Arkansas Downtown Electric Trolley

Electric Trolley


Trolley


This trolley is the latest and greatest thing of the Central Arkansas Transit Authority today. It circles downtown and North Little Rock. The last trolley went out of commission in the 1940's ending with the number: 407. In 2004, the newest trolley started as 408. Pictured here is 410. It is a replica of the old one with modern technology such as leds for brake lights, but the windows, horn, interior and manual drive is the same old stuff. Each trolley cost the city about 820,000 dollars and admission is 50 cents a person. It may pay for itself in 20 - 50 years. Although the population of the capital city hasn't made significant growth in the past 20 years, it continues to attract visitors.

While I was riding in the trolley, an old man tapped on my shoulder on the trolley and asked me, "Are you from China?" I told him that I was born in Little Rock. His wife chuckled and I stared out the window. It reminded me how backwards and ignorant some of the people are in Arkansas, but also the friendliness of the people here who are eager to strike up conversation and engage in small talk. Coming back from California, I find small talk a bit shocking, because while I was there, I usually ignore strangers except when they have something to do with me. There's just so many people there! But here, I do realize that life here is simple. People come here to retire and raise children with strong Christian values. It is the bible belt. In my conversation, he told me that him and his wife drove to Little Rock all the way from Stuttgart (roughly 50 miles away) to go see the trolley and see what all the commotion is about. He told me some stories about his experience in the Phillipines during WWII. Him and his wife were married in 1949. My mom told him about how divorce in this country is as common as changing bed sheets. The trolley stopped. As we got off, the 85 year old man changed out his batteries in his hearing aid complaining how they only last five days. He walks off amused that people from China travel all this way to go see the trolley.

River Market in Little Rock

River Market, Little Rock, AR

This is one of the few places to go to if you ever go to Little Rock, Arkansas. It is located near downtown right along the Arkansas River. It parallels with a park which occasionally has a concert going on. Little Rock appears to be trying to lure more tourist into their city. They have a new trolley system set up which circles downtown and North Little Rock. They plan on expanding their system to go all the way to the airport and perhaps to the Presidental Library setup by President Bill Clinton.

This little piggy went to the market.

Little Rock, AR Skyline 

Notice on Vandalism

Notice

"Due to the increase in wholesale prices, sodas will be increased to 1.25 for bottles and .75 for cans. Also, if vandalism occurs to this machine, it will be removed. Please help me keep serving you by respecting this equipment. Coca Cola does not operate this machine. I have a small business that helps me take care of my kids and my family. By destroying this machine, you will be hurting my kids and my family, NOT COCA COLA. So PLEASE, if there is a problem, contact the office."

I saw this posted on the vending machine at Heritage House Apartments in Wichita Falls. Sounds like the poor guy is struggling to feed his kids or something. He probably doesn't make very much money... He should try another location.

Generation Kill - The Book

I have consumed myself in this amazing book called "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright. It is a story narrated by a reporter who spent his time in IRAQ with Force Recon Marines.

It is wonderfully written and is accurate. Wright writes about the marines and their stories, his experience with a fire fight, ambush, and incompetent higher-ups in the chain of command. He mentions the lack of communication resulting in disasters such as an Army A-10 aircraft unloading it's payload and killing several marines and destroying our own armored vehicles. Fire fights would be so confusing that marines would be firing at marines. War is terrible. Many of the marines are young and think they are invencibile. Many Marines are dying to kill as many people as possible. "Get Some!" a twenty-year-old redheaded corporal screams, "I would have loved to have flown the plane that dropped the bomb on Japan. A couple dudes killed hundreds of thousands. That fucking rules! Yeah!" Many grew up with video games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and aren't afraid to unleash death and total destruction on women and children.

It's a story about Marines redecorating Iraq. They willingly launch grenades into civilian's homes and run over dead Iraqi soldiers with their tanks. Blood and entrails are smeared all over the roads. The convoys piss and shit everywhere and in public. They throw MRE (Ready to eat meals) wrappers, trash and litter a over the road. Artillary destroy sewage pipes allowing them to rupture and explode everywhere. The stench of rotten flesh and shit is everywhere. How wonderful...

"What's the first thing you feel when you shoot a civilian? The recoil of your rifle." - Wright

In their free time, they read Hustler magazines, sleep, piss and shit in public, study maps and practice martial arts on each other. Men doing what they like to do.

You also get the idea of how typical conversations with Marines go.

"Yeah," Person says, a note of belligerance in his voice. "When I get back I'm gonna start a gay club. I'll call it the Men's Room. There will be, like, a big urinal with a two-way mirror everyone pisses against. It will be, like, facing the bar, so when everyone's drinking there will be, like, these big cocks pissing at them."
"Person," Colbert says. "Give it a rest, please."

This book really enforced what I already know about Marines. I had spent a couple of years with them and they are trained killers... not brain surgeons, not rocket scientists...

"Tonight, he entertains his fellow troops by pacing the tent, reading letters aloud sent by schoolchildren to boost morale. He opens one from a girl who writes that she is praying for world peace. He throws it down. "Hey, little tyke," Person shouts. "What does this say on my shirt? 'US Marine!'" I wasn't born on some hippie-faggot commune. I'm a death-dealing killer. In my free time I do push-ups until my knuckles bleed. Then I sharpen my knife."

The book is highly addicting and I wouldn't be surprised if they make it into a movie someday. Overall, I give it an 8/10. Great work of non-fiction!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2004-08-04-generation-kill_x.htm

Air Tower - Sheppard Air Force Base, TX 

Look, I caught a Lizard! 

Lessons learned from a Yard Sale

Moving Sale

I had a moving sale last weekend and it was a success. It was fun and I got to meet a lot of new people. Unfortunately, this was a wierd way to get to know people. Especially, since I'm moving away. I just wanted to post the life lessons I have learned from this yard sale.

• Know your demographic - know who you are selling to. In my area, I noticed that people didn't have a lot of money, so I had to price things low.
• It isn't rocket science - Many people who shop at yard sales don't want to look at stuff on the "internet" or use e-mail for communication, they like to see it for real and they want to talk to a real person. I made the mistake of posting my fliers with my e-mail address on it. I didn't receive a single e-mail.
• Expect to lose money - It's a yard sale, not a business, the whole point is to get rid of your stuff and get some of that money back that you paid for it... not all of it... don't be greedy
• Have fun - this is a good chance to get to know people in your area, where they're from, and perhaps make some friends
• Don't be afraid to give away stuff for free - to make a sale, sometimes it is easier to sell an item when you include something with it... example, buy a wire shelf, get a ???(piece of junk) for free
• Price it higher than what you are actually willing to sell it for, but be reasonable. I was planning on selling my plastic shelves for $2, each. I had 3 shelves. I priced them at $4 each. When someone was interested, I said, "I will get rid of all 3 of them for 10 bucks!" The lady was happy and I was happy. I made $4 more than what I planned on selling them for.
• Throw out some knick-knacks to make your yard sale look bigger than what it actually is - I threw out a potted plant and sat it on top of things. It brought people's interest in that direction and I actually sold a lot of stuff that I sat the plant on, although the plant wasn't "for sale".
• Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! - I could've had a larger crowd at my yard sale, but I didn't advertise it enough and I didn't advertise it long enough before the sale.
• Have plenty of spare change - expect people to pay with big bills such as $20's for small dollar items
• Don't bug the customers - Leave them alone to look at things, but also keep a watchful eye. If they're interested in something, they'll ask. Trust me.
• Finally, use the bathroom before you start! You never know what you are going to be doing for the next few hours. And you don't want that, "I gotta pee really bad" look on your face either.

Experience versus Schooling

No matter how much homework or books you read, experience is most important thing when it comes to hiring. It is very expensive to hire someone without experience, because that person hasn't made any mistakes in their field of work yet. Mistakes cost money. In some instances, the mistakes can be catastrophic enough to shutdown a business. I know I've made many mistakes in my job. Some of them, I could've been fired years ago for. But I've learned from my mistakes and try to train others to prevent the same mistakes. Lucky for me, I work for the government. The pay is not that great, but the job security is sometimes worth it.

The hazards for a company who hires someone without a higher level education sacrafices resourcefulness. Experienced people have a hard time changing the way they do things. Like nurses, it is almost impossible to get them to change. They get so used to how they do things the old way. That's why people should constantly be trained. The newest techniques and skills is hard to learn without proper instruction. That's why it is good to get a second opinion from a younger doctor fresh out of med-school. The younger doctor may know less expensive or invasive techniques for treatment.

Some would argue that institutionalized learning is harmful. I noticed that just because someone has their degree, doesn't mean that they are good at what they major in. Memorized formulas and equations are easily forgotten, and if they lose practice in their schooling, it is easily forgotten. I believe certifications should speak louder than degrees. Because certifications expire after a while and have to be renewed. Imagine a school eight years long. Are you going to remember the information taught to you in the first or second year? I doubt it. Often times, people cheat on tests and homework to get the score they want or maintain their "GPA". People "burn out" after so many years of school.

School is meant to provide tools and resources. Plus, it provides an environment where you can establish connections with several different types of people just in case you need them in the future. It's called connecting. Here you gain the ability to manage. Also, people who go to school most often end up working for somebody else.

Experience provides a hands-on approach to learning. It involves making mistakes and getting a firm grip on how things are done. Experienced people can save lots of money in the long run and can provide much needed leadership. Experienced people generally end up becoming entrapreneurs/business owners.

Overall, the combination of both is paramount and the necessity for any one depends on the type of industry or job.
School = Managers
Experience = Leaders

Sheppard AFB - Photoshoot

A10 and an F-15


Exion standing in front of F-15s



Sentra vs Jets


SE-R and Mobile Air Control


Sentra vs C130

This weekend, I went on base to shoot a couple of pictures. I drove onto the red zone without permission... I don't care. The pictures turned out FANTASTIC! I just don't like how Hello! compresses the pictures to tiny little pictures on Blogger, the original pictures are actually detailed and gorgious!

Hobb's Grove

Hobb's Grove

This is the scariest place I've ever been for Halloween. Hobb's Grove is located in Sanger, California and it is a MUST SEE for people who like to visit haunted places. It is a haunted theme park. It has a Haunted Mansion, a Haunted Forest and a Haunted Hayride...

Haunted House

The picture of the haunted house is actually what it looks like! You go in groups of 2 or 4. It is very dark and spooky. When you walk in there, you can hear the wood floor make creeking noises and you see old people watching TV. Are they ghosts??? As soon as you leave the kitchen, the old man gets up and starts screaming and cursing at you. In anger, he picks up a gun and tries to shoot you. You end up running down the hall and end up in a bedroom. You see a room filled with cats and an old corpse laying in bed undisturbed. When you leave the room, the closet pops open and a big, ugly guy fires up his chainsaw and swings at you. He follows you to the next room... You end up in the bathroom... it's all covered in blood. There's blood everywhere! You can see evidence of a struggle as there are bloody handprints smeared all over the walls. There is a dead girl lying in the pool of blood in the bathtub. If you stare long enough, she opens her eyes and looks straight at you. Freaky.... Out that door, there's plenty more....



Ghoul

The haunted forest is also very scary. They allow you to go in groups of 6. The forest is very big and there are plenty of werewolves, gypsies, ghosts, ghouls, and chainsaw murders that go after you. The haunted hayride is pretty scary too. My bad thing is that the tracter pulling us goes too slow. Ever watched Resident Evil or any zombie movies? There will be lots of dead zombies chasing after you, wanting to take a bite out of you. There is a part where the tractor stops in the middle of a field of scarecrows. They look harmless, but they jump onto the hayride terrorizing everybody.

Very fun! It is even scary driving out to the park at night. The grove is several miles away from civilization and you will pass a giant graveyard getting there. The car's headlights seem to be the only comfort you get in the middle of nowhere, and it is very easy to get lost. I highly advise getting a full tank of gas before setting out.

I give this 36 acre theme park a 10/10. Warning: it is not for the weak.

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives


This show is one of the funniest shows I've seen in a long time. It sort of reminds me of "Malcolm in the Middle" mixed with "Friends" with beautiful women as the main characters.

The show is narrated by a female character (Mary Alice) who committed suicide and she tells the story about her girlfriends.

Quote from ABC.com:
"Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) … it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V. Her small circle of girlfriends are wondering why one of their own would do something so rash… and so messy. There's Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), the divorcee and single mom who will go to extraordinary lengths for love; Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), the ex-career woman who traded the boardroom for boredom, mixed with moments of sheer panic as the mother of four unmanageable kids; Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross), the Martha Stewart on steroids, whose family is about to mutiny; and Gabrielle Solis, the ex-model with everything she's every wanted – a rich husband, a big house – so what is she doing with John, the 17-year-old gardener (Jesse Metcalfe)? And there are her neighbors, including serial divorcee Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), whose romantic conquests have everyone buzzing.Then there are the men: Hunky new neighbor Mike Delfino (James Denton), a supposedly widowed plumber who has Susan and Edie vying for his attention; Rex Van De Kamp (Steven Culp), who's just told Bree he wants a divorce; Gabrielle's better half, Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), who figures he bought his wife a $15,000 diamond necklace, so she should do whatever he tells her; as for Mary Alice's newly-widowed husband, Paul (Mark Moses), there must be a reason why he's acting so suspiciously – and why he's digging up the pool in the middle of the night!From her unique vantage point, Mary Alice sees more now than she ever did alive, and she's planning to share all the delicious secrets that hide behind every neighbor's closed door in this seemingly perfect American suburb." -ABC.com

For men, this show is eye-candy. I mostly watch it because of Gabrielle. She is super-hot! It is the first time in television where a Latino family is the richest and most good-looking couple in the entire neighborhood. They have a white gardener, whom Gabrielle is having an affair with. Her husband tries to please her by buying expensive diamonds and a convertable. And the gardener ends up falling in love with her and gives her a flower... I would give this show a 9/10. This show is very funny, the cast is almost perfect, the story is interesting and it is a must see for both men and women alike.

Safest place in IRAQ 

Battalion Aid Station in Iraq

Battalion Aid Station in Iraq

This picture was sent to me by my friend and shipmate, Navy Hospital Corpsman, Peter Tan. The marine pictured here was injured in a fire fight between insurgents and was being Airevac'ed to a hospital in Baghdad. My friend already saw a few of his marines die. Well, that's life.

My Biggest Pet Peeves

I can't stand incompetence. What the heck? People can't seem to do their job right. Very frustrating at times.

I can't stand slackers. I can understand slacking every once in a while, but to do it all the time??? No. There's a problem. It makes everybody else's job harder.

I don't like other people's kids and pets. I can understand that people are proud of their "beautiful" kids or that new trick their dog learned. Honestly, I don't give 2 shits about their stupid bastard kids or ugly, yippie dog.

I hate being hungry. I like eating and eating until I'm full. Not satisfied... FULL.

The biggest thing is that I can't stand moronic people. I don't like being around them. It drives me crazy! I spent (wasted) 2 years of my life at Camp Pendleton, CA with the marines and trust me, you will not get any smarter. I could feel my brain shrinking with every inch of it's life. As the Marines would say, "Errrr-rah, KILL!!!" I know they're killers, but please. How dumb is that? It's like saying, "hey everybody, I'm a stupid idiot killing machine." The Army is even dumber, they say, "Hooooa?". I heard it came from the word: "what?". Damn, the military is stupid.

Heritage House Apartment 140, Wichita Falls, TX 

The Need to Do Something

The three basic needs for humans are food, water and shelter. Once those needs are meet, we move on to other needs such as love, thought and creativity. It's hard to just sit around and do nothing. This weekend I am challenged to do absolutely nothing, but it is driving me crazy! The television, the biggest time waster, had nothing interesting on. I tried to read a book, but I didn't feel like reading a book. I turned on the radio... the repetitious music that is played over and over was driving me nuts. It is like they play the same song 3 times an hour. I tried video games. I felt like I was wasting my life. I went out to the mall and Best Buy. You can only spend so much time in those places before boredom sets in. I am disciplined with my hard earned money and I didn't want to waste it on anything right now. I have to save it for the holidays. Why do we humans feel like we need to shop or watch movies in order to fulfill happiness? It is a complete waste of time. I could not think of anything productive to do!

The house is clean, I had plenty of left-overs in the fridge, my wife is doing fine in San Diego, all my friends are out of state... What else is there to do?

I decided to focus on my career path. Every little thing you do that helps out the Navy is a small bullet on our evaluations. So I decided to hit the books and start doing correspondence courses. It keeps me challenged and I set my goal high by trying to finish a complete course over this weekend. Gee wiz.... Correspondence courses??? I am bored. At least, I'm being PRODUCTIVE.

Waste of time:

• Video Games
• Television
• Shopping
• Internet Forums
• Blogger

Productive use of time:

• Cleaning
• Keeping in touch with friends, family and contacts
• Study - Homework
• Church
• Exercise
• Cooking and Eating

ToonTown - Disneyland, CA 

Gettysburg

Battle at Gettysburg

July 1-3, 1863 held the bloodiest battle in North America’s history. This happened in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Over 53,000 men perished over these three days which is almost the equivalent of the number of American deaths that occurred during the 9 year Vietnam War.

This was the battle that changed the world forever. If General Robert E. Lee, of the Confederate States of America, won that battle, the Federal government would’ve been crushed. General Lee was a brilliant and charismatic strategist who was able to snatch victory in battle many times although his armies were ridiculously outnumbered. He is a legend. His opponent was General Meade of the United States of America. His leadership was more conservative and he liked to fight with overwhelming numbers and plenty of supplies.

The battle all started when General Lee assigned Gettysburg as a convenient re-supply station for his troops marching to the north. He didn’t know that the Union army was going to march through Gettysburg to get to the war in the South. Apparently, they clashed here and had the largest battle on US soil.

Rent the DVD, “Gettysburg”. It is a historical reenactment of the battle. If you love strategy and history, then you’ll like this movie. The extras that come with the DVD is a definite treat.

You'll get to see how Maine (who runs out of food and ammo) defeats the superior army of Texan's and Alabaman's (the best of the best). Very exciting stuff.

FACT: The civil war wasn’t about slavery. The South HAD slavery, but that wasn’t what the war was about. It was about the government. The Confederate States of America fought to keep power in the hands of the states. The United States fought to keep a strong central government. The number of deaths in the civil war is more than the total of deaths in all of America's wars combined. That was largely due to the lack of medical technology and Napoleanic style of warfare (fighting shoulder-to-shoulder line formations). I just wanted to clear this up for the non-history buffs.

The Fast and the Furious: Is it a fad?

The import scene was once an "underground, Asian American" sub-culture. With media and movies, the need for speed and horsepower in compact fuel-saver cars has increased ten-fold. There's miniture models on the shelves at toy stores, it's all over the internet. It's everywhere. Yep, even in small towns across Arkansas.

The history of modifying cars started in the 1950's in Southern California and morphed itself ever since. In the 1980's, Mexicans did their own style in their mini-truck scene. In the 1990's, the Japanese started the "import scene" and it spread throughout southern California and throughout the world. Recently, Europeans have started modifying their cars also. And it is quickly becoming mainstream.

Automanufacturers have started producing their own racing line of cars, such as the Saturn Ion Redline, Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, Dodge Neon SRT 4, Ford Focus SVT, Mazdaspeed Protege, Subaru WRX, Toyota Corolla XRS, Chevy Cobalt SS and the most powerful stock 4 cylinder, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.


2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R (Gold Badge Edition)


Fortunately, there has been a new job market focused on aftermarket performance parts. Drivers get a thrill to see performance and handling improvement which makes cars more fun to drive.

The bad thing is, drivers are more encouraged to have road rage and have illegal street races. Some people argue that there are lots of deaths... I don't see it as a problem. It's not in the news everyday that somebody dies in a street racing accident. More people die from lung cancer. It just means that more police can write tickets. In turn those tickets, will go back to the community, schools, roads, etc... Is the import scene a threat? I say no.

Do I see the import scene going away? No. It's here to stay. May be improved as time changes and more technological advancements come out. It is something that creates jobs and boosts economy. It keeps kids out of serious trouble. It is fun and people take pride in their cars.

The history of import car culture:
http://www.asian-nation.org/import-racing.shtml

Puddle in Patio