NYC Homicides since 2003 on Google Maps -- Where not to live!

Very cool. Follow the link and you can see where all the homicides are. It's interesting to see all the different boroughs. I see a lot of buildings and addresses that I've responded to, and the jobs I've handled.

read more | digg story

Vatican: "Boycott Da Vinci Code film"

Vatican officals urged Catholics to boycott the film. I thought it was a good book. It's fiction and not meant to be "real". Besides, the Vatican and the Church by causing all this sensationalism just ensured that the movie will be a blockbuster, just like the book.

read more | digg story

NYC School Raids Begin; iPods and Cell Phones confiscated

So the NYPD has started to crack down on weapons in schools by doing random searches at schools that do not have permanent metal detectors. Although electronic communications devices have been banned since 1988, students are protesting that schools are also confiscating their ipods and cell phones. Give me a break, there's a time for play and a time for work, school is a time for work, these have no business being there anyway...

read more | digg story

Count Down

Time is flying now. In just a little less then a week, I'll be on my way over to Thailand. Some of my friends are leaving even sooner. I'm very excited about the entire trip, especially more so about getting married. I remember thinking I'll have a lot of alone time to do my stuff and stuff that I normally don't have enough time to myself to do. Instead, I find myself missing Lek a lot and that I really don't like being too long. I'm looking forward to seeing her again and I'm looking forward to our wedding, and to finally having all this behind us. I'm excited to finally move on. To everyone that's been with me throughout, thanks a lot for all your support and for being a good friend!

40% off Desktops and $750 off Notebooks- Dell coupon codes

Some great deals if you are interested in buying a computer. $750.00 off a laptop of $1999.00 or higher, and $300 off a laptop of $999.00 or higher. Great bargains and Dell makes very good computers!

read more | digg story

UFC 59

I broke down and ordered the UFC fight last night. Some of the fights were a little slow, but over all it was a great time. We had a few people over, made some spaghetti, had some beers and watched the fights. Afterwards we topped it off with a little HALO, and killed the crap out of each other. Just like old times.

If you watch UFC at all heres a brief recap -
Arlovski Vs Silvia
Arlovski was the heavy favorite and in fact has gotten so terrifyingly good that he seemed invincible. He comes out and after trading some jabs with Silvia lands a huge right hand sending Silvia to the ground. Silvia is very hurt and you think "oh shit, this is going to end just like last time". Silvia is able to defend himself and actually bounces back up and starts swinging too. Somehow Arlovski smelling blood steps in and swings again, misses and catches a short strong uppercut to the chin, sending him to the ground. Silvia pounces on him raining shots on his head. Arlovski looks more stunned then hurt, but he's not defending himself, so the ref stops it. Unfriggan believable. You know this is going to a third match.

Tito Ortiz Vs. Forrest Griffin
First round, Tito takes down Griffin and classic Tito grounds and pounds him. Landing elbow after elbow down on Forrest. Looks like it's going to be a quick first rounder. Somehow late in the round Forrest gets out and stands up and now he's hurt and angry and the fight is on. The rest of the fight they trade blows, with Forrest being the main aggressor. Tito shoots often, but is only able to take Forrest down again in the last round, but Forrest is able to defend and get up quickly. It went to split decision, with Tito barely winning. In my opinion, he deserved it, but boy does that kid Forrest have some heart.

Evans Vs Some guy
Don't know who Evans fought, but Evans won by submission.

Parrisyan also beat his unknown by submission

Nick Diaz and Sherk had a long boring fight, but whenever they went to the ground it was very interesting as they both have awesome ground game. Sherk won that one by decision

2 other guys fought, but I don't know who they were, the short guy won.

Anyway, next fight is May 27th and one of my favorite fighters is going to be fighting one of the UFC's greatest legends. I may have to buy another fight when Matt Hughes fights Royce Gracie. That's going to be a battle.

Thai New Years!

Today begins the first day of the Thai New Year. It's a fun time in Thailand, with April being the hottest time of the year and people celebrating in the streets with the water festival. It's a great time to be young and single where people spray each other with water guns, and cups and buckets of water. Obviously, young women are favorite targets. As explained in Wikipedia -

The Thai New Year (Southeast Asian New Year) (สงกรานต์ = Songkran in Thai language) is celebrated every year on April 13 to April 15. It is also celebrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). Sri Lanka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil new year on the same dates.
The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed . If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off will be taken on the days immediately following (But Sri Lanka still uses an astrological calculation to set the dates and times based on the sun's positional change and those dates and times are used to start the festival events). Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter April 1 was used until 1940. January 1 is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.

The water festival is also representative of cleansing, and making good karma. You can read more about it on wikipedia

Atlantic City

For those of you that were able to join me for my bachelor party in Atlantic City, I thank you, I had a great time out there. We had a very good turn out from co-workers and past co-workers and a even a good friend from Westchester who lives in AC now. The dinner was good, I know it was only a buffet, but I really love buffets. I got to gamble and didn't lose too much money, which is always a win in my book. Much more happened, and like the commercial says what happens in AC (ok Vegas) stays in AC. I will tell you one thing though, I will never, ever drink again....and this time I mean it! Really!

Mayhem in Brooklyn

Mayhem and chaos breaks out in the streets in front of the 66th NYPD precinct as hundreds of Hasidic Jews protest the arrest of a 75 year old man. It looks like the elderly man was driving while using a cell phone, officers subsequently pulled him over. The driver was uncooperative, leading to the officers arresting the man. The Hasidic community claim that the NYPD were overly aggressive, sending hundreds out into the streets. A police car was destroyed and fires were set, yet this was supposedly a "peacefull, non-violent" demonstration and therefore not a riot. I don't know man, you put whipped cream on a turd, it's not cake, it's still whipped cream covered shit.

A cop is trying to do their jobs, a simple summons would have been issued. Instead the man decides he doesn't want to cooperate so the police have no option but to place him under arrest. Now the community is mad? I'd bet if he was a different type of minority, perhaps one with darker skin tone, the community wouldn't have been as outspoken? This is the nasty side of politics, where people are so scared of losing the votes of this community (since these people actually vote) and are worried about percieved biases against a very vocal minority. This is a politcal shitstorm, and the powers that be want more then anything for this to go away. This is horse-shit and more people should have gotten arrested.

Thai Prime Minister steps down

I was concerned about this growing problem in Thailand. The Prime Minister has been tainted with claims of corruption, ever since he sold his multi-billion dollar company to Singapore. It has been claimed that he used his political powers to unfairly grow his company, and then the sale being tax-free incensed educated Thai people. It's also very upsetting to have sold so important a piece of the Thai economy to a foreign nation. Now it appears he's finally resigned, which is also good for me on a personal level, since until recently protestors were organizing in Bangkok by the thousands and i was worried it would interfere with my wedding.

BANGKOK, April 4 — Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire turned populist politician, said Tuesday that he would step down as Thailand's prime minister, ending five years of increasingly tumultuous rule and breaking a political stalemate over demands for his resignation that had gripped the country for the past two months.

Read the rest of the article here NYTimes article here (registration required)

Spiderman 3 Plot Revealed

IMDB has an article claiming they have the skinny on the next Spiderman movie. Now, you know how I get with good comic book movies, this is like a second Christmas to me! Basically, it looks like we're going to have 2, maybe 3 badguys. Spidey is going to be introduced to his black symbiote suit, and Edie Brock. It's not clear whether Venom is going to be an enemy to deal with in this movie, or maybe he'll just be introduced here, and dealt with in the next movie. Sandman, the dude whose molecules are fused with that of Sand, and Harry (Green Goblins son) will take on the role of the Hobgoblin and duke it out with Spiderman. Gwen Stacey, a character from the comics is going to make an appearance.

It all sounds so exciting, but my biggest concern is, how are they going to squeeze all this plot into a 2 hour movie? Please don't suck, the last 2 have been great so far. I'm having deja vu of Superman 3, which really blew, after an excellent Superman's I and II! Lets not have a repeat.

read more | digg story