7 would have kept the same look.

Speaking of computers, I also installed Linux Mint. Its pretty spiffy. Gotta be one of my favorites out of the box now.

Tomorrow I'll hopefully go to the Washington County Fair. Its the first day tomorrow and I need to hit the Demolition Derby. I'll probly have some good posts to come complete with pictures.

Great Gizzards

I've always wandered why Great Minds doesn't have millions of people flocking to read each new post that comes out, after all, where else are you going to read the thoughts of such great minded people? Well, I have finally found the answer. The reason is.. because though we are brilliant dudes, we randomly go months without posting anything.

SO! Its time to change that. Stay tuned for more posts, more insight, more fun, more frequently.

On Hope:

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines hope in three ways: hope as a transitive verb, hope as an intransitive verb, and hope as a noun. As a transitive verb, to hope for is to wish for. As an intransitive verb, to hope for is to expect. As a noun, hope is a trust or confidence, or it is a person or object. “Success is our hope” or “[He is] our teams only hope for victory.”

In Psalm 39, David writes: “(5) Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. (6) Surely every man walks about as a phantom [as an image]; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. (7) And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” In verse 7 David asks “for what do I wait?” What am I waiting for? There is the idea of expectation. In verses 5 and 6 David points out the brevity of life. Now he asks this question, which can accurately be read: And now, Lord, for what do I hope? “My hope is in You.”

Psalm 71 says: “(1) In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed. (2) In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; Incline Your ear to me and save me. (3) Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; You have given commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress. (4) Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man, (5) for You are my hope; You are my confidence from my youth.”

~Jim

Its that time again

The rumors are true! Thursday, November 13th 2008... Thats right. Christmas music on the radio. I fired up the radio (thats right.. fired up) on my way to pick up Josh from school when I heard it with my own ears! Today (from what I can tell) will be marked on our calendars as the first day the annual tradition of Christmas songs in November has started here in "Upstate" New York for the year 2008!

Speaking of calendars, maybe we should have a calendar here on Great Minds... its a thought... 

What are your thoughts on Christmas music in November? Leave a comment. 

VOTE!!!

Today is Election Day! You have the right, privilege, responsibility, and freedom to vote, and it was paid for with American blood. Don't take it for granted.

Unconstitutional?

Lately I have been going over various firearms laws for New York State, and various other states, and am becoming more frustrated as I read them. As most of you know, the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." I am finding that State laws restrict which Americans can "bear arms". According to New York State Law, "No person may carry, possess or transport a handgun in or through the state unless he has a valid New York license. New York does not issue licenses to non-residents nor does it recognize licenses issued by other states." More specifically a US citizen who is also a resident of the State of Nebraska [for example], and holds a concealed carry license to posses and cary a handgun and/or revolver, can not cary or possess a handgun or revolver in the State of New York [for example]. Now, the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says that "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States..." So, if the Constitution grants citizens of the United States the right to keep and bear arms, and it also prohibits states from infringing on the rights guaranteed to United States citizens, how can "State A" not allow a licensed handgun owner from "State B" to "bear arms" in "State A"? The Constitution does not limit the arms that the people may keep and bear.
I would really appreciate feedback on this post. Thank you.
~Jim

A Change of Tone...

Up to this point, my writing style has been more of a journal type setting. I have decided to change my writing style to a more topical setting. This is a matter of personal preference, and I think I will be able to put forth my thoughts more thoroughly in this way. The Great Minds team is free to write in whatever style they wish, about whatever they wish, and are in no way obligated to change anything based on my decision. Hopefully the readers will be seeing a change toward more structure and professionalism in the layout and interface of this site as we acquire the means to make such change possible. As always, thank you for visiting Great Minds, and make sure to tell your friends about us. (hopefully we will be making some banners available in the near future for that purpose.)

~Jim