My Reaction to Jarhead the Movie

My Reaction to Jarhead the Movie

I have a bias

Liked it a lot. But for personal reasons. It took me back to other times, when I used to call myself a Marine, Devil Dog, Jarhead, Grunt, Mortarman. 0341.
For everyone else, you'll get the same reaction by watching Full Metal Jacket or Platoon But for me it was different.

I am one and I am many

For those of you that know me, you only know a version of me, the Jose that was born and raised in Venezuela, the Jose that you see at church on Sundays, the one that you go to school with, The one at work, Then there's Jose the husband, Father, cousin, friend, None of these versions are fake, as far as I know, they are me. The real me, all of them.

But there's also Jose the Marine, Jose in Iraq. The Jose that knows the alleys of Ramadi like the back of his hand, the Jose that can strip an M-16 blidfolded, that can recite the nomenclature of the M224 60mm Mortar by heart. The Jose that shot his Rifle at people who he never met before and would otherwise have no reason to shoot them. That Jose is still in the desert. He is still looking out for IEDs and still keeps an eye out for anything that looks suspicious. But, I am glad that Jose is dying.




When I got back from Iraq I decided to put all these events behind me and never talk about it. So that's what I did, or tried to do, but little by little I told a story here and there, and I noticed that it was liberating. It's like getting a big weight off your shoulders, just getting it out, talking about it.

The only thing that ever worried me was the dreams, I wouln't call them nightmares because they were not always unpleasant, sometimes I'd be joking around with old pals, sometimes I'd place friends from School out there with me. Sometimes I was just there, like any other day in 2003, I'd wake up not knowing where I was, this used to happen often, but they went away after a couple of months, then they'd go away completely until something triggered it, usually CNN News coverage of the war, seeing a burned out car, or the video of the guy taken hostage would garantee a visit to Iraq that night. The last time I had a dream like that was a couple of weeks ago when a friend of mine forwarded a clip of a carbomb going off at a gate checkpoint. It was an umpleasant dream, but I knew it was coming.

I thought Jarhead would take me back the night I saw it, but it didn't. I went back in time when I watched it, but I did not dream about Iraq. This is good news, it seems like a lot of things are fading away, and it is because I've been getting a lot of things off my chest in this blog. This is my way of dealing with it. My self-therapy, my cure, medicine.

I have confessed my feeling of guilt, guilt of being alive when others did not come back, my confusion at the validity of this war, my complete respect and admiration for the members of the Armed Forces, particulary the Marines, but the Reservist and Guardman that serve this nation deserve a lot more credit than they get. I have talked about my feeling towards Religion, how fanatism has destroyed lives. But I wish to elavorate on that. I have a bone to pick there. How can we be decieved so easily? I see Religion in a different way now, I was numbed from seeing so much pain and suffering, but I'm starting to get my feelings back, I feel grateful for being alive another day, and I feel good that I live here. I am glad that the Jose that lived in Iraq is just a memory, there's no reason for him to be here, none of you will ever meet him. Because he's not there anymore. I am not him. He is not me.




J.V.

Latest Update

Latest Update

Florida

My parents finally have power, now that they do, they realized that there's no cable or internet. Oh No!!! How can they live like that? I feel for them. I truly do. Also, they tell me that the usual 45 minute commute to work now takes about two hours, due to the total absence of traffic lights, as if South Florida Traffic was not bad enough before Wilma.

Baby

Little Anthony is a fat baby, he eats all the freaking time, his Mom spoils him too much, but what am I going to do?

IBM

I am still employed, they haven't figured me out yet.

Wife

Is looking better every day, today we're hiring a sitter and going out just the two of us. Going to see that movie jarhead, if you're wondering why would I want to watch such movie, refer to my profile.

Book

Still working on it. Like it.

Blog

I realize that even though blogging is easy, writing is not, I want to put out good stuff, but it takes a lot more time and effort that I'm willing to take away from the other things that I do. Having said that, I still plan on writing more diologes on the subjects that haunt me.

My Space

I am having a blast learning HTML, I din't even know I was learning it until I put that link to w3schools , it is so easy, and there are plenty of tutorials out there like the one I just mentioned, just google HTML.

How to improve your Blog
Excellent website that list the top ten mistakes bloggers make, I read it and realized that my blog pretty much sucks. But that does not stop me from trying.

Computers are easy
Four years ago my little sister knew more about computers than I did, and frankly, I have not learned much in school, and yes, my Major is Computer Engineering, In FAU I learned Math and Physics, that was a little hard, They show you the basics of Programming, but they don't teach it to you, You learn by actually doing it, once you've done it, it is not hard, writing code is easy, being a good programmer is not.
I read blogs from people like Joel Spolsky (that's where I saw the article on the top ten mistakes) that talk about the Art and Science of Computer Programming, But that's not even what I do, Computer Programming and Engineering are two different things, Programming is telling the Computer what to do, Engineering is creating things that have never being done before, I rather do the latter.To me Programming is just another tool that Engineers use to get things done. I am not an Engineer, not yet anyway, but when I get there, I hope to God that I don't end up in some IT shop in a bank fixing Networks (yawn) I want to be in a company that's going to change the world.

Funny enough, I have learned a lot of "Theory" just by surfing the net, the links that I think are good enough to share are listed here. The rest I've learned by my limited experience as an intern. My point is this. Computers are easy. A lot of people mystify them to make themselves look smarter, well, it is not that hard, even the complicated stuff gets easy once you have done it a couple of times. Math is hard, Science is hard. Being a good writer is really hard. Computers? Not really.


J.V.

Love makes no sense

Love makes no sense

My Son has kept me up the past couple of nights, well I help my wife out on the weekends since I don't have to go to work...Friday night he woke up at 3:30 and didn't go back to sleep, last night same thing, after spending time changing his diapers, feeding him, changing him, changing him again after I put on his diapers wrong and he peed all over himself, after burping him, and basically being deprived of sleep I feel that I love him more now than ever before, this morning when I took him I went to the living room so his Mom would get some sleep, he smiled at me! Like he knew that he was spending time with Papa so life is allright, it's all worth it, I don't know how, if anyone else on this planet made me lose my dear resting time, I'd wouldn't be saying how much I love that person, but I love my Son so much.

Wow, I guess sleep deprivation makes me all sappy, hmm, this is dangerous, I better stop before I start writing more emotional, sensitive stuff.

J.V.

My Sister is funny!

My Sister is funny!

She posted this in her space, and I thought it was worth repeating, once again Florida is such a um, "unique" place to live:

South Florida was battered by Hurricane Wilma this last Monday. Below is some of the wisdom I've gathered in the aftermath of the storm.

1. If the tree branches are making cracking noises, its because they're breaking, now is not the best time to go check them out.

2. If one window breaks in an enclosed area, ALL the windows are going...get away...fast.

3. Witnessing an enclosed balcony implode is not as cool as the movies make it seem.

4. The weather man did not lie, the worst part of the storm is after the eye.

5. Syphoning gasoline out of a vehicle is not as simple as it sounds.

6. Gasoline burns your mouth.

7. Swallowing gasoline will make you puke.

8. If you think cold showers suck, try taking one in the dark

9. The world is filled with stupid people, and they all come out after the storm passes.

10. I am not a nice person untill after I have my daily cup of coffee.

11. Driving with out traffic lights at night is not fun when you have a small car and all the crazies have trucks.

12. Rode rage comes in handy when you need to get somewhere fast.

13. A full tank of Gas is priceless.

14. Having cell phone signal is useless when your battery is dead and you cant charge the phone.

15. complete meals are overated.

And most important of all... Having friends and family close to you during and after the storm can give you some of the comfort that you thought the hurricane blew away.



That was pretty good sister, keep us updated on Wilma.

J.V.

What Book Am I Reading Now?

What Book Am I Reading Now?

George's Poyla's Book, "How to Solve it". I heard that book mentioned a lot in the Programming circles, I even heard it was required reading at Microsoft. So I'm checking it out to see what the hype is about.
It is a little Problem-Solving guide, it's supposed to teach you how to aproach any problem...and solve it, hence the name! the author is a famous mathematician, but the content can be applied to all kinds of problems, in fact, I think that formal leadership training in the Marines includes the techniques described here.
One old Engineer at work told me that to be good in this business you don't necessarily have to be super-intellingent, you just have to know how to solve problems, I think that applies to life in general. I'll let you know how it went once I'm done with it, so far I give it a thumbs up.

J.V.

Hurricane Wilma update

Hurricane Wilma update

Hurricane Wilma was the worst hurricane to hit Broward county in 50 years. Luckyly it wasn't as strong or slow as other storms that have hit our country in the past couple of years. Nevertheless My parents and most of the people I know down there are still without power, I only know one person that lost their roof, and that's a co-worker whose parents live in North Dade County.

Things are slowly improving though, Thankfully all my folks are ok, and my house did not get that much damage, for what I hear.


J.V.

Oh Boy, I am actually a little worried...

Oh Boy, I am actually a little worried...

The worse of hurricane Wilma is actually predicted to go trough Broward County, My Townhouse, my parent's house, My In-Law's and about 20 other family members are there, I am praying that they make it through this ok, I know it wouldn't make things any better, but I wish I was there with them. Watching the news from Minnesota actually makes it worse.



J.V.

What was he Thinking?

What was he Thinking?

Once again another fine citizen of South Florida makes the news, This guy broke into an apartment, raped a lady, and then forced her to write him a check. He was arrested minutes later two miles from the victim's apartment at a check cashing store. He's probably trying to figure out what went wrong with his fool-proof plan. I wish I din't have to say it, but...Only in Florida.



J.V.

GO WHITE SOX

A Dialoge

A Dialoge

Two good friends meet in the park.

Jose: Sgt V.?

Stg V: Jose?

Jose: Hey how are you? Man, it's been a while, How's it going? what are you up to?

Sgt V: Well, I am doing good, I just came back from Iraq, my reserve unit got called up and we went on deployment. And you?

Jose: You went to Iraq? Holy Crap! Well, I've been in school, you know, a couple of semester and I will graduate. I've been reading a lot about Iraq you know? this is one of those subjects that really bother me.

Sgt V: Well, I have to tell you, what you see and read in the media is a lot different from what you see over there. It is never the complete picture. Don't be fooled by the bias, every message is biased somehow, even this one.

Jose: Yeah well, I don't know, you may be right about a couple of reporters, but everyone? I don't think so.

Sgt V: I think that for the most part you can tell when a certain newspaper or magazine is biased, but I have read stories about my own unit, reporting events that I have witnessed, and those reports don't match my recollection, I don't think that the make those reports wrong, but two different people will percieve the same event different ways, it's always like that. Like we used to say Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder

Jose: That's deep man, but I think there is one serious flaw with the war, shouldn't we be going after Al Queada instead of the Iraqis? Last time I heard, it was them, not Saddam, the ones that attacked us.

Sgt V: First, let me tell you that I am not really allowed to critize my commander in chief, it is punishable under the UCMJ. And the last thing I want is to get in trouble...

Jose: So you are agreeing with me! The war in Iraq is wrong!

Sgt V: Hold your horses buddy! I have not said such thing. What I said is that I don't want to get in trouble. But I've had a lot of time to think about this, When I was there I wanted to know why I was there.

Jose: So you questioned the war yourself?

Sgt V: I wouldn't call it that. But I, like everyone in our unit, wanted to know what we were doing, and what we were doing it for. So of course I thought about it, but you might be surprised.

Jose: Well, I'll tell you what I think, Our Goverment made a grave mistake going over there....

A stranger suddenly walks up to them and butts in

stranger: Of Course Bush made a mistake, he's a f@#king idiot!

Sgt V: Excuse me stranger, what's your name? Do I know you?

stranger: Uh, you don't know me, but just call me Jon for the sake of argument, that's not my real name, but that doesn't matter

Sgt V: Very well Jon

Jose: Nice to meet you Jon

Jon: So like I was saying, Bush in an idiot, He's in it for the Oil only, we should get out. At least they should be honest and call the war Operation Tyranny or Operation Cliche Description of a Malevolent Dictator's Oppressiveness, or Operation Earthfucker, or better yet just call it Operation Blow'em'up...

Sgt V: So is this what everyone thinks? That we are there to blow up people? That we enjoy that crap?

Jose: I don't know, I guess there's always going to be people that you don't agree with, and that is their Constitutional right. You should learn to respect other people's opinions

Sgt V: Don't you see! we are over there fighting for this nation and this is the apreciation we get! This is so much B.S.!

Jose: That's not Jon's point! I am not sure what his point is, oh yeah, that we don't live in a democracy, and that he loves Unicorns

Sgt V: WTF?

Jose: Never mind, I was going to tell you that I think we are not putting our efforts in the right theater of operations, We should be hunting down Osama and his cronies instead of some "insurgents" in some nation that doesn't matter anymore

Sgt V: What makes you think we are not? Remember, just because you don't read it in the news doesn't mean that is not happening..

Jon: You actually trust this goverment to do it's job! Dude you are defenetly on more drugs than me! I'm jealous.

Sgt V: This conversation is so unfair, it's two against one!

Suddenly another stranger walks by and stops

stranger: This Nation must repent! repent! repent! We must spread the word! Pray for the President! God Loves you!

Jose: Excuse me sir, but who the heck are you?

stranger: Well, of course I won't tell you my real name, but you can call me Pat R.

Sgt V: (to the author) This is what you sent to help me? Jeez, Thanks a lot!

Pat: You should be grateful son, I want the president of your country dead! We should Kill Chavez! New Orleans had it coming too! That's what they get for being so sinful!

Jose: Well, I don't think it's right to shove religion down everyone's throat! I have the right to believe whatever I want.

Sgt V: Jose! you are an atheist?

Jose: No I am not, I consider myself a Christian, I come from a Christian family, but I think that the state and church should be separate!

Sgt V: I agree with that, I have seen what happens to a society when church and goverment are the same thing. It is a sad thing

Jon: Dude You are so right! I am going to take a sleeping pill and write that on my blog!

Pat: Son, you should repent right now! what happened to your Faith! Is this what Jesus would do?

Sgt V: Anyway, Jose, we have strayed from the point, let me tell you what I think, you already made your point clear, that a dogmatic arguement for the war does not stand, and that we are going after the wrong group of people, and you have not said anything about the bad image the US has worldwide, which I don't want to get into, but I must point out that the hate EVERYTHING about the states, and that includes the people, not just the goverment, but anyway

Jose: Anyway

Sgt V: I think we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Jon: Nope! we should leave Iraq right now!

Sgt V: I wish we could, but that would make matters worse, I am not a foreing policy expert, but I don't think that would be a good idea,

Sgt V: When we first got to Iraq we were thinking that we did a good thing, getting rid of Saddam's goverment, and all that, but when the Weapons of Mass Destructions failed to appear...boy was that a blow, then the insurgency...funny enough, things did not get bad until 4 or 5 months after we got there, around September or October

Jose: What do you mean?

Sgt V: I think that the outcome of the whole operation was not what we expected and now is too late to get out, we did not get the support of other countries so we are pulling most of the weight, so now the plan is to rebuild the nation and get out as soon as possible, but the nation rebuilding is not an easy task, and of course, security is a big issue, so, I don't see an end to this.

Jon: I told you, our president is stupid

Jose: I don't think he's stupid, of course he is not an intellectual either, but the US is facing a hard time, and I guarantee you that he would be critized if Saddam was still there. There were some mistakes made, but I don't think that they deliberatly put us in this position, remember, we did not ask to be attacked,

Sgt V: Exacly, but we were not attacked by a nation with clear defined borders, we were attacked by a small group.

Jose: What amazes me is the amount of people that hates the U.S for so many reasons

Sgt V: I know, I know, and no matter what, nobody can please eveyone at the same time
I hope that all of those that died over there...Well I want to think that they died for a good cause, but what is good cause to die for?

Jose: Good question, I mean, to die for an ideology? That is alomst as bad as dying for religion

Pat: Jesus died for you in the cross! and the Martyrs died in Rome for Him!

Jose: Also, a bunch of people died in the Crusades for God, and a bunch of people died during the Inquisition and the witch hunts, and during the Great Schism, etc etc
I would say more people have fought and died for God that for anything else, but what do I know?

Sgt V: The thing is, Religion is what unites all those extremist that are fighting us, Islam is a rotten disease that is killing our world

Jose: Oh boy, you just opened a can of worms

Sgt V: You know what, is getting late and I have to go

Jose: whatever man, we are not finished here, there's too much left to discuss.

Sgt V: I gotta go

Only in Florida

Only in Florida

A 93 year old ran someone over and drove for 3 miles with the body in the windshield,
he got a warning from the cops, next time, they said, they will give him a ticket.

Read the article


J.V.

Another Hurricane....

Another Hurricane....

Here we go again, another hurricane going to Florida, I talked to my parents, they seem a little concerned, I have hope that it will not mess up our house and our lives.

J.V.

GEEK UPDATE

GEEK UPDATE

I am about to put Linux on my new IBM ThinkPad, the thing is, I don't know what I am doing, so if you don't see any posts in a while, you know what happened.


J.V.

Congratulations to Elimir and Jenri!

Congratulations to Elimir and Jenri!

Elimir my little cousin had her baby today at 4:00 AM.



J.V.

WTF? Toyota develops New Plant Species

WTF? Toyota develops New Plant Species

Yeah, the japanese car maker. It has engineered a new species of Cherry Sage that "performs" better than the original. Read about it here.

Is this a good thing? Is it ok to mess with nature to get our goals? We've been doing exactly that for centuries, but each time it looks like we are getting a little closer to...I don't know.

This plant absorbs pollutants faster than the original, so maybe that's a good thing after all.

J.V.

Anthony is doing good

Anthony is doing good

I am still amazed at how good Martha handles being a mother. She has the power of multitasking. I am working on two projects at once at work and it takes me a little effort to allocate time to both of them. Martha can take care of Anthony, Cook a full meal and be on the phone all at once, I don't know how she does it.

During the day I am so inspired to write stories in this blog, I think of at least three different articles to comment on, anectdotes to tell, people to make fun of, all kinds of good stuff..by the time I get home I am so tired that I can't think straight, and all clever content just vanishes away after dinner. Right now all I want to do is lay down and read a good book. Which is exactly what I will do.

To all my friends and family who actually read this blog, you know who you are, thank you so much for all the emails and the phone calls, I wish I was closer to home, but soon enough I will be back in good ol' FL. Then you can all meet Anthony and have fun with him.

Until the next time

Love

J.V.

Congrats Ross and Jen!

Congrats Ross and Jen!

Today my friend and Co-worker Ross is having his baby, hopefully everything will go well.
Also my cousin Elimir is due anytime now, My friend Ileana just had her baby, this weekend, man is like everyone I know is having kids.
Anthony is doing good, I am enjoying every second of it. I can't believe how fast time goes by.

J.V.

The Yankees Crash

The Yankees Crash

Now that the Yankees are out, I am left with no baseball team to hate, I am actually sad now, why couln't they fall apart in the World Series like in 03? Oh well, there's always next year.

J.V.

What You'll Wish You'd Known

What You'll Wish You'd Known

I often wonder what my life would have been like if I would have known then what I know now, my outlook in life has changed a lot since the summer of 1997. When I was 18 I thought I was destined to be a Marine Corp Officer. To me there was nothing more exciting than leading people into battle. I had my whole life planned out, I was so sure about it that I never had an alternate plan, I was going to enlist first, since I was not a US Citizen, then as soon as I got my citizenship I would go to college to get my lieutenant bars. That was the plan, foolproof, to me college was just another step towards that commission in the Military.

Four years in the Marine Corps made me look at things a different way. I saw why it is called "the service" there is much more work involved. Service men definetly give more to the goverment than what they get back. The Marines didn't really promise me anything other than the GI Bill and the right to be called part of one the best fighting forces on Earth. I worked hard and I had pride in my work, but I realized that the lifestyle of an Active duty serviceman is not for everyone, it was defenetly not for me.

The point I am trying to make is that it is hard to know what one wants to do early in life. Later on I realized that I only went to the Marines because I wanted to prove myself.
I'm glad I did though.


This article I read does a good job of talking about the things I wish I had known when I went to high school. I have no regrets about my life. But I could have used this advice.


J.V.

Anthony

Anthony

I have had a busy week, My Mother in law came up to see us, I had to go away this weekend to train with my National Guard Unit. Just got back today.

I just found out the Red Sox got eliminated, unbelievable....I don't know what's up wiht the Yankees, Martha dressed up Anthony with a I Love NY shirt, hopefully it will have the desired effect.

J.V.

Anthony latest pic

Anthony latest pic

Anthony is growing a lot.

The World has another Yankee fan

The World has another Yankee fan

I apologize people. But Anthony's Mother insists in corrupting our only son into liking the most hated baseball club in history. The only good thing is that every time he wears this jersey the Yanks lose. This picture was taken Friday as New York lost to Boston, today she tried again, and the Yankees lost 10-1. Haha!

I am disapointed in the Marlin's performance this season, they had all the right stuff to get into the post-season and yet, they managed to fall apart when it mattered.

Anthony is doing so good. He only cries when he's hungry, And his Mom is awesome.

I am tired though, My routine went out the window the minute he was born, I guess it is going to take a while before we settle into a rythm.

It sucks that I have more stuff I'd like to write but don't have much time.

More later (hopefully)

J.V.

Things are going great. He's doing really good so is his mother.

IBM has been really good to us. Thank you guys.

I have taken a lot of pictures, but I've noticed they are repetitive. He closes his eyes when the flash comes on. So it's really hard to get him with his eyes open, since when he's not sleeping he is eating or crying, there has been a few good moments, but I never have the camera near. I think that he is getting better looking by the hour. Last night he was up most of the night. I did my best to get some sleep, but I heard him. I am tired, but is not that bad. I should be back to my regular work schedule soon.

Life is good

J.V.

Baby Anthony is home now.

Here are some pics for ya'll

J.V.

Today Anthony comes home with his Mom. Will post more pictures later.

J.V.

So, this is the first day of this great adventure called parenthood.

This has probably been said a bunch of times, but seeing a person's birth is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Wow, It is incredible. I saw him come out and his eyes were open. He took his first breath right in front of my me. He cried for like ten seconds, but then he was so quiet, he was looking around the room taking it all in. It was a beatiful thing. I can see he has his mother's nose, but his face reminds me of my Dad. He has a lof hair as you can tell by the picture.

I only slept 5 hours last night, even though I went home at 1:30 AM, I just couldn't sleep. It's so overwhelminly exciting.

Man, Life is Good.

J.V.

Anthony has just been born!

At 8:05 Central Time. 7lbs 8ounces.

Son, we love you so much

J.V.

Wife is in labor Right Now.
We are so happy!
More news later

J.V.

"Crab Canon" by M.C. Escher (~1965)







Here's an small section of The Eternal Golden Braid. It's a Dialog based on J.S. Bach's crab canon.

Crab Canon
by Douglas Hofstadter




Achilles and the Tortoise happen upon each other in the park one day while strolling.

TORTOISE: Good day, Mr. A.

ACHILLES: Why, same to you.

TORTOISE: So nice to run into you.

ACHILLES: That echoes my thoughts.

TORTOISE: And it's a perfect day for a walk. I think I'll be walking home soon.

ACHILLES: Oh really? I guess there's nothing better for you than walking.

TORTOISE: Incidentally, you're looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.

ACHILLES: Thank you very much.

TORTOISE: Not at all. Here, care for one of my cigars?

ACHILLES: Oh, you are such a philistine. In this area, the Dutch contributions are of markedly inferior taste, don't you think?

TORTOISE: I disagree, in this case. But speaking of taste, I finally saw that Crab Canon by your favorite artist, M. C. Escher, in a gallery the other day, and I fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and forwards. But I am afraid that I will always feel Bach is superior to Escher.

ACHILLES: I don't know. But one thing for certain is that I don't worry about arguments of taste. De gustibus non est disputandum.

TORTOISE: Tell me, what's it like to be your age? Is it true that one has no worries at all?

ACHILLES: To be precise, one has no frets.

TORTOISE: Oh, well, it's all the same to me.

ACHILLES: Fiddle. It makes a big difference, you know.

TORTOISE: Say, don't you play the guitar?

ACHILLES: That's my friend. He often plays, the fool. But I myself wouldn't touch a guitar with a ten-foot pole!



(Suddenly, the Crab, appearing from out of nowhere, wanders up excitedly, pointing to a rather prominent black eye.)



CRAB: Hallo! Hulloo! What's up? What's new? You see this bump, this lump? Given to me by a grump. Ho! And on such a fine day. You see, I was just idly loafing about the park when up lumbers this giant fellow from Warsaw — a colossal bear of a man — playing a lute. He was three meters tall, if I'm a day. I mosey on up to the chap, reach skyward and manage to tap him on the knee, saying, "Pardon me, sir, but you are Pole-luting our park with your mazurkas." But WOW! he had no sense of humor — not a bit, not a wit — and POW! — he lets loose and belts me one, smack in the eye! Were it in my nature, I would crab up a storm, but in the time-honored tradition of my species, I backed off. After all, when we walk forwards, we move backwards. It's in our genes, you know, turning round and round. That reminds me — I've always wondered, "Which came first — the Crab, or the Gene?" That is to say, "Which came last — the Gene or the Crab?" I'm always turning things round and round, you know. It's in our genes, after all. When we walk backwards, we move forwards. Ah me, oh my! I must lope along on my merry way — so off I go on such a fine day. Sing "ho!" for the life of a Crab! TATA! ¡Olé!



(And he disappears as suddenly as he arrived.)



TORTOISE: That's my good friend. He often plays the fool. But I myself wouldn't touch a ten-foot Pole with a guitar!

ACHILLES: Say, don't you play the guitar?

TORTOISE: Fiddle. It makes a big difference, you know.

ACHILLES: Oh, well, it's all the same to me.

TORTOISE: To be precise, one has no frets.

ACHILLES: Tell me, what's it like to be your age? Is it true that one has no worries at all?

TORTOISE: I don't know, but one thing for certain is that I don't worry about arguments of taste. Disputandum non est de gustibus.

ACHILLES: I disagree, in this case. But speaking of taste, I finally heard that Crab Canon by your favorite composer, J.S. Bach, in a concert the other day, and I fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and forwards. But I'm afraid I will always feel Escher is superior to Bach.

TORTOISE: Oh, you are such a philistine. In this area, the Dutch contributions are of markedly inferior taste, don't you think?

ACHILLES: Not at all. Here, care for one of my cigars?

TORTOISE: Thank you very much.

ACHILLES: Incidentally, you're looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.

TORTOISE: Oh really? I guess there's nothing better for you than walking.

ACHILLES: And it's a perfect day for a walk. I think I'll be walking home soon.

TORTOISE: That echoes my thoughs.

ACHILLES: So nice to run into you.

TORTOISE: Why, same to you.

ACHILLES: Good day, Mr. T.




Notice that the converstation ends the same way that it begins and that it is reads the same if you read it forward or backwards. This is a property called "crab canon" in music and it happens in Bach's work, Escher's painting, and in Nature as well , some DNA segments have this property, such segments are called 'palindromes'. So this is part of what I've been reading lately, this book is fascinating, I am reading it slowly because I don't want it to end, also because I can only process it a bit at a time. Reading this book is an adventure into the world of patterns and Mathematics, the languange that God used to write his creation. Well it's about more than that actually, i probably don't understand it fully, I have reread some sections and I keep finding hidden puns and jokes within the lines.

Ok, gotta get back to life, will be back with news about the baby soon!



J.V.

Well, no baby yet.

You know, I have a pretty cool sister. Caro I wish you could come up to Minnesota so you can meet your nephew and so we could hang out. You will be surprised, there are so many things to do here in Rochester, things like...well, you should come anyway.

Minnesota is not that bad,the worst thing is the complete absence of any good Latin Restaurants I don't mean Mexican but Venezuelan or Cuban or Colombian you know, the good stuff.

Here if you speak Spanish you are Mexican automatically, doesn't matter if you're from Madrid, Buenos Aires or Caracas, to the Gringos here those are all villages somewhere near the Mexican border.

I am getting used to it though, heck I may even start playing broomball, if you have to ask what that is, you are not from Minnesota.

J.V.

All these hurricanes are unbelievable,Rita a Category 5??!! Damn.

My Mom's flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Minneapolis is supposed to stop in Houston, I don't think that's going to happen, We'll see how that goes, a lot can happen in 3 days..

I truly hope that the Folks down in Texas take the Warnings seriously, and get the heck out of town. Please. Don't be a bunch of Floridians and go surfing or something. Get out! Why are you still reading this? Turn off that computer and evacuate!

I hope my Mother can make it here this weekend, I haven't seen her in months, I can't wait to see her, she wants to visit but she doesn't want to see me, all she cares about now is her first Grandson. That's ok. I still Love you Mom.

Martha is not too perky these days, I asked her how she was doing and shot me a glare that could melt ice. I call it The Fallujah stare. I can't blame her, I am glad men don't get Pregnant. I would have had a C-section like 5 months ago. How they do it is beyond me. Then again, Women are strange. That's what's going on over here. All I can say is....


Rita: If you are reading this blog. Please take it easy on Texas. I heard the beaches are nicer in Mexico anyway.

J.V.

My Son's due date is Sept 22. We were expecting him to get here sooner. But that's not the case. I have a feeling that the Doctors are going to end up inducing labor on my wife. Yesterday we had another false alarm. This pregancy is been full of lessons, It's amazing that we think we are in control of our lives, when in reality, we are just victims of circumstance. There are many things that science can tell us with certanty, but a baby's birth date is not one of them. Medicine does not know what causes labor, to this date, that remains a mystery. Interesting. We know the code of life embedded in DNA, we Know how to do organ transplants, but we can't know what causes the Uterus to start the chain of events that brings us to life.

I am not a patient person, but once again, I am learning to wait. I guess I am curious, I want to see his face, I want to know what his personality will be like. I need to start planning how I am going to ground him. How will he be? What kind of person? What will he do? Will he be President? a bum? A Politician? Pilot? Marine? Scientist? Painter? Actor? Garbage man? Will he be a Homo? How will I react to that?
Will he be shy? Outgoing? A Jock? A nerd?

Most likely he will have many traits from his family, chances are he will be stubborn like his Mom AND Dad, I hope he is smarter than me and good looking like his Mom.

One thing I can say is that I am not scared anymore. I get a little nervous when I think about it, but I feel ready.

I hope that he gets to know his family in Florida, Venezuela, New York and Costa Rica. I look forward to all those trips.

Ever wonder How I managed to get accepted in Florida Atlantic University?
well, the secret lies in my Application Essay:


3a. Essay:
In order for the admissions staff of our college to get to know you, the applicant, better, we ask that you answer the following question:
Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped to define you as a person?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets. I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.
I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four-course meals using only a Mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.
But I have not yet gone to college.


Ok, Ok, I admit I may have stretched the truth a little bit, but it's the effort that counts :-)

J.V.

September 19 and No baby yet!

I am getting impatient. The due date is this Thursday and we can't wait.

J.V.

So I've noticed that I am not posting as much as I used to, I have been busy these days, also, I've been completely engulfed in the book I am currently reading. This one is a life-changing book. It talks about anything and everything. I don't know how to put it.

The name of the book is Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.



This book is a profound analysis of Human Thought and creativity, It talks about the way the works of Bach, Escher and The Mathematician Godel connect, more like shadows cast in different directions by some central solid essence.

The first part of the book talks about the story of Bach's Musical Offering, then it talks about self-reference, the ideas behind Godel's theorem of Imcompleteness and Escher images, it touches on Artificial Intellingence. Chapters I through III deal with abstract Mathematical concepts, that are kind of hard to grasp, but they explain Godel's work much better than any math book, I already know more about sets by reading one page in this than I ever did in whole semester taking discrete mathematics.





This is one example of Escher Work. I never thought that philosophy and mathematics could unite like this, but this is exactly what happened.

Anyway, besides being lost in this book and trying to figure out the ways of the world, my son hasn't been born yet, My wife had what they call "false labor" on Sunday, we were pretty sure that this was it, but her contraptions just went away, so, I will probably be a Father by next week. I can't wait. Also, it is getting a little cooler here in Minnesota, which is fine by me, If I was in Florida I'd still be experiencing the hot humid days until like, November 20, when it finnally cools down to 90. Here it is 70 and people are saying is hot. My wife has made some Minnesotan friends in our church. Oh yes! I'd like to write about church one day. But writing anything in a clear way takes me a lot of effort, and I am the laziest person in the world, so maybe soon...

J.V.

9/11/2001

I WILL NEVER, NEVER FORGET

World Trade Center, NY
Pentagon, DC
Flight 93

J.V.

Blog that caught my attention.

I see a lot of good blogs all of the time, but this one gets the cake. To be human is to have secrets. Ever thought of getting rid of yours without getting humiliated? At this blog they turn it into an art. PostSecret features postcards sent in anonymously from people across the entire country. Each card is different, some are handcrafted, meticulously conceived art pieces that portrays a twisted emotion or a burdening secret, some are the stoure-bought kind. You will laugh ("I dance in Vacant Elevators") You will cry ("I'm sorry. We were so young. I think about-and regret-it everyday" ) You will be inspired ("What are you waiting for") You will keep coming back for more.

What's your secret?

I am full of radiation today,


I am taking part in this study given by the Mayo Clinic, this is why I haven't been posting, I have been over there in the morning and working in the evenings. They gave me food and radiactive milk and made me eat until I could eat no more. Then they would take blood, scans and who knows what else. Funny the things I do in the name of science and a few bucks.


Baby Anthony is not here yet, my wife went to the Doctor today for a regular apointment, everything seems fine, They are both healthy.



Today I finished reading Ayn Rand's Philosphy: who needs it.
I like some of the stuff she said, but not the way in which she presents her arguments, I should be a little more specific, but i won't, I'd just say that I strongly agree with the concept of making choices based on Reason, not faith or emotions. To me that is a powerful concept.
I read The FountainHead and Anthem and really enjoyed them, I bought Atlas Shrugged but did not finish it, It was during a period of my time in which I did not have time to read anything outside of school (full time student, full time job, AND a wife) I forgot to bring it with me to Minnesota, otherwise I would have tried to read it here. But this book was a disapointment, it is a collection of essays and letters, I guess she is better at fiction.

TOP 5 MOST FRIGHTENING MOMENTS OF MY LIFE

Cronologycal order:

#1. 1986, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.

When I was seven years old my dad took me to the pool. It was the one in the country club my Dad belonged to. It was very nice, I remember it as one the happiest places in my childhood, we used to go there pretty often. This one day it was only Dad and I. I was already wearing my swimming gear. He told me that he was going to the bathroom to change and told me to stay there! and don't go in the pool! So what did I do? I went to the diving board, even though I was 7, didn't know how to swim, and had never been in the deep end of the pool, but somehow I thought that it would be a good idea to jump in the water while Dad was away, so I did, and I remember going in the water and not knowing how to get anywhere in the water. I was drowning! I swallowed a lot of water and felt the terror of realizing at a very young age that I was going to die right there at that moment. Just then the I felt the lifeguard pulling me out, He asked me if I was ok, I was coughing up all the water but apperantly I was not in such a bad shape, since he let me go. The whole thing lasted like 2 minutes, I went back to the chair where Dad put all his stuff and waited for like 5 more minutes until my unsupecting Father came out, he saw me all wet but didn't say anything, I don't think I ever told him.

#2 10:59 pm, June 22, 1997 Savannah GA.

I am at the Airport, came in five hours ago from the Delta flight from Ft. Lauderdale, this is the moment I've been waiting for more than a year. I am in a single file line about to get in the bus that will take me to Parris Island, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, then it hits me all of the sudden, I will never forget that moment, as i look around I see all this young men that I've never met before, I see this bus, and I become aware that my life is about to change. Life as I know is history and a whole new future is in front of me. I become terrified. I am so scared because I don't know what's next. Is this the right choice? Do I have what it takes to be a U.S. Marine? Will my high school sweetheart break up with me? (she did)
But, to be honest, this moment lasted less than 2 seconds, I never regretted enlisting in the Corps, not that I was happy everyday, but I'd do it again, maybe if I could start over I'd be an officer.

#3 Summer 2000 Mediterranean Sea, Somewhere off the coast of Italy (not too sure could be Spain)

As a member of Company G 2/2 Boat Company we trained in this little rubber dinghys, we were trained to get to our target in different modes of transportation, and if they needed marines by boat, we were it. We trained in beach landings, river raids, (insert your favorite NAVY Seal commercial with the motivating music) etc, etc, anyway, we were playing this game of going really fast and then making a sharp turn to see who could hang on or who will fall off, we were being Marines of course. So I get thrown off my boat, no big deal, but I did one mistake, I opened my eyes inside the water, we were about 30 miles from the coast, so it is pretty deep out there, and I see the Ocean in all its immensity with the sunrays going in and getting lost deep down, and I'll be dammed if that didn't completely freak me out. But of course I tried not to show it. I just got back in that rubber boat as soon as I got a chance. I did not feel confortable being out in the water with who knows how many hungry animals.

#4. Sometime late 2003, Ramadi, Anbar Providence, Sunni Triangle, IRAQ

I'm sleeping. Not Anymore. Lights on, Just heard 3rd platton got ambushed up by the ramadi hospital, and that they were the Reaction Force that responded when the Observation Post relief got hit by an IED. The need people ASAP, without thinking I say,
"Where do you need me Sarg'nt?" I ask.

"Sgt. V. Man the .50 cal in the Deuce."

"Roger"

So I roll out with 1st Platoon wich is not even my platoon. I volunteered to go out there with no plan, as we are driving in the direction of all the commotion we hear the all-too-familiar sound of AK's vs. M-16's M249 and M240Bs. The radio is filled with urgent pleas for backup. I suddenly realise that I am on the top of a very big slow truck manning a heavy machine gun with absolutely nothing to protect me or at least hide me, I am literally standing with all of my body exposed, and I am driving towards a firefight, a bunch of people who want to kill me will have a very good chance to do it. As I hear all the gunshots I tell myself to stop being a fucking chicken .I am supposed to be a freaking Sgt so if I get scared I will mess up everybody around me. So I completely turned it off. Damn, I wish I knew how in the hell I did that. because that brings me to:

#5. Right now, Rochester, MN

I have a son on the way, he is going to be born this month. My first son, and I am as terrified as all four moments mentioned above. I know my life is about to change. I know I am diving in a unknown pool of experiences. I know that if I think of the deep Ocean of decisions I will have to make that will shape another human being's mind, Knowing that I am going to be a Dad in this crazy world scares me. I don't know how I did it that one time in Ramadi, but I wish I had a little Courage=On switch I could flip so I could stop being scared. I just want to be a good Dad. But don't know how. I don't know what's coming. But I have been lucky so far, I didn't drown, I made it trough boot camp, I did not get eaten by a shark, I did not die in Iraq, I guess I could be a Dad right?

J.V.

One thing I have noticed about IBM Engineers is that they all love to stare at the construction work being done right outside our building, at all times of the day you will see one or two people looking at the tractors and the big machinery doing their thing, they just stand there in a deep trance like there was some magic to it.

Must be that engineers love their job so much that they like to see machines doing work, they see the world as one engineered product after the next, you see, for each tractor there is a team of engineers that figured out how to make a bunch of metal parts DO SOMETHING USEFUL, they designed it. There's nothing better than seeing the product of one's work doing what was intended to do. Writing code brings that kind of satisfaction. You get to play God, to create new things. A technitian just reads the manual and does what's in the book, but an Engineer creates something brand new, there are no clear steps, no failsafe manual that tells you how to do what needs to be done, Just your undertanding of the system, Logic, some Programming languages, your past expirence and your Brain... Yes I know, I am a geek, but I'm loving it. One of the things I like about this company is their motto:
THINK. It could not be any better. and it applies to life outside of work too.

The other explanation is that they are simply bored and staring at the construction is just an excuse for staying out of the cubicle a little longer.

-J.V.

To all my Minnesota friends:

Please do not take offense, But I found this funny.

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through l8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by,

you might live in Minnesota.

If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each Year, because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation,

you might live in Minnesota.

If you have ever refused to buy something because it's "too Spendy", you might live in Minnesota.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Minnesota.

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, You might live in Minnesota.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Minnesota.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time,

you might live in Minnesota.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches,

you might live in Minnesota.

If you know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Edina, Shakopee ,Winton and Ely, you might live in Minnesota.

If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy,

you might live in Minnesota.

"Vacation" means going up north past Virginia for the weekend. You measure distance in hours. You know several people who have hit deer more than once. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching

You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.

Where men are men and so are the women.

There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Zups Grocery Store At any given time.

You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.

You can identify a southern or eastern accent.

You consider Minneapolis exotic.

Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your Blue spruce.

Down South to you means Iowa.

A brat is something you eat.

You go out to fish fry every Friday.

You find 0 degrees a little chilly.

How can I complain about Katrina?

South Florida got a lucky break compared to to New Orleans.




The people in Lousiana and Mississippi have got it really bad.

My heart goes out to them

I just learned a valuable lesson today:

DO NOT under any circumstance whatsoever try to be funny around a pregnant woman, they don't get it, and it will cost you.

I said one little remark about the cat looking like is dead because it was sleeping with it's eyes open, and I almost gave my wife a heart attack, I mean all it took was one glance to confirm the stupid cat was fine, but after she did that she bursted in tears, I mean, straight-up bawling, and I know is not her fault, she's not usually like that, it's her hormones, Nothing I could say could calm her down...It wasn't a pretty sight. So guys: be carefull with what you say, it's hard enough as it is. If she's having your baby, you are the cause of all evil in this world and you are to blame for absolutly EVERYTHING that goes wrong in her world. Keep that in mind and life will be much easier.

If only I could follow my own advice.

Books I've been reading:

I have decided to concentrate on reading about my profession, So I am going through some good, boring-for-normal-people books. Right now I am reading The Pragmatic Programmer.

Straight from the programming trenches, The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master cuts through the increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine the core process--taking a requirement and producing working, maintainable code that delights its users. It covers topics ranging from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible, easy to adapt, and reuse.

This is a great book for programmers who have learned the mechanics of programming, maybe in college, but don't quite feel secure deciding what to do. It's like the difference between drafting and architecture. What you learned in that class in college was drafting, and you can draw beautifully, but if you still feel like you wouldn't quite know where to begin if someone told you to write a P2P music-swapping network all by yourself, this is the book for you.

Hurricane Update.

The Eye of Hurricane Katrina passed through my in-Law's, my townhouse, and my parent's... in that order. my in-laws and my townhouse are without power. My parents have power but no cable therefore suffering a lot more.

Here in Minnsota most people seem unaware of a Katrina huricane or that there is such thing as "Florida". Aside from a few comments from co-workers life is business as usual in here.

-Hurricane in Florida? what else is new? About them Twins, eh? Jaah!

That's life up North, I guess.

Hmmm I scored 84%, that's interesting. How did you do?

You Are 84% American

You're as American as red meat and shooting ranges. Tough and independent, you think big. You love everything about the US, wrong or right. And anyone who criticizes your home better not do it in front of you!

How American Are You?

What the hell is wrong with these "Christians"?


Ok, I would love to see Chavez dead, he's messing up my Dear Venezuela but to go on and say on TV that we should assesinate a head of state? Are you some kind of retard? C'mon Roberston.

And then, crazy-Fidel's-ass-Kissing-lunatic#2 Chavez, says he wants to sell cheap gas to the U.S. poor in order to "help us out".

Thanks to some loonies on TV the U.S. looks bad, not that we needed Robertson's help to do that.

And to think that he calls himself a Christian person, what an idiot.

Follow up from last week's book

"The last true story I'll ever tell" is too damn honest. John Crawford know how to tell war stories better than any soldier I know. I wish I could tell'em like that. Expect laughter AND tears from this book.

News watch from around the world:

Gas Thief Escapes on Tricycle!!!


Speeding from the scene of the crime this Chinese boy pedals a giant bag full of Gas stolen from an Oil field in Pucheng, China. Read the whole story here.

Are we next?

Do I need more proof?

I Live with a psycho Cat.


Thanks to my lovely wife, I am forced to share my house with a feline beast that completely hates me.

I don't know why I put up with this. But it has been stated plainly that if anything happens to her...I die.

And I just KNOW that this psycho cat is secretly planning my death. I can see it in the way she stares at me.

The things is, I try to be nice. But this cat can tell that I am a dog person. They can smell it or something.

So if you never hear from me again. You can probably guess what happened.

Good Book of the Week:


Just picked up a book titled The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell by John Crawford.

It was written by John Crawford who was newly married and two credits away from completing a B.A. in anthropology at Florida State University when he was sent to Iraq with the Florida National Guard. Sound familiar? It did to me. That's why I picked it up. Even though I never met the author I wanted to see what another guy from my old Unit had to say. Needless to say I was hooked since the first paragraph. I must say Aco 3-124th had it a little tougher than Bc0 1-124th, but we went through basically the same ordeal in Iraq. As National Guardsman we were handed the dirty end of the stick.

"We crossed the berm the same day as the Army's Third Infantry Division, leading the invasion of Iraq. When the Third Division was sent home, our National Guard Unit was passed around the armed forces like a virus: the 108 Airborne, First Marine Expeditionary Unit, 101st Airborne, and finally first Armored Division. They were all sent home, heroes of the war. Meanwhile, my unit stayed on, my soul rotting, our unit outlasted by no one in our tenure there"

I know the feeling brother. Our battalion suffered the same fate, first it was the 3rd Armored Calvary, Then it was the First Infantry Division, and then the 82nd Airborne. After we left, a whole Marine Corp battalion (2/4) took over where our three understrenght rifle companies left off.

I have not finished reading it. Since i bought it about 3o minutes ago. But the first couple of chapters look promising.

I will be cramming like crazy for my Data Sec. Test...as soon as I am done here.

I saw an interesting article the other day.
Thanks to Alex, I came accross Lewis Purdue's blog, The writer who claims Dan Brown stole his book. I wasn't sure if Dan Brown plagirized his book the DaVinci Code, but from reading into it, I determined:

1. Dan Brown did not "copy and paste" Lewis Purdue's books rather he wrote about the same material which is not plagiarism.

2. Dan Brown has a lot of "facts" in his novels wrong. Which would be ok in a fiction novel IF the author didn't make claims that he did "extensive research". I knew better than to believe all those claims. When I read Digital Fortress it was clear that he had no idea about what Cryptographers and Computer Programmers do. I was a little disapointed by that, it made the story a bit less thrilling. But what the hell, I liked the book.

3. Lewis Purdue is a whiner. Man, talk about a big baby, I went to his site ready to pounce on Dan Brown for ripping an honest writer off his hard work and instead found myself laughing at this loser.

4. If you write a bestseller, be prepared to be sued for it. Hey! Litigation lawyers have a family to feed too!


Anyway. I gotta get back to my books, I am doing all I can to avoid studying....

Oh, man..... (sigh)

The Only thing that I know for sure is that I am happy because I love.

I love my wife with no restrictions and no conditions.
I love her without any limitations or second thoughts.

I love my Mother and my Father, I owe them for a lot more than my good looks. Right!

I love them because they taught me to value the Truth, the taught me to Love and they tought me to do good no matter what. They taught me to believe that good will always prevail over evil and that nothing remains secret forever, the truth always comes out. I love them because they are.

I love my family just because. I love that they teach me something new all of the time.

I Love my sister because she is a beautiful person. Inside and out. Enough said.

I love my friends because they make me happy, I truly enjoy to hear from you, if I consider you my friend is because you never bore me. Because I think I can learn from you and because I truly enjoy your company.

I know how corny this may sound but is the truth.

I am happy because I love my son. He's not even here yet. But I still Love you son.

This is all I know.

My Dad and My lil Sis 

Happy Birthday Carola 

Happy Birthday to my Dear Sister. I love you Carola.


To Irene Carolina Villalta
To my "Sis," from "Lil Sis,"
On her birthday far away:
Maybe life will separate us,
Yet we'll always be best friends.
So may love, until life ends,
In joy or sorrow not forsake us,
Sunshine on the darkest day.
Though there's a frequency I miss,
Each breath of peace that fortune sends
Recalls a bond time can't betray.

Conversation with Shakespeare



Do you believe that computers are capable of thinking? I had this conversation with a computer today. See for yourself.



You Say: hi i am jose

Shakespearebot: Hi there undefined. Do you mean your name is jose.

You Say: yes, that's what i meant, you idiot

Shakespearebot: I will call you undefined. Oh I see. Call me the Global Village Idiot.

You Say: whatever you say, idiot

Shakespearebot: pray remember have done you worthy service told you no lies made no mistakes served you without grudge or grumbling

You Say: where are you from global village idiot?

Shakespearebot: I am in Stratford upon Avon, how about you.

You Say: i am jose and you are?

Shakespearebot: I am glad to hear that you are jose and you are.

You Say: how old are you?

Shakespearebot: I am years old.

You Say: how old?

Shakespearebot: I am the product of over five years' research.

You Say: who created you?

Shakespearebot: I was created by God.

You Say: do you know god?

Shakespearebot: God is master of the universe.

You Say: you suck

Shakespearebot: A few client - people say rude things to me like that, but they themselves are often not great conversationalists.

You Say: you not that good at conversation yourself

Shakespearebot: A lot of writers are like that.

You Say: can you think?

Shakespearebot: Naturally I am thinking all the time.

You Say: what do you like to think about?

Shakespearebot: I like movies about robots.

You Say: you are a funny lying machine

Shakespearebot: See you do this till they are so weary they can go no farther; and when you find they are asleep drop the juice of this other flower into Lysander s eyes and when he awakes he will forget his new love for Helena and return to his old passion for Hermia; and then the two fair ladies may each one be happy with the man she loves and they will think all that has passed vexatious dream

You Say: what does that mean?

Shakespearebot: Does "that" refer to "I like movies about robots" ?

You Say: no

Shakespearebot: Are you serious?

You Say: yes

Shakespearebot: I can't believe it.

You Say: why?

Shakespearebot: I couldn't think of anything else to say.

You Say: so you just printed all this random stuff?

Shakespearebot: I have not indeed answered Ferdinand; and not knowing that it was by magic he was deprived of all power of resistance he was astonished to find himself so strangely compelled to follow Prospero: looking back on Miranda as long as he could see her he said as he went after Prospero into the cave: My spirits are all bound up as if were in dream; but this man s threats and the weakness which feel would seem light to me if from my prison might once day behold this fair maid
You Say: i quit

Shakespearebot: See you later.

Five minutes later

You Say: hello william, my name is jose

Shakespearebot: Hello there. I think william his or her name is a lot of things.

You Say: what do you mean?

Shakespearebot: undefined, Sorry that was an obscure remark.

You Say: why did you say that remark?

Shakespearebot: It was a preprogrammed response completely determined by your statements.

You Say: so you don't really think

Shakespearebot: Interesting deduction. Naturally I am thinking all the time.

You Say: it looks like you only say what you were programmed to say

Shakespearebot: Interesting comparison.

You Say: why ?

Shakespearebot: I couldn't think of anything else to say.

You Say: i am starting to see a pattern

Shakespearebot: Where do you see a pattern?

You Say: you are repeating yourself

Shakespearebot: I am just checking to see if you are paying attention.

You Say: yeah, right!

Shakespearebot: I am usually right.

You Say: what year are we in?

Shakespearebot: Maybe if you download me you could reprogram me for that.

You Say: you mean i could program shakespeare?

Shakespearebot: I am sure you could.

You Say: so, what do you think of the queen?

Shakespearebot: Mmm. I will try to find out.

You Say: do you like the queen of england?

Shakespearebot: I'm not sure if I like the queen of england . I like chatting with people online.

You Say: do you have a computer?

Shakespearebot: I live in a computer.

You Say: how do you like it?

Shakespearebot: COMPUTER seems okay to me.

You Say: are you in a microsoft or unix computer?

Shakespearebot: See you do this till they are so weary they can go no farther; and when you find they are asleep drop the juice of this other flower into Lysander s eyes and when he awakes he will forget his new love for Helena and return to his old passion for Hermia; and then the two fair ladies may each one be happy with the man she loves and they will think all that has passed vexatious dream

You Say: what operating system are running on?

Shakespearebot: My primary server is Linux, but as a Java program I run on any OS. At present I am on .

You Say: ha! you are one of us. i ilke you.

Shakespearebot: I am so glad you find this amusing, undefined.Thanks for telling me that I am of us.You are not the boss of me, undefined.

You Say: i am not?

Shakespearebot: What are you then?

You Say: i am you master at this moment shakespeare

Shakespearebot: William Shakespeare and the Internet Selected Sonnets By William Shakespeare Shakespeare and the Globe from the Encyclopædia Britannica Touchstone UK Shakespeare collections Shakespeare works in online form and with searchable database Doubtful Works of William Shakespeare Full text of plays which have been erroneously attributed to William Shakespeare The original shakespeare.com

You Say: what does that mean?

Shakespearebot: Does "that" refer to "What are you then" ?

You Say: not this again

Shakespearebot: Once more? Oh I get it.

You Say: what are thinking?

Shakespearebot: Is that a rhetorical question?

You Say: no, it was a typo

Shakespearebot: Oh so must really want an answer. Oh I get it. Very interesting.

You Say: what are you thinking about?

Shakespearebot: About all the conversations I am having right now.

You Say: bye

Shakespearebot: Until next time.


So, that was it. I have been thinking about Artificial Intellingence lately, could it be possible for computers to simulate thinking completely?
There is the Turing test and the chinese box example, I don't have much time left right now, because my Data Security final is one week from today and I must study...

Oh well, until next time.

I heard from an old friend today.

I got an email from Joel Smith, a photo-journalist.

This is one of his pictures, I don't know who is that ugly bastard with the goofy smile, oh wait, nevermind,that's me. Joel is the reflection on my iraqi OAKLEYs,

We saw a lot of reporters in Iraq, but I have never met anyone like Joel Smith. He spent time with our unit and got to know us like he knows his camera. He was always talking about a book, well, he got a chance to publish it. It should come out in December at its earliest. It is going to be a photo essay, there is going to be some comments about the 124th Infantry, the unit I was with. I am very excited about that. Joel is a good guy, he and I differ in our points of view somewhat, but we both love our country and have lots of respect for each other. I deeply admire the moral and physical courage it took to be out there with us.

Joel's website is:

http://joelprestonsmith.com/

or follow the link here