"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did".

American Statesman and Four Star General in the United States Army
Former Secretary of State to President George W. Bush

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:
Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone who's not going anywhere.

My old grandpa said to me son,' there comes a time in every man's life

when he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's

when he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin'.

I don't carry a gun to kill people...
I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people.
I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.
I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.
I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.
I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.
I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.
I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy.
I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.

I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.
I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.

I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.
I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.

I don't carry a gun because I love it.
I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

Police Protection is an oxymoron. If you've ever called the police to report a "threat" to your safety, the response you will get is, "there is nothing we can do until the threat is actually perpetrated". Free citizens must protect themselves.

Police do not protect you from crime, they are merely a deterrent to criminals (just like your gun is) and they just investigate crimes after they happen and then call someone in to clean up the mess.

The following information is based on research I have conducted for both personal interest and for a Chemistry class I took at MIT.

Food Fact are the result of research I did using the following resources:

Tradition hard time at both UT and St. Edwards University, but also global library exchange with The University of Harvard in the USA, The university of Oxford in England and The University of Calgary in Canada and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  I also found lots of good info using google.com

Motivation:
I created Food Facts as a guide to use when I go grocery shopping. I also made it for my friends and family who share an interest in making smarter and healthier choices in their life. In addition, I recognize not every one has the time, inclination, or resources to do the amount of research and study required to fully understand the chemistry of food and the chemicals used by the food industry in America.

What I have Learned:
I have learn a great deal about the food industry and the business choices they make to gain a profit. Most importantly I have learned Caveat emptor is Latin for "Let the buyer beware". Yes this is true for the food you eat too.

Food Fact Files:
You can download and use as you wish, please remember to give credit where credit is due.

Food Fact Sheet - .pdf file
Electrolytes Fact Sheet - .pdf file
Protein Fact Sheet  - .pdf file

Allow me to introduce you to "The Penny Stove", it is a lightweight, efficient, and simple camping or hiking stove. It was developed by Bill Waite for these instructions showing how his version is assembled using only one Heineken can.

Also shown are his designs for a small pot simmer ring, a storage cap, and a beautiful pot stand.

To purchase Bill's Penny Stove kit (which includes the stove, spare penny, pot stand, windscreen, and complete instructions) contact www.acaircraft.com.

There is a number stamped on all plastic products purchase in America. This number or code will range from 1 to 7 often followed by a few letters.

To better understand the codes, the type of use the plastic was designed for, the recycling properties, and the chemistry behind the plastic I have compiled a list of links and a pdf file from www.plasticfreebottles.com.

Here is another essay I wrote for my Creative Thinking & Research class. In it I share my own experiance with gaining wieght when I quite smoking. It was horrific and I was scared to death. I was afraid I was just going to keep getting bigger and bigger.

Luckily I found out what was happening. In the process I found I wasn't alone, and that 66% of my fellow American citizens where going throught the same thing.

Enjoy! I hope you get as much out of it as I have writting it.

I'm often amazed at the technology used in this world to persuade one group of people to hate, dislike, and even at times demonize other groups or individuals. The term used for this type of technology is called demonization. I understand that some would disagree and not call this a technology, but I do think it is a technology. It is not something we are born to do. Hating people without direct experiance is man made. Therefor, I call it a technology.

I have written an essay for one of my classes regarding one of the more popular uses of this technology title "Demonization of Black People in Advertizing." This is a very real and present practice. Fundamentally, this is a practice that affects us all.

One down and six more to go!, my first week in college went very well. I finished my assignments in no time flat and I'm ready for my 2nd week of school. So far it has been a no brainer. It is far easier then I originally thought.

I have uploaded my homework and it can be viewed here.

Essay 1) Marketing Research - The Demonization of Black People in Advertizing
Essay 2) Critical Thinking & Research - Why American's are FAT!

Feel free to comment on my Essays. I very much look forward to any and all feedback.