Click on a photo below

Autos, a Love -- Hate Relationship
Big Trucks, Myths and Misconceptions
My Picks of the Best Cars
The Peace Movement of the Viet Nam War era
Photo of a naked Apollo Lunar Module
My Ten Favorite Works of Music	f
Rotating Car Models Under Blacklight
Some Pretty Neat Kites
Origin of the peace symbol
Humor
My Picks of the Best All-Time Movies
E. Stephan's Ode to Lynx
My Homebuilt Recumbent
How to build a cMoy headphone amplifier
Homemade Mini Drill Press
How to Commit Suicide Properly. WARNING: This page is explicit and detailed. It might be disturbing to some people. Do not read this unless you feel you can handle such.

Why "...Forty Acres"? To accomodate truck drivers. Ask one, he'll not waste any time telling you. I drove a big truck for a while.

Social Networks and Segregation: Consequential or Intentional?

I had a Facebook page and deactivted it. They arbitrarily changed page format to "Timeline" which does not play well with my dial up internet connection. Takes 10 minutes to load my home page. More if I scroll down. I can understand Facebook and other sites assuming most people have high speed internet connections so I should say internet connection speed is not the only reason I deactivated my account - it has to do with choice. In the last movie of the "Matrix" trilogy Neo is asked by the spokesman for the machines why he chooses an impossible goal. His answer is simply "Because I can". Facebook (and, as I said, other such sites) continue on a path of making our choices for us. This is probably because of advertisers, which is how these social networking sites make their money. Kind of like a politian being obligated to a campaign contributor. I believe a lack of choices robs us of the freedom to express ourselves in ways we consider better than the mandatory tools provided by such sites. People with only dial up connections are either poor or in such a remote area they can't use many of the products offered by a lot of advertisers. So equality is essentially dead and with that comes segregation on a social level.
Is the True Spirit of the Internet In Jeopardy?
I believe in the spirit of the internet. I am talking about the free and open exchange of information. It is a beautiful concept that was started by a handful of people and expanded gradually, mostly with colleges and free thinking individuals who had no thoughts of making money with this medium. That said, the internet is owned by everyone all across the globe. There are now forces working to control the internet in ways that severely inhibit the true spirit of the internet. One is the war on terrorism. An inconvienent side effect of this war is the classificaion and subsequent silencing of any and all who are percieved a threat to world peace because of their desire to speak openly, to share freely information they deem valuable for whatever purpose. It may be art, it may be politics. If it is considered secular or nonconforming it will be throttled. This is in direct contradiction to the freedoms for which our founding fathers dedicated their lives. I henceforth dedicate my life to the same effort.
Peer Pressure: Stronger in the Age of Communication.

It is written "He who hath an ear, let him hear". I believe we have left the "Space Age" and now live in the "Communications Age". So many have allowed themselves to become brainwashed by peer pressure strenghtened by the constant contact with peers made such an integral part of modern living by smart phones and other mediums of social interaction. Or by regular attendance of the same clubs - spiritual or physical -- with the same doctrine repeated over and over. Adolf Hitler is quoted as saying "If you tell a lie often enough everybody believes it". I will keep my ears open. I will question everything. EVERYTHING. And I will ask "Is this consistent with what my higher power considers good for us?" So an open ear - translated to mean possessing an unbiased perspective - gives our spirits the capability to question and investigate what is laid at our feet as being factual.