Nike, Do The Right Thing.

Nike has refused to fire Michael Vick.

If you are as outraged and disgusted as I am about Nike continuing to employ Michael Vick as their representative and advertising partner, I urge everyone to write Nike and contact them via phone in order to protest this abomination.

Here is my open letter to Nike...

I buy Nike products frequently. I appreciate the quality that I can find in Nike products. However, I am more than just a consumer. I am a animal rights activist. I'm sure I do not have to explain the situation with Michael Vick (Atlanta QB). Nike must fire this man from their advertising campaigns. It is disgusting that Nike continues to use this man to represent their products. Michael Vick is a thug and criminal. The fact he abuses animals only further defines him. His repulsive behavior is truly abhorrent and the souls of the animals he abuses are forever tormented.

I vow to never buy another Nike product until you fire Vick. Show some class and dignity Nike.

Just do it.

You can contact Nike:

Email: http://swoosh.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/swoosh.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Phone: 1-800-344-6453 - (6 a.m. - 4 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday)

If you too believe in doing the right thing. Just do it.

TNT: Tornadoes n' Twisters

Nature is both beautiful and scary. I am amazed and frightened at the beauty and power of Hurricanes and Tornadoes. As a Floridian, I understand how beautiful they can be and know first hand how deadly they are as well. With the Tornadoes ripping across the Southern and Midwestern United States on Thursday, I found myself looking for some storm footage. I didn't find any current video, but I did find this little piece on YouTube that was interesting....

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Will Never Hurt Me

That wonderful moral bastion that is New York City has decided to begin banning words they deem to be racial slurs, inappropriate, or otherwise unacceptable epithets.

In all honesty, some words are disgusting and I too find them disgusting, however, where does this end? If the Blacks get all their slurs and epithets banned, what about the Jews? If the Jews, what about the Muslims? If the Muslims, well, you get the point.

The reason for censoring people usually has a seed of a good idea at the start, but it quickly spirals out of control. I don't agree with censorship of any kind, simply put; if you begin there is no end. Not to mention that our country was founded on freedom, including the freedom of speech.

Instead of making useless laws, why not invest in education? Education is the only way people will ever rise above their ignorance.

Another thing to consider. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, the words you speak are the voice of that soul. In nature, signs are abundant. Some are warnings. If someone you know speaks with ignorance and hate, that is a pretty good sign that you should stay clear of them.

Even if people are prevented from speaking certain words, they can never be prevented from thinking them. In fact, they may harbor even more dangerous thoughts because of this. Personally, I'd rather have everyone voice their opinions without concern for censorship.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. But one thing for sure, words will always communicate who you are. And in this world, it is becoming increasingly important to know who are friends or enemies.

JK

Beam Me Up Scotty: Big Bang Revisited

Do Multiple Universes exist? Does there exist Parallel Worlds? What about Black Holes linking different levels of existence? Where can I get a Tribble?

Mind bending stuff for sure. The stuff of Science Fiction. Even trying to wrap your mind around these concepts can be difficult unless you are a scientist or perhaps a dedicated science fiction fan. If you don't know what E=MC2 means or cannot quote Captain Kirk in the second season of Star Trek, Episode #44; then perhaps this is all going way over your head. Don't worry though, pretty soon the "Secrets of the Universe" will be taught in middle school and your kids or grandkids can explain it to you. If not, just wait for the condensed version, "Secrets Of The Universe For Dummies", that will soon be in a bookstore near you. I've already got an advance copy. It even comes with a Tribble.

Now, for those that want to boldly go where no man has gone before, the world's leading center for research into the origins of matter on Wednesday took a giant step toward completion of a 15-year project which scientists hope will unlock many secrets of the universe.

A huge magnet core, weighing 1,920 metric tons or the equivalent of five jumbo jets, was lowered into a vast cavern 100 meters below ground at the multinational center, CERN, on the Swiss-French border near Geneva. "We think this project is going to uncover things we cannot dream of at the moment," said Professor Jos Engelen, Chief Scientific Officer of CERN, the 26-nation European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Some of his colleagues say the experiment, smashing particles together at high speed in a Large Hadron Collider (LHC), may bring new knowledge such as the possible existence of multiple dimensions beyond the four of traditional physics (width, length, height and time).

Others speak, if cautiously, of venturing into realms long regarded as those of speculative science fiction; multiple universes, parallel worlds, black holes in space linking different levels of existence.

Apart from magnets and detectors, the focal element of the LHC is a 27-km channel circling through a wide underground tunnel along which particles will be forced in opposite directions at the speed of light to smash together.

The experiments are due to start up by the end of 2007 and be fully operational in mid-2008. Each collision will recreate conditions that existed just nanoseconds after the Big Bang (The Big Bang is a fireball of energetic radiation which scientists say happened some 15 billion years ago and brought the universe into existence).

By studying what happens to the particles, researchers believe they will gain knowledge of how the matter of the known universe, and perhaps unknown ones, was formed.

Now, I don't know about you, but the thought of being on Earth while someone is recreating the Big Bang seems a bit scary. What happens if a black hole opens up and swallows us? What is that old saying? Curiosity killed the cat.

Beam Me Up, Scotty!

Feel The Force Luke: Web 2.0 Reloaded

I just found the coolest web application (for now). It is called Ning.

Ning is the latest startup of Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen. Ning is giving consumers free tools to create and operate specialized online social networks of their own.

Since I have become interested in the phenomenon of Web 2.0, I have been looking at several social networking sites. This one rocks!

As Ning CEO Gina Bianchini says, "Other social network sites ask you to join their world. We are about people creating their own worlds".

The two-year-old Silicon Valley-based company said the new service, to be introduced on Tuesday, allows casual Web users to create, within a matter of minutes, a highly customized social network for one's friends, family or acquaintances.

Users within each Ning network can select the latest Web features for watching videos online, creating a photo slideshow, listening to music or publishing a blog. Members have far greater flexibility over the look of their personal profile pages, buddy lists and site color schemes.

As a test if their services, I created Kaffenated Incorporated

I created Kaffenated Incorporated in about thirty minutes. Kaffenated Incorporated is Web 2.0. My little experiment with it anyway. It will be interesting to see what it turns into (if anything). Feel free to post anything you want and make it a little part of you. Go to http://kaffenated.ning.com now.

Let the evolution begin....


EDIT: Looks like Ning is having some birthing problems (it just started today). If the site is not working, check back again soon or go to the Ning blog for updates.

EDIT Part Deux: Up again. Thanks Gina Bianchini and team!

JK