Terraformation of Mars to Create New Human Race?

I watched an interesting program on OPB called Exploring Space: The Quest For Life. It talked about the possibility of terraforming mars. The theories of terraforming mars isn't anything new (1) (2) (3) and is highly debatable whether it's even possible. But the interesting part of the show was the discussion about the long term effects on the human body from colonization of Mars. They attempted to analyze just the effects a lower gravity would have on the human body over countless generations. They showed evidence from studies done regarding short term effects of zero gravity, most evidently was the loss of muscle mass especially within the human heart. Since the heart isn't constantly fighting the effects of gravity to pump blood around the body it doesn't need to maintain the same muscle mass. It went on an on to show how the body would change and adapt to new conditions. If humans still inhabited earth while new colonies procreated on mars, eventually you would end up with two entirely different humans. Each generation of martian human would have a harder time returning to earth as they wouldn't be used to the greater gravity, it could even start to be fatal for them. The whole thing brings up so many interesting questions: - Would those changes be for the better or worse? How would we handle that? Today we have enough problems with people fighting each other due to differences in culture, racial, religious, sexual orientation, etc. Would our worlds grow apart making another difference to provoke war? Or would it help to create a better future? - If you had the choice to move to a new world, making a choice for all your future offspring, would you go? I guess that would be the type of decision many of our ancestors had when faced with a choice to travel to America. What are your thoughts?

Review: V for Vendetta

I was initially hesitant to see this movie as I had it fingered as another crappy comic book adaptation. I also had mixed feelings after finding it had writing credits from the Wachowski brothers. I've seen a couple of their early works and know that they have a knack for drama and action, but I was worried that too much of their Matrix styling was going to shown through. However after hearing good things about it from a few of my friends, whose opinions I value, I decided to give it a try. While I may or may not agree with all the political aspects of the film, I did come away with what I feel is the overall message. That we as a people need to educate ourselves on the workings of our government, keep our eyes & ears open, and get involved & speak up when things aren't being handled properly. Otherwise we are simply mindless cattle being herded by a higher power. Too often I find today that people keep their heads down and only focus on what's two steps ahead of them. We are no longer in the middle ages where we only have to focus on our small section of land. We are a global body where our actions effect the world as a whole, and someday in the future we may become intergalactic. But here I am getting political and steering off course, that's a discussion best suited for it's own entry. One thing I did really appreciate was that they never show V's face, or expressly tell you who he is. A lot of whom you believe he is, is just that, your own decision based on hinted evidence. He then becomes the character V entirely, a symbol of an ideology, something that will never die. (In the comics it's even hinted at that he may in fact be a she, Valerie, the prisoner of room IV from Larkhill, and the memorial that he has is in fact a memorial for the past life lost). In another view point if he indeed is the burn victim of room V from the Larkhill experiment (which his burnt hands express) then his face would be severely burnt and would no longer resemble who he was. Therefore it would be futile for Evey to remove his mask to see his true face. In the end I really enjoyed the film. It gets you thinking while keeping you entertained. The story was cohesive enough that it doesn't appear to be a far stretch just to make a film with some action. I'ld definitely recommend it. These are my initial thoughts, I may have more after I let the film soak in more. What were your thoughts?

My 27th Birthday!

Darci and I are hosting a large BBQ in honor of all our friends with March/April birthdays (including me). It's going to be one hell of a party, and it's taken up a lot of our time to prepare for it. Mostly because we skipped on spring cleaning this year and have to do it at this time. In addition it's a motivating factor for me to complete my new arcade modifications. Check the gallery section next week for pictures of the event. Time is really starting to fly by, that must mean I'm having a lot of fun then? In a few days I'll turn 27 and another year of my life will have gone by. In addition to the need for celebration, this is also a time for reflection and goal planning for me. So in retrospect what have I accomplished, participated in, experienced, or learned in the last year? (To keep things organized here's a list): Misc Accomplishments: - Four Year Anniversary: Darci and I celebrated our fourth year together as a couple. That's twice as long as any of my previous relationships. So that goes a long way to show how happy and compatible we are together. It also adds more fuel to the fire of all the marriage inquiries I get from family/friends. - Logan: My son is now five years old. He's getting bigger and smarter every day. I'm continually amazed at the new things he does. - Blazer: I finally got a new mode of transportation. I've been pretty excited about it because we've needed a vehicle with off-road capability and a towing capacity for a long time. This will really help us enjoy our summer activities immensely more. - FVTV Producer: I signed on with FVTV as a new producer. This gives me access to their camera equipment, editing studios, and the ability to play my work on their television station. I'm planning to use this as a starting platform to improve my camera work and editing skills. Hopefully once I've masters these a bit more I'll be ready to start my own private feature work. - Motorcycle Endorsement: After two attempts at the motorcycle drivers course I finally passed. However to navigate the nearly impossible slalom course I had to borrow Darci's Ninja 250. - Paid off debts: I worked hard to get all my outstanding debts paid off this year. By the end of 2006 I should be 100% debt free. That'll be nice as I think we'll be looking to buy a house around then. - Brittany moved in: I was able to help my little sister out by letting her live with me for a while so she can go to school to get an education that'll help her provide for herself. This is also an opportunity for her to reflect on her life and to do some soul searching. I'm hoping that in another year she'll have a good foot hold on her life and have the tools she needs to be a stable/independent person. Projects: - Arcade: I made a ton of additions to my bar/arcade this last year. I got a killer deal on the English Mark Dart Machines, then traded one of them away for the Nintendo Dual System Cabinet, I purchased the Xenophobe cabinet & acquired all the necessary parts to restore it, next I purchased the Ghost Town machine, I built the Jukebox, and remodeled the MAME arcade to include a 4-player control panel. - FusionDisaster.com: I finally got around to building a web server at home and getting it online, registered my domain, redesigned the website, and learned PHP/MySQL so I could code all the site functionality from scratch. - Computer Upgrades: I acquired a bunch of new hardware which I was able to cascade through my home network to upgrade all my machines to optimal performance levels. I also updated my storage space, now with a combined mass of 768Gb. So what's on the horizon? What are my plans for the next year of my life? Here's some goals: - Projects: This next year I want to focus on my film work. I'm nearly finished with my feature film script "MESSED", but I have a long way to go before I can think seriously about that. I have a lot of hands on experience to gain, equipment/rigs to build, and a portfolio to fill. - Pacific Crest Trail: I want to start hike the PCT that will be a great accomplishment. It's a physical and mental challenge that I want to tackle. - Finances: I want to finish paying off my debt and buy a house. That way I can start investing in my future and the future of my family. - Logan: I want to focus more on Logan and help him develop by participating in some organized activities. Whether it's Karate, Scouts, Sports, or ??. This will help him gain confidence in his abilities and develop a precedence for our interaction for years to come.

Blog Archive & Misc Site Updates

The blog archive never worked properly. So it was very hard for any visitors to find or read any entries older then a month. Over the weekend I put in several hours recoding the archive (even working through the night till 4am on Sunday morning). It now has a new layout with many features. You now have the options to browse the archive by ascending post date, alphabetically by blog title, by entry category, or even by key word search. Go check out the new features when you get a chance. I'm in the process of building another means for the archive, by entry popularity (number of comments attached to it). I also added a random picture section to the front page. After I had searched the web for a decent pre-built PHP randomizer, I ended up building my own from scratch. Nothing out there had the functionality I needed. Mine pulls in a random thumbnail image from a random gallery on my side. And then links back to the images corresponding page in it's gallery. It looks a little out of place at the moment, but the empty void below it will soon be utilized for additional tools/content. Now I just need to building an RSS feed for the site.

Kiss Me I'm Irish

According to the genealogy info done by my Aunt, we're 5 generations away from the "Motherland" on our Cauley side. My Great-Great-Great Grandpa Patrick Henry Sr. Cawley born in County Mayo Ireland and came to the states sometime before 1866. So there's some genealogical history in case you doubted our family has Irish roots (should already be apparent by my red goatee). So I'm entitled to wear my "Kiss Me I'm Irish" button this coming Friday (St. Patrick's Day). And even though St. Patrick's day was originated and may still be recognized as being a Roman Catholic celebration in honor of their St. Patrick, in the US it has largely become a holiday celebrating Irish heritage for those that claim it, and an unofficial drinking holiday for the rest of the secular celebrating crowd. So I will be out this Friday night with friends celebrating my Irish heritage by smoking a good cigar, drinking a couple tumblers of a nice single malt scotch, and swilling a few gallons of Guinness and Killian's Irish Red.

Baby Alert!

It seems to be baby season again, as a lot of folks I know are expecting. In fact two of them have already delivered. First was my neighbors new daughter, Karly Ryan Leonard born 3.7.2006 @ 10:13 am, weighing 5lbs 5oz, measuring 19in long. Next was my good friends the Stadlers new boy, Noah Michael Stadler born 3.14.2006 @ 1:25 pm, weighing 8lbs 3oz, measuring 22in long. And in a month or two my other good friends the Buckwalters will be delivering their baby. It's a very exciting time for my friends, and a wake up call that times are changing. It seems like just a few years back we all were single and care free. Now couples are starting to get married, buying houses, and starting families. I however had a jump start on that with the birth of my son Logan. I've been on the "fast track to retirement" as a coworker of mine stated (Associate level college courses completed at age 18, professional career started at age 19, and first child at age 21). So since I've been through a bit of the married with children life, I'm a bit hesitant to go back to it. However I do understand that this time there will be a lot of positive differences, and the support of friends w/children would provide social support. However these days I'm just feeling selfish, there is so much I want to see & do, and procreating would just get in the way of that. I do eventually want more children. I would love to have a daughter so that I can get the life experience of it, and another son is definitely desirable. However I fear that my timeline of events won't be quick enough for the maternal clock ticking within my better half. I guess we'll just have to take it day-by-day and see how things sort themselves out.

A Trip to the Wrecking Yard

After dealing with Foster Auto Parts and their sky high prices I had pretty much given up on auto wrecking yards. Then Sunday I went to the U-Pull-It Auto Wrecking on Foster in Portland and had my faith restored. For a $2.00 per person charge, you can walk around their yard and pull any parts you need from the vehicles. It was nice to be able to search for the parts myself as I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. In the end I pulled an overhead console from a 2nd gen Chevy s10 LS pickup and a new head light switch from an old 1st gen Chevy Blazer for $21. Justen managed to get a set of nice bucket seats from the same 2nd gen Chevy s10 pickup for $24 a piece. That is such a good deal. We were ecstatic at the good finds there. I would have picked up more parts for my vehicles, but I didn't have the correct sized tools to pull them. I'll definitely return again sometime soon. The only down side to this place is they don't have a very large selection of newer model vehicles, but if you need something out of a early 90's or prior, chances are you'll find it there.

Car Bandits

This morning my little sister's car was stolen from out front of my house. We didn't realize it until around Noon when she was going to leave for work. Brittany called the police and filed a report. After that all we could do is wait to hear some news, and hope that the car is found in relatively good condition (as the vehicle only has liability insurance coverage). This whole thing really pisses me off, especially as it seems the car was stolen just for Shits & Giggles. Her car isn't anything special, it's just a run of the mill POS. One of many many accessible cars on our busy street. Her car didn't have anything to steal, it's stereo wasn't anything to brag about, and it's not worth stealing for parts. It just gives me more reason to be security paranoid. Update: Friday we heard of a possible sighting off the freeway a few miles from our house. We went to investigate and found it to be her car. The car had a bit of damage to it. The front grill and hood were smashed from an apparent hit and run, the interior dash & steering column was all torn up, and for some reason the battery terminal cables had been cut. We called the police and they came to investigate. However after a few mins of looking at the car, the police informed us there isn't much they could do about it. So we called a tow truck and brought it back to the house. Brittany was pissed that her car had been vandalized, but I felt that it was at least good to have the car back. And thankfully the damage isn't too extensive, so I should be able to fix it back up pretty quickly. In all it's just been a huge annoyance that'll cost approx $400 to rectify. Not to mention all the hours of labor I'll have to put into repairs, and the unneeded stress and inconvenience it's cost Brittany.

Pacific Crest Trail

I've always enjoyed the wilderness and being outdoors, especially when your miles away from all the people, sounds, and sites of civilization. In recent years my interest in backpacking has increased, and one of the ultimate goals of any west coast backpacker is to do a thru-hike on the PCT. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of taking a 3-6 month break from my life to do a through hike. So I'm making plans to hike the length of the trail in sections. I'm in no great hurry and figure that this is a long term life goal. I'll likely get to do most of the sections once my son Logan is old enough to join the Scouts and we can make this a mutual goal. This summer I'm planning to hike the stretch of trail from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to the town of Cascade Locks, OR. This is a challenging stretch of trail as it has a 3,160' drop in approx 50 miles, that is why I'm doing the stretch in reverse and hiking downhill instead of up.