Downtown Buffalo

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. I forgot about an online test I had last week and didn't have much time to post. I need to get these blogs going again! I guess I will finally talk about the City of Buffalo finally.

Everyone knows that I love the city of Buffalo. It is also well known that the city has been struggling for years. I feel it is slowly, but surely getting better. We may not see it in full right now, but I definitely see the signs when I travel through Downtown Buffalo daily on my way to school.

Here is what is going on down there. The company Avant has remodeled an older building to provide a whole new aspect to downtown Buffalo. In this building will be a hotel, offices, and even luxurious condos. Some of these condos cost over $1 million and some have already been reserved. Buildings like this can only mean good things. Near the Avant building is the new Federal Building It is not fully finished yet, but it is looking nice.

AVANT Buffalo

The Senecas also have a new life with their casino plans. Recently, a judge ruled in their favor, so they will be able to resume construction when they feel necessary. They had to stop construction because they were low on cash. Whether you like the idea of casinos or not, this is progress.

The old Memorial Auditorium is also in the process of being knocked down to provide room to buidl Bass Pro...finally. Hopefully this all works out. Also, I read plans to re-open Main Street to cars downtown. They will make the train liek a trolley system where cars will be able to drive alongside the train.

Besides all of these rumblings, I see good things downtown. I see work being done on many different buildings. It is a good site to see. They days of manufacturing and steel plants here are over. It is time for Buffalo to move on into the future. We already have one of the biggest telemarketing industries in the country. From my point of view, things can only get better from here.

I hope to talk more about Buffalo soon. It seems we make some crappy list on Forbes.com every year talking about how bad our city is. Well, it gives us a very bad name. Buffalo has plenty to offer if you look past the sometimes depressing weather.

Here is a little youtube video for Buffalo, NY!!!

Yeah...

I figured I should probably write a new blog right about now. I haven't written in a while. I got to get back to writing almost every day. I was enjoying my six day weekend so I never got around to writing.

News & Notes

- I received an 86 on my Biology Test and an 83 on my Management Online Test. I am okay with both. I did the online test without owning a book so I'm happy.

- I am going some things with a fellow Mondo Invasion member about the future. And we are coming up with some good stuff. Probably not music wise, but we definitely have some BIG plans. Can't reveal any details yet. I know it probably sounds like a broken record but The Invasion is Coming...

- Watched Bill Maher's movie, "Religulous". It was pretty funny. Offered a crazy view on religion and what it is "really" about. I would recommend it to everyone.

I think I will blog about Downtown Buffalo tomorrow finally. I said I'd do it a little while ago but never did. I actually forgot I wrote that. Of course, no promises on the blog actually showing up. Lol.

Since I collect the fortunes that come out of fortune cookies, I am going to post one of the fortunes at the end of every blog for now on...or until I get sick of it.

Fortune for today:
Without ambition, there is no success.

Six Day Weekend

Actually, it would be a four day weekend, but I decided not to show up to school the past two days! Haha. I have off Monday and Tuesday for Presidents Day so I'm pretty psyched. The only thing that sucks is that I have almost nothing planned for the weekend. Going to be pretty dead.

News and Notes:
- Thoughts and Prayers go out to all affected by the plane crash here in Buffalo.
I can't believe something could happen right here in this area. An event like that is something you can't wrap your mind around. Puts everything in perspective. I hope all the families can move on from this tragedy.

- I got a 95 on my Statistics test. Not too bad...

- Wrestling PPV "No Way Out" is on Sunday.

- Limp Bizkit is Officially Back
LimpBizkit.com is up and running again with all of their old videos and music. They announced a worldwide tour and an album in the making. All five members will complete a full album together for the first time since 2000. I'm am definitely pumped for this one.

- What's Up with Joaquin Phoenix? Anybody see him on Letterman the other day? Man is crazy.

- The Stimulus Package is about passed.
I am okay with the package as a whole. We obviously need to do something because doing nothing isn't working. I hope that this thing works or we are in a world of hurt. My hopes are high for sure. I'm sure Republicans are hoping it backfires. Lol.


So, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I may actually post a blog tomorrow since I am not playing poker tomorrow. We will see. I think I am going to play some online poker now though. Haven't played in a while and I am pretty bored right about now. I am going to leave you guys with a classic Bizkit track. Whether you like it or not! Talk to everyone soon.

I'm Chillin...

What's Up everyone? I am feeling good right now. You ever get that feeling where you just feel good? There doesn't have to be a reason. I'm still going to school on the daily and doing the same things, but I feel great.

With the economy in turmoil, everybody losing their job, and everything else going wrong, I still am staying positive. It is hard to get me down on life. No matter what it hands me, I keep my cool. I just enjoy living life everyday. Sometimes, I just think about everything around me and realize that life is....awesome.

Don't ask me what I just wrote about. Lol. I was just writing what was going through my head at the time. Nothing new in my life or anything special going on. I am just feeling good.

On normal notes:
- I aced my Statistics test today. I'm sure of it.
- What's up with Chris Brown? Why would you ever hit Rihanna?
- It is supposed to 50 degrees tomorrow! 58 on Wednesday! Of course there is also rain in the forecast.
- A-Rod is a fraud. Then again, I couldn't care less about steroids in Baseball. Who cares?
- I am ready for Bills Season...

Talk to everyone soon - probably tomorrow. I think I may talk about my thoughts on Downtown Buffalo. My hopes are high as usual.

Pale Blue Dot

As I rode home today on the bus from school, I examined the environment around me outside and even on the bus. People were on the bus sharing laughs with complete strangers, complaining about the ride taking too long, and some were listening to their headphones. I usually listen to mine, but today the volume was off. I chose to make today a day of observation.

Outside of the bus, I seen hundreds of cars traveling to different destinations. Probably some going to work, some going to school, some going to eat, or just going to see a friend. I spotted a school bus driver yelling at all of the kids on the bus. I felt bad for him, but I laughed. I noticed a small restaurant on a corner with a few old guys hanging out having a coffee. In a weird way, I want to be like them when I'm old. We all have daily routines. School, work, family, friends, etc. We do everything without thinking twice.

Outside what I observed, there are an unthinkable amount of events happening. People are sleeping on the other side of earth. There are wars being fought in the middle east. Polar Bears are traveling all over the arctic circle. A man is taking his dog for a walk. A college kid is writing in his blog. THIS is what happens daily here:


You see that dot there? No, it's not a crumb on your computer screen. That is what we call home. Planet Earth - a Pale Blue Dot. This photograph of Earth was taken by Voyager 1 from more than 37 billion miles away. The idea of taking this photo is credited to a scientist and astrologer Carl Sagan. He also named it the "Pale Blue Dot".

That's right. We are just a dot in a never-ending amount of black space. But, is that really all we are? As of right now, we are the only known planet to harbor life. Even if it is not true, we all have been given an opportunity. An opportunity to experience "Life". We could debate religious philosophies, economic policies, or even what is moral and what's not. But, maybe we should just enjoy what we have been given here on this particle in space.


Here is a youtube video of the Pale Blue Dot with a reading by Carl Sagan from his book. He summarizes the picture perfectly. Please check it out and enjoy. Also below is the Wiki link to information on the Pale Blue Dot and Carl Sagan.



Pale Blue Dot Information - Wiki
Carl Sagan Wiki

P.S. This subject was difficult to write on mainly because it is tough to put my thoughts into words. I tried to write about some of the things flying through my head. Hopefully, I can add more to this subject as time goes on. I hope you all enjoyed. Please comment. Maybe get some discussion going.

Done with my homework

Finally finished my Business Law Homework. It's not that it was hard, but the information I had to look up was very hard to find. Especially because another student have me the wrong citation for the court case I was looking for. But, I managed to wing it and get through it.

On a politics note...
This whole stimulus package right now is getting out of hand. I am all for economic recovery but when does the price tag stop? It is over 900 Billion now! I have been looking it over and reading plenty of articles about it. When the Senate said they did not like the original draft, I was hoping they would cut some things out and drop the cost. However, they did the exact opposite. They upped the price tag some more. I am definitely against the Republican's plan of just cutting taxes. Contrary to what they believe, that does NOT create jobs. The Democrats on the other side are not much better. They are trying to squeeze so much into this ECONOMIC stimulus. Some of it can wait. Overall, I am behind this package but I wish the price was a bit smaller and also concentrated on infrastructure more.

At least the President has signed some decent bills so far. He signed a bill that will extend health benefits to 4 million uninsured kids through the State Childrens' Health Insurance Program. Also, he signed a bill that would cap top executives salary at 500k for any company that received financial bailout money.

Anyways........Back to Reality.

Tomorrow, I will try really hard to post the "Pale Blue Dot" synopsis. Of course, I have actual plans tomorrow though. I will try to squeeze in a t some point hopefully. If I do miss it, it will definitely be up by Friday.

Here is "Dirt Room" by Blue October. Probably my favorite song out right now...

It's been a while...

Since I have posted a blog. I apologize for being away so long because I know how much you have missed me...

Was busy with poker and the Super Bowl over the weekend. Won a little over $60 on Saturday. Not bad for playing for only about an hour and a half. Yes, I did bet on the Super Bowl. And, on the Cardinals. But, I bet the spread! Woohoo! Small win, believe me. I had no confidence in this game.

Other than the usual, there isn't much going on right now. School is going good. Most of my classes this semester are pretty boring. Luckily, I did not have to but a lot of books. On the work front, I may apply for a job at the new Kohl's store opening.

I wanted to tell everyone about this cool site called Fancast. It basically is an online DVR. You can go there to watch all the past episodes from your favorite shows. And it has the best quality video I have seen around. Here is the link:
Fancast.com


Update on Pale Blue Dot: I plan to finally post my final thoughts on this subject on Thursday barring any setbacks. I have to write a paper tomorrow so I don't think I can get to it then.